Travel Insurance incl. Mtn Rescue (outside Oz)

[Suz]

Hey guys,

I'm headed to hike to Europe for a couple months. It will be a combo of standard backpacking for a month city-to-city and hiking for about 2-3 weeks in Laponia. Does anyone have any recommendations on what travel insurance to get that would cover both standard European travel AND mountain rescue as well?

Suz

[Azza]

Most travel insurance that covers 'hiking' would be fine.
Read the fine print.

All depends on whether your actually hiking or 'mountaineering' / 'climbing' etc.. If your just carrying a pack on your back and not using ropes or doing anything particularly out there, altitude is okay to a point. then generally standard insurance would be fine and cover rescue costs, provided you follow the rules of the policy.
e.g. they may insist on certain conditions are followed in an emergency situation.

I've used Travel Insurance Direct several times for standard stuff, e.g. backpacking and hiking in South America.
If I'm dropping backcountry lines Snowboarding in Europe or the US - I use BUPA IHI
https://www.ihi.com/
They offer coverage for a range of more extreme stuff and better rescue coverage. I go for this one if I think the chances of ending up in a spot of bother are higher than normal.

When it's all said and done, I don't trust insurance companies.. they've weaseled their way out of a few travel insurance claims I've made in the last 15 or so years.
Stuff that was just annoying and too much trouble to argue or pursue. So don't automatically assume your always covered.
i.e. the motor cycle one always catches the bogans out in SE Asia.

Also the effort required to claim sometimes is quite a great deal of work.. e.g. police reports, translations of police reports, bank statements.. etc.. oh, btw. you have to wait a week to get the police report and you need to do this in person because it needs to be officially approved.. then the details of the report are wrong because of language / translation issues. Having to explain to insurance company. Then needing to follow due process to get the claim recognised..

Its not necessarily a case of I have insurance therefore I'm covered. But generally I think they're pretty good as far as medical coverage goes.

[Suz]

yeah medical / rescue coverage is all I care about - if i lose my stuff, so be it. I will look at BUPA IHI thanks. Good to hear about your experience claiming, even if you've had bad experiences! - I guess I will look at reviews on the web to see how these companies go on 'payouts'. I am a fine print reader anyway, so all good there. Will see if TID cover one for hiking rescues.

[vicrev]

Also,read the fine print on the definition of Pre-existing ailments/operations,in the policy you choose...we have had issues with travel insurance providers in the past, they do everything possible to avoid paying out on pre-existing conditions....be very careful.....

[Zone-5]

Best get your travel insurance here in Oz and fully explained before you travel. Medicare Private is my bet while I do insure with BUPA they are complicated and have very low payouts unless you have existing insurance with them.

[Suz]

ok thanks guys, I will look at both of these issues - I do have a pre-existing knee condition :I and do not have pre existing insurance with anyone!

[Zone-5]

When you find out something worth getting, post back here what it is...

[Suz]

Righto

[earthgrace]

Don't know, haven't used it: how good is the travel insurance that comes with certain credit cards?

[vicrev]

Travel ins through the credit card has been ok for us.....but,once again,read the fine print & conditions.......

[roysta]

If you're going to just hike, normal travel insurance will do, however, if you're going to climb and want mountain rescue insurance that's a different world.
If that's the case PM me and I'll provide you with several options.

Roy

[RonK]

If you plan to trek anywhere remote make sure your insurance covers you for helicopter evacuation.
In Nepal for instance it can cost up to $US50k for a helicopter.

[roysta]

If you plan to trek anywhere remote make sure your insurance covers you for helicopter evacuation.
In Nepal for instance it can cost up to $US50k for a helicopter.

Several alpine clubs overseas have worldwide evacuation cover as part of their membership fees.
So, no $US50k chopper fees.

[RonK]

If you plan to trek anywhere remote make sure your insurance covers you for helicopter evacuation.
In Nepal for instance it can cost up to $US50k for a helicopter.

Several alpine clubs overseas have worldwide evacuation cover as part of their membership fees.
So, no $US50k chopper fees.

Perhaps, but few trekkers would be alpine club members.

[beean]

Check out the Austrian Alpine Club. They have a British section which offers mountain rescue insurance for trips of a certain duration. I can't remember how long that is.

[photohiker]

Also, check out Geos Alliance. It's a rescue benefit, not really insurance.

http://www.geosalliance.com/geos-servic ... nd-rescue/

[Zone-5]

Also, check out Geos Alliance. It's a rescue benefit, not really insurance.

http://www.geosalliance.com/geos-servic ... nd-rescue/

The Indiviudal SAR benefit membership is available to all owners/users of GEOS supported devices.

Coverage under this plan extends to only one individual at a cost of $17.95 annually.

A prepaid private Medical Evacuation membership program as well as a prepaid private Search and Rescue benefit membership program. Maybe if more people in Australia knew about this it might help reduce the costs to the tax payer for rescues here in Australia. A thought anyway...

[roysta]

[quote= Perhaps, but few trekkers would be alpine club members.[/quote]

Yes, but you don't have to be a climber to become a member of an alpine club.
Membership has many benefits from lower tariffs at alpine huts in Europe and other places plus evacuation insurance.
I'm a member of the Austrian Alpine Club (UK division) and the American Alpine Club, both are excellent organisations.

[Suz]

Ok so I contacted Travel Insurance Direct and they DO NOT cover 'search and rescue' - under general exclusion 16. So just FYI people. I am currently looking for another insurance company for this trip.

[Suz]

I will look at Geos Alliance AND the Austrian alpine club - thanks!

[Suz]

Bah! Okay thanks guys.

*I have looked at GeosAlliance which looked very good, although unfortunately does not cover my device (ACR Resqlink+ 406).
*I have looked at the American Alpine Club briefly and that looks very expensive and a little strange (you have to be more thank 160 miles from home??) but the value of coverage is higher $500K USD.
*I guess that leaves me with the Austrian Alpine Club - which looks pretty good and is only 46.50 GBP. Provides less maximum coverage than other providers - only 25K euro but seems not to have silly exclusions.

For the countries I'm walking in this year - Iit turns the fees for SAR missions in Austria must be borne by the user, in Germany it depends on the circumstances, in Sweden by the tax payer, in Norway I haven't figured it out yet and in Australia it looks it depends on the state you're in(??) So maybe the 46.50 euro is well placed to simply save me from the confusion.

We also have reciprocal healthcare with both Sweden and Norway, but not Austria and Germany which basically mean I could get away without medical insurance but I'm going to play it safe anyhow.

Thanks for the all the help.

[nickthetasmaniac]

This may be too late to be of use, but have you checked if you're covered by your credit card provider? A lot of cards will provide some level of cover if you purchased the flights using the card.

[wildwanderer]

Thought I would return to this topic.

Its surprising how useless Australian Travel Insurance offerings are for people who like to get off the beaten trail. Exclusions and fine print galore.

I was on the hunt for a provider that would provide evacuation/transport to hospital cover if I injured myself while bushwalking in Europe. I wasn’t after search and rescue coverage(as already knew that would be an impossible ask for Australian insurers). All I wanted was cover if needed for a helicopter or ambulance transportation to hospital from a nominated point on the trail or at the nearest road etc. Seemed fairly simple to me.

My first point of call was Good2Go insurance. Recommended by Choice magazine. I read their PDS and they offer evacuation cover to another country or back to Australia. They had no restrictions on elevation just as long as I wasnt mountaineering or using ropes. Sounded good but I thought I should just double check if that included evacuation to the nearest hospital. Rang up their customer service and they refused to confirm if it would or not. Completely useless. Whats the point of having insurance if you dont know if it provides coverage or not.

Still on the search for a company that provides reasonable travel insurance without a huge amount of adventure activity exclusions or premium hikes and will specify they will cover evacuation to hospital if needed.

Holy grail would be a company that offers search and rescue coverage, evacuation and the more ordinary benefits like medical/cancelation/baggage etc. Unless you’re going on a multiday hike then the alpine club prices for search and rescue coverage are not great value at $100. (25K SAR only coverage for 100 dollars. In my case I would only need it for a one day hike!). If your skiing you can get the same search and rescue cover for about 8 dollars increase on the price of the lift ticket. (area is limited to that ski field though which makes its usefulness limited if your not skiiing)

[rcaffin]

We have been walking in Europe many times - typically for ~ 2 months at a time. We take out travel insurance for the flights, but for the mountains we relied on our OAV membership: Austrian Alpine Club. Very useful.

First clue: you can probably join the local club at the first Refuge you stop at. Austria has one big one, but most other countries have several or many. Doesn't matter: membership of any Alpine Club covers most of Europe. Reciprocal rights. (Check that it IS an Alpine Club.)

Second clue: if a Refuge/Hut is full, you may have trouble getting a bed for the night. Flash a Club card and NO WORRIES! You are IN (and at a discount too.) Happened to us a few times. Overheard at the front desk one time: "But we are full!" "They have cards!"

Cheers
Roger