International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Ski insurance for off-piste in Austria

[charlier]

We have a family membership with the Austrian Alpine Club, UK section. Provides rescue and repatriation insurance. https://www.alpenverein.at/portal/s...ip-english-version/0100_insured-worldwide.php

 

[Sibhusky]

At the moment I'm still planning the AAC. For one thing they have an English version of their website and insurance documents. I can speak adequate social German, but as I discovered when I had to go to the hospital, there's a whole bunch of vocabulary I'm missing medically and the same applies to insurance issues.

 

[PowHog]

You need to bear in mind that if you join the Alpine Club you need to sign up all family members you like to gain coverage for. On the plus side an eventual repatriation is covered too.

The mountain rescue covers SAR costs for you and family at 28 € total for a year, that is as cheap as you can get that.

 

[Slim]

Note that many (most?) insurance policies are only offered to residents of that country, so even though an (alpine) club might let you join, and might say they offer certain benefits, the actual insurance is always provided by a separate insinuate company, and they usually restrict what they cover for non resident’s.

So check the fine print of the insurance part.

As far as I can tell right now, the Austrian Alpine Club, does cover non EU residents, so seemed like a great option.

What I don’t like about the American Alpine Club rescue insurance, is that it isn’t straight insurance, but that instead you are supposed to work through their rescue center.
If I, or a member of my party, was involved in an accident in the mountains, the last thing I want to do is have to think who to call, or have to tell friends who to call. I want to just go with my/their instinct, which would be to call Mountain rescue or normal emergency number.

 

[charlier]

Somehow I thought that if you were skiing in Austria there was a small add-on you could buy for accidents off piste. But the Safety Card for Ski Arlberg states that it's for on piste only. So I went looking around for insurance and so far I've found that the insurance offered by the Austrian Alpine Club (AWS) is for accidents in your own country, that almost every travel insurance policy either excludes off piste OR is full on travel insurance and priced accordingly. I am already partially covered in that arena and only looking to cover problems off piste. Then I found one for that, but while they will cover my daughter, I'm too old. They refer me to another group, but then it's back to full trip insurance. There seems to be plenty of these policies for the UK. But so far I've come up with nothing for an old lady in Montana skiing in Austria.

Anyone?

Contact the Austrian Alpine Club, UK Chapter. They provide insurance for ski rescue, evacuation, repatriation, and medical costs. AAC (UK) provide discounted family rates and cost savings for overnight accommodations in huts. Helicopter rescues are much more common in the Alps, given the complex and challenging terrain.

Go to https://aacuk.org.uk/

 

[Sibhusky]

Yes, I eventually settled on that (post #22), but I'm wanting until January to do it.

I belonged to the ÖAV back in the 80's when we did a number of hut hopping trips.

 

[SarahCornel]

I usually ski in Switzerland and always face the same problem. You can have tourist insurance, then ski insurance, then they can add something extra like Covid insurance. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about safety first, but I am very impressionable. When I read https://www.lifeinsuranceblog.net/5-million-dollar-life-insurance-policy-cost/
the second day I was already stressing and reaching for upgrading my policy. But sports insurances are always vague, I think they search for ways to get more money from people for less coverage. It gets me paranoid. I don’t enjoy the experience when I ski but wonder if the insurance will cover my hypothetical fall.

 

[Sibhusky]

Well, we didn't have any injuries or travel issues on the trip except for both directions being pretty grueling. I'm no longer interested in such a trip, given I have excellent skiing 16 minutes from the house. I definitely will not do it again.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Well, we didn't have any injuries or travel issues on the trip except for both directions being pretty grueling. I'm no longer interested in such a trip, given I have excellent skiing 16 minutes from the house. I definitely will not do it again.

Glad you got through it without injury this time. Sometimes travel there and back just sucks.

 

[socalgal]

Well, we didn't have any injuries or travel issues on the trip except for both directions being pretty grueling. I'm no longer interested in such a trip, given I have excellent skiing 16 minutes from the house. I definitely will not do it again.

How many days were you there for?

 

[Sibhusky]

How many days were you there for?

Mar 10-24. Skied 3 of those. Had hoped to ski six of them. Fortunately had scheduled 5 days in Innsbruck as well.

It took 26 hours of travel to get there, 26 hours to get home. Each of those was broken up with an intentional overnight break to accommodate missed connections so that I wouldn't be mucking up the core reservation in Lech.

When I lived in New Jersey with major airports available (and was 20 years younger) it was fine. And my local skiing was decidedy sub-par. These days, that equation is different.

 

[Fuller]

I used to be able to turn the worst trip ever into a positive memory but no longer. I've never been good at planning trips anyway, I just used to go and see what happens - then after the fact, my brain would rearrange itself to create some good memories...

Me: "Remember that time we arrived in Lihue at 12:30 in the morning after flying for 13 hours and no one was there to pick us up?"

My brain: "Well you should have called them beforehand and besides we got some really good waves after we spent the night sleeping in the planter outside"

Me: "Yeah, that trip was frickin' awesome"