UKC

Hi, I'm thinking of going on several climbing trips this year - one bouldering and one hopefully sport in Europe. I am a student and was wondering if anyone knew any good advice about non-extortionate travel insurance which may cover these sports. Thanks for your time and any advice!

When I was a student, STA Travel insurance was cheap.  However, I was to discover why it was cheap after I screwed myself in a skiing accident in France, which STA failed to pay for (everything was covered and they quickly paid out on damaged belongings, they were just woefully disorganised, or negligent in failing to pay up for the medical bills).

3 years later, the bill still hadn't been paid and it was only with the help of legal insurance provided by my employer, that STA finally settled my hospital bill.

In short, if you're doing anything vaguely adventurous, decent insurance is a must. 

Don’t skimp on travel insurance - and certainly not if you’re going rock climbing - and find insurance which expressly covers rock climbing.

I’ve always used BMC climbing insurance but no doubt there are other climbing insurance providers who regular climbers abroad have used and can mention. 

If you just want rescue and medical insurance, Austrian Alpine Club is cheap for multiple trips as you pay your membership fee and that covers you for the year. The BMC insurance works more like full travel insurance so cover belongings etc. The only time I've been involved in a claim with them was for a French door in a flat we rented which cracked overnight seemingly due to there being a cushion leant against it.. paid out to cover the owners costs with no issues. 

Worth noting a few important caveats with the Austrian Alpine Club (AAC) insurance, at least as far as I understand and have interpreted their policies in the past:

1. their cover is somewhat limited compared to more fully fledged insurance, looks like currently €25,000 for rescue and €10,000 medical.

2. a policy requirement for the €25,000 rescue cover appears to be that any rescue is coordinated by their contracted third party (named in their policy), otherwise rescue cover appears limited to €750. In practice I believe this means that, if e.g. you have a fall or get hit by rockfall, then whoever calls the rescue for you must call the stated AAC number in order to be assured of full cover. So one scenario here might be - you're rock climbing in Switzerland, have an accident, bystander calls local emergency services instead of the AAC number (because how would they know), Air Zermatt (whom I believe are private) show up and take you to a hospital - no guarantee of full rescue cover for the helicopter extraction as it wasn't arranged by the AAC contractor.

3. a policy requirement for the €10,000 medical cover appears to be that you have an EHIC or e-card (not sure what 'e-card' is but I assume it's referring to the new GHIC that is replacing the EHIC for UK nationals), and that it is presented when you are hospitalised, and that this is processed/confirmed with the AAC contractor. If you don't have one, again the AAC contractor appears to need to be involved before treatment starts and if you are in a bad way then there's no guarantee this will happen. Again if these conditions aren't met, policy appears to state that medical cover is limited to €750.

Apart from the logistical consideration of needing to go via the AAC contractor to be assured of cover, it's also worth noting that €25,000 for a helicopter or other rescue or €10,000 for medical don't sound like very much if you end up in a situation where those fees are not covered by the state of the country you're in.

Edit: bit of further reading also indicates that there is unlimited cover for repatriating you your main country of residence e.g. UK if needed for major care. How this would cover scenarios where maybe major surgery or stabilising is required before you're moved back to the UK, and the costs incurred before repatriation e.g. major spinal injury? Not sure.

E.g. my understanding is that PGHM rescue in Chamonix is free, and I also met someone who received treatment at a (French) hospital in Sallanches after a fall, including x-rays to ankles (luckily just bad bruising/spraining). They didn't have travel insurance and were not a UK or EU citizen and so not included in EHIC. And they were not charged or checked for insurance, I am guessing because that kind of healthcare is provided free even to tourists in France (although I don't know that for sure).

None of this is to say that the AAC cover is bad, and I'm a member myself, but these are really important caveats and I don't believe they're often understood by everyone.

In practice, whether they would cover you if e.g. Air Zermatt picked you up direct after an accident and took you to a private Swiss hospital? Who knows, maybe they would, although I'm not sure how far those policy limits would go.

Disclaimer: I don't represent the AAC and I have no specialist/formal knowledge of the area; the above is just what I've interpreted from reading the policy material. Latest AAC policy wording in English is here:

https://oeav-pub.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/AWS_Folder_E_2023_ebook_f8dd...

Have a look at "Protectivity" who insure sporting activities including rock climbing. I have just taken it out again at £95 for the year. I have had experience of claiming following an accident in Spain and they did their bit fine.

My advice would be to think carefully about what exactly you are insuring against.

However I would have thought unless your a mature student, an annual policy with Sports cover direct, would come at a reasonable cost. Just watch your trip lengths, as this can trip people up.

Read the terms and conditions, before buying, not in a hospital bed.

The e-card is the electronic access point to the Austrian social security system, the EKVK is on the rear and accesses the EHIC system.

I interpret the situation at pt2 to relate to repatriation etc not the rescue phase which should not be delayed. I’m also a long time AAC member.

Note: before repatriation, transport, in-patient medical treatment abroad or transport within the country of main place of residence (not in event of rescue), you must contact the 24h emergency service (or max. EUR 750 will be compensated):
 

Is 25 euros cheap ? Vieux Camper is the leading and oldest outdoor gear supplier in France

https://www.auvieuxcampeur.fr/carte-club

There's a link through to detailed info on the deal with europ-assistance - in english

Ah I see, yes I think you are right there. Thanks.

Great post. IMO AAC cover is not really proper insurance in the way many people on here seem to think it is.

To add to your point 3 - an EHIC or whatever the "take back control" equivalent is usually a requirement of all insurances.

Agree. Repatriation restrictions only.

You had me starting to worry there and question my own reliance on AAC for the last 5 or so years!

Their extended single trip packages are also a good deal (on paper anyway - haven't needed to claim) for extra time, or extra health cover. 

Aye, sorry for the confusion!

To correct my earlier post after some useful feedback:

1. The requirement to use the specific Europ Assistance contact to get full cover appears to apply only to subsequent repatriation - not to initial emergency response, as I first interpreted it.
2. As sort of stated but worth expanding on after some more reading - you must have an EHIC (or presumably GHIC) presented at the hospital when you arrive for treatment in order to be assured of full cover - if you don't have it with you, then my understanding is that you do need to call Europ Assistance first - the policy doesn't mention GHIC but I assume it's considered equivalent, although...
   1. Digging into this a bit more, there are some possible traps with GHIC - according to the NHS, GHIC is only valid in EU countries (+ Switzerland if you're a UK national), but not the wider EEA at the moment (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
   2. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-glob... 
   3. So what that means if you're in Norway with a GHIC and end up getting hospitalised there, or if you're a UK permanent resident (but not national) and end up in a Swiss hospital with a GHIC... I don't know
   4. GHIC and new UK EHIC are not the same thing.

Something that nobody has mentioned is credit cards. 

Very often with small claims you will have to pay upfront and get a refund from the insurer when you get home, so having an empty credit card is a great way to borrow sort term.

For example when I was in Canada I had to pay upfront the A&E costs, but the treatment I received after that was invoiced direct to my insurer. Same with lost/stolen luggage, you will need to replace basics immediately.