In bounds avalanches have me considering travel insurance

[Pat AKA mustski]

I have medical insurance, but I am considering buying a travel policy. I am thinking of the expenses that could be generated by an emergency evacuation via life flight and/or ambulance, trauma unit, etc. Has anyone ever made that kind of purchase and if so, what company did you use?

 

[Sibhusky]

I used Travel Insured once for a non-skiing trip and did use the coverage for a hospital stay. It covered me far better than my own insurance. However, their products and underwriter have changed since then.

I think for certain trips, that kind of coverage would be invaluable. As soon as helicopters get involved, bills can be enormous just depending on which service gets the 911 call. Then if the regional hospital isn't "good enough" for your case (like you need to go to Seattle and not Kalispell), then you could be getting even more air transport. For your typical injury, it is probably overkill.

 

[Jwrags]

Check with your health insurance as it may be covered. My friend was Life Flighted from Cycle Oregon after a cardiac arrest (he survived and is doing well) in September and I believe the bill was $37,000, which was covered by his health insurance. His long ambulance ride after that was also covered.

 

[Sibhusky]

https://missoulian.com/news/local/a...cle_d2db6063-013a-5ee6-90d1-4df70eca9665.html

Northwest MedStar is a Spokane-based nonprofit that has long operated in the Inland Northwest. The company says it has poured $5 million in new equipment, staff and training into its St. Pat’s-based Missoula operation.

But its bills here are not covered by hospital insurance, as were those of Life Flight and, until 2012, Community’s Care Flight.

“Most of the employer-sponsored health plans in Washington, Idaho and Oregon are paying the majority of Northwest MedStar bills,” said Nicole Stewart, spokeswoman for Northwest MedStar. “This isn’t the case in Montana.”

Indeed, of the 13 air ambulance services operating in Montana that took part in a recent legislative survey, just four contract with insurance companies.
.

 

[Itinerant skier]

https://missoulian.com/news/local/a...cle_d2db6063-013a-5ee6-90d1-4df70eca9665.html

NW Medstar was acquired by Life Flight Network a couple years back. Regardless of who your local provider is, if you travel more than an hour from home to ski BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE!!

Full disclosure, I work in this business (flight nurse) and cannot tell you the amount of times I've seen folks have to use Gofundme or have benefit bake sales at the church to raise money for an air ambulace bill. Sure, there are indeed some good regular health plans that will cover evac, but there are more that don't. Even the ones that do may have geographic limitations or high risk sport exclusions (check your coverage). A good comprehensive travel insurance policy or membership plan is worth every single cent!!

If you're the adventurous sort or traveling to more exotic locales, check out Global Rescue, Ripcord or Medjet Horizon. If you keep it more domestic or have regular insurance to supplement, check out IMG, Allianz, Medjet Assist, or World Nomads. You can get quotes and review such plans at www.insuremytrip.com

 

[Pequenita]

Does travel insurance cover you when you are skiing at your regular resort and need to get airlifted? Or, get in a car accident on the way and need to be airlifted? In the game of odds, I think it’s more likely I’ll need an airlift within 90 miles of home than outside of 90 miles.

 

[dbostedo]

Does travel insurance cover you when you are skiing at your regular resort and need to get airlifted? Or, get in a car accident on the way and need to be airlifted? In the game of odds, I think it’s more likely I’ll need an airlift within 90 miles of home than outside of 90 miles.

Travel insurance is usually issued for a specific trip... you have to provide dates, flights or other travel, where you're travelling to, etc. I've typically gotten it for any expensive trips, particularly international ones. You also typically have to buy it pretty far in advance of your travel.

But your question piqued my interest, so I found this :

https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-plans-coverages/annual-travel-insurance/

They do offer annual trip insurance that covers multiple trips and is focused on the medical benefits (as opposed to some policies that are more about getting your flight and rental costs back). That kind of thing may work to cover someone during ski season, but I'm not sure of the rules.

 

[Jim Kenney]

Here's a little perspective from National Ski Areas Association, Avalanche Safety Fact Sheet, Dec 2018:
There have been 258 avalanche fatalities in the U.S. in the last 10 ski seasons (since 2008/09), with the vast majority occurring in the backcountry. There have been an average of 26 avalanche fatalities per season over the past 10 seasons. Only 12 of those reported avalanche deaths occurred within a ski area’s boundary, less than 5 percent of the total avalanche fatalities. In those same 10 years, there were approximately 556 million skier visits across the U.S.; the odds over the past 10 years of this happening would have been 1 in 46 million.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Travel insurance is usually issued for a specific trip... you have to provide dates, flights or other travel, where you're travelling to, etc. I've typically gotten it for any expensive trips, particularly international ones. You also typically have to buy it pretty far in advance of your travel.

But your question piqued my interest, so I found this :

https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-plans-coverages/annual-travel-insurance/

They do offer annual trip insurance that covers multiple trips and is focused on the medical benefits (as opposed to some policies that are more about getting your flight and rental costs back). That kind of thing may work to cover someone during ski season, but I'm not sure of the rules.

I checked them out also and I’m calling them for more info tomorrow. They cover anything further than 100 miles from your home. For me that covers everything but my little local bump. I do want to make sure it covers both on and off piste skiing within resort boundaries. Extreme skiing is excluded so I guess that depends on their definition.

@Jim Kenney in bounds avalanches got me thinking but that’s not my main concern for sure. I am concerned with steeps and trees.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

I am Canadian, minority on this site, but we always have out of country extended medical.

primarily it's for travel to the US, we are there often and no Canadian wants to be there without extra medical coverage.
lots of horror stories of Canadians selling houses or being deep in dept over US medical expenses, luckily never have had an occasion to need it so far.
Recently a friend without extra coverage broke her shoulder on arrival at LA airport - racked up a 15k bill at the local Kaiser hospital before she returned on the plane home same day. On return filled that $1100 US pain killer prescription for $15 at the local pharmacy.

on the other hand trips to the ER doctor in Norway NL, Cuba and Thailand cost less than extended coverage.
so much less we haven't bothered with the paper work to collect.

however just paid for the wife's ambulance, MRI, Cat Scan, Xrays, Blood Work, Hospital Stay and Medications after being run over this September in Chartes France
cost 220 Euro and our standard medical will reimburse it.

I've never heard of a different coverage being required for an air evac in Canada but would expect if you cause search and rescue to be activated beyond what would be normally expected some one is probably going to have to pay for it.

 

[Itinerant skier]

I am Canadian, minority on this site, but we always have out of country extended medical.

primarily it's for travel to the US, we are there often and no Canadian wants to be there without extra medical coverage.
lots of horror stories of Canadians selling houses or being deep in dept over US medical expenses..........

So true. A significant part of our business is flying snowbirds home to Canada after they fall or become ill while in Florida or Arizona for the winter. The Canadian assistance companies long ago realized that even at 7-10k usd per flight hour, it's cheaper to pay us to fly them back to a Canadian facility than to pay for 1 day in an American ICU.

As others have mentioned above, travel cover can be purchased on a per trip or annual basis. Membership programs like Global Rescue or Medjet Assist/ Horizon are typically purchased on an annual basis.

 

[Ken_R]

I have medical insurance, but I am considering buying a travel policy. I am thinking of the expenses that could be generated by an emergency evacuation via life flight and/or ambulance, trauma unit, etc. Has anyone ever made that kind of purchase and if so, what company did you use?

You are still more likely to be injured by a fall or hit by another skier/boarder than an avy, heck, even driving to the slopes is way more dangerous. So the trip insurance is a good idea regardless.

 

[RJS]

Here's a little perspective from National Ski Areas Association, Avalanche Safety Fact Sheet, Dec 2018:
There have been 258 avalanche fatalities in the U.S. in the last 10 ski seasons (since 2008/09), with the vast majority occurring in the backcountry. There have been an average of 26 avalanche fatalities per season over the past 10 seasons. Only 12 of those reported avalanche deaths occurred within a ski area’s boundary, less than 5 percent of the total avalanche fatalities. In those same 10 years, there were approximately 556 million skier visits across the U.S.; the odds over the past 10 years of this happening would have been 1 in 46 million.

I completely agree with your point, which is that in-bounds avalanche fatalities are very rare. Getting into an accident to/from the resort, being injured in a fall, being hit by another skier are all much, much more likely. That said, the 1 in 46 million number is a bit misleading because those odds only apply in the aggregate. How many of those 556 million skier visits involved runs on off-piste terrain with the potential to avalanche? Probably a small fraction of 556 million. Of the fraction of skier visits involving avalanche-prone terrain, how many were on days when avalanche danger was high due to recent snowfall, wind loading, or other factors? Again, I'm not trying to dispute your overall point because the odds of being in an in-bounds avalanche is still very, very low, but for someone (and this could apply to a lot of people here on this forum) chasing powder and skiing steep, technical terrain, the odds could be more like 1 in 500,000 vs. 1 in 46 million.

 

[jmeb]

Again, I'm not trying to dispute your overall point because the odds of being in an in-bounds avalanche is still very, very low, but for someone (and this could apply to a lot of people here on this forum) chasing powder and skiing steep, technical terrain, the odds could be more like 1 in 500,000 vs. 1 in 46 million.

+10.

And those odds get even worse if you're someone who is blessed to ski avalanche terrain (i.e. anything over 30+ degrees) after new snowfall or high winds frequently.

And to clarify even further -- those are simply the odds for dying in an avalanche. The number of avid skiers I know that have at least one story of setting off some kind of slide inbounds isn't small. I've only been skiing avalanche terrain regularly for about 4 years, about 20-30 days inbounds each year. I've already had a small cornice collapse/slide, and a small slide that wasn't large enough to bury me, but could've carried me over rocks had a been a little less fortunate.

 

[Tricia]

The second skier from the Taos avalanche passed. His aunt set up a gofundme page to help the family recover expenses from the incident.
Travel insurance isn't a bad idea.

 

[Ken_R]

+10.

And those odds get even worse if you're someone who is blessed to ski avalanche terrain (i.e. anything over 30+ degrees) after new snowfall or high winds frequently.

And to clarify even further -- those are simply the odds for dying in an avalanche. The number of avid skiers I know that have at least one story of setting off some kind of slide inbounds isn't small. I've only been skiing avalanche terrain regularly for about 4 years, about 20-30 days inbounds each year. I've already had a small cornice collapse/slide, and a small slide that wasn't large enough to bury me, but could've carried me over rocks had a been a little less fortunate.

I set one off in Steamboat (inbounds, open terrain) a few years ago and it took me for a ride.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

I chose a travel policy through Nationwide. The base policy was $58 and I upgrades to a $250k medical Evac policy for an additional $20. It's an annual policy good for 12 months from the purchase date and covers both Bob and I. I am the primary policy holder so he is only covered if he is traveling with me. Since we don't travel separately, there was no need for separate policies. If you buy one, and one of you travels more than the other, just make sure he/she is the primary policy holder.

All the ones I talked to excluded heli-skiing and extreme skiing. Some were more specific and only covered marked trails. Nationwide specified only heli skiing and extreme skiing. I specifically asked about tree skiing and was assured that everything with resort patrolled boundaries is covered. That sounds a bit of a "grey" area to me. Maybe some one on ski patrol can clarify if treed areas are actually considered to be "patrolled" areas. Anyway, $78 for annual coverage is money that I hope is completely wasted!

https://travel.nationwide.com

ETA: It covers only travel that is more than 100 miles away from the home address. For me, that includes everything but my local bump in Big Bear.

@Ken_R Yikes! That was a looooong minute just watching it! I'm glad you weren't hurt.

 

[RJS]

+10.

And those odds get even worse if you're someone who is blessed to ski avalanche terrain (i.e. anything over 30+ degrees) after new snowfall or high winds frequently.

And to clarify even further -- those are simply the odds for dying in an avalanche. The number of avid skiers I know that have at least one story of setting off some kind of slide inbounds isn't small. I've only been skiing avalanche terrain regularly for about 4 years, about 20-30 days inbounds each year. I've already had a small cornice collapse/slide, and a small slide that wasn't large enough to bury me, but could've carried me over rocks had a been a little less fortunate.

Excellent points. Most in-bounds avalanches don't kill or injure, and as a result it's likely that relatively few are even reported. Given that both you and @Ken_R have been involved in small in-bounds slides, I would venture that the odds of being involved in an in-bounds slide, conditioned on being an avid skier who is skiing tough terrain in prime avalanche conditions, is not that low.

I set one off in Steamboat (inbounds, open terrain) a few years ago and it took me for a ride.

I skied Chute 1 at Steamboat a few times last season, including the day of and after 13" of new snow, and I'll be honest and say that not once did I consider the possibility of the slope sliding.

 

[Sibhusky]

Pacobillie of Epic and I were skiing in the West bowl when an avalanche, not triggered by us, passed in front of us. This was inbounds on controlled terrain. Our path had been leading right across where it hit. No one was caught. That was an eye opener for me. We'd had a lot of fresh snow, then it rained hard that night, and the next day the snow was very heavy. I'm sure they had blasted, but it still slid. The snow appeared well chopped up at the time.

My daughter was skiing another part of the resort within that same time period and was in the cliff area of East Rim when the slab she was on developed a crack. She stopped moving and called patrol and they got a harness on her and pulled her out. Also inbounds. But you can tell from her picture of the glorious untracked goodness that they weren't blasting right there. (Now that chair 5 is there, untracked is highly unlikely.)

 

[mdf]

insurance ...the rules.

I believe the standard rule in the insurance business is that it is someone else's problem.

After the Whistler Gathering, I was planning on going helicopter skiing. When I was getting travel insurance (refund, medical, and evac) for that, I got to worrying about overseas coverage of our regular insurance. So I separately bought accident med insurance for Whistler with a high-risk sport rider (it was just a couple extra dollars).

As it happened, I injured my knee at the Gathering and went to a walk-in clinic and got a diagnosis, X-rays, and a doctor's note. That note got me a full refund for the heli trip. But when we got home I submitted the walk-in bill to the other policy, and it was rejected on the basis that it was covered by my primary insurance. Which of course meant that it was covered by me as part of my deductible.