I’m wondering if you get extra insurance for this or if this is covered simply under your work accident insurance. But what about kids? Is this covered by their health insurance?
We’ve been members of REGA for over 40 years. While not an insurance company they will cover costs that insurance doesn’t. And a bargain at f40 a year for adults and free for kids up to18.
I asked Perplexity:
Swiss accident insurance generally covers skiing accidents. If you work at least eight hours per week for an employer, you are automatically insured for both professional and non-professional accidents, including skiing accidents during leisure time, under the Swiss Accident Insurance Act (UVG). This insurance covers medical costs, rescue, treatment, and related expenses for skiing accidents occurring in Switzerland and worldwide. For those who are self-employed, work less than eight hours per week, or are unemployed, accident coverage must be taken out through their health insurance, often with deductibles and coinsurance.
However, insurance coverage may be reduced or denied in cases of gross negligence or reckless behavior, such as skiing off-piste in poor weather, excessive speeding, or skiing under the influence of alcohol. In such cases, the insurer can reduce benefits or require the insured to cover costs like rescue and treatment themselves. Also, personal liability insurance is recommended for third-party damages during skiing.
Accident insurance covers the injuries (via work for you and your kids should have a policy via their health insurance, right?). However, check your third party insurance for any damage you might cause - I heard a tale of a ski crash resulting in the posh watch of the injured party getting smashed in the accident. Might save you unnecessary hassle.
Kids must have the mandatory accident insurance. Check your policy.
- Basic compulsory medical insurance: For your medical expenses due to accident, your employers accident insurance, or your own for kids or adults without employer will cover everything (basic insurance, Lamal, KVG)
- The cost of rescue (ambulance or helicopter) are covered by 50% by basic insurance above.
- Complementary medical insurance can cover the rest of the rescue and trasport costs. It is optional. A membership or REGA is not insurance, but a donation, but REGA may waive part of the helicopter costs at their discretion if one member (esp a long-term one) needs helicopter rescue.
- Third party liability insurance (french: responsabilité civile, german : Haftpflichtversicherung) covers injuries to others. Cost around 150/year for a family. Highly recommended. Will cover compensation to the skier that you carshed into, including his loss of earnings which can be significant, and health costs not covered by insurance, such as the deductible. PS: loss of earnings due to ski accidents is by far the most common claims for this type of insurance, far more than eg bicycle accidents or young children damaging property or another child, which are also covered.
- You can never be 100% covered, eg if you cause a ski accident drunk, or grossly negligent, they will ask you to contribute a large part of the costs.
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For skiing in Switzerland, standard employment accident insurance covers you. If you have accident insurance through health insurance, you need extra to cover helicopter flights, such as REGA/Air Zermatt membership.
Based on 1st hand experience: your work accident insurance DOES cover: skiing (check), free-riding (check), split-boarding(check), climbing (check), surfing (check), cycling (check), and …wait…which was the last one?..ah, yes, punching a cupboard door. No…don’t ask.
what it does not cover… is the osteoarthrosis after all those events… damn!
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Bonus question: what if you are skiing on a cross-border area, such as Portes de Soleil or Samnaun/Ischgl for instance? Do you need extra insurance for when you are in the French or Austrian part?
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I can confirm most of those - but not the surfing nor the punching. Also, work accident insurance covers you if involved in a car crash in the Sahara (funny conversation when they try to recover the fees from the third party), or going >6000m in the himalayas (which most accident/travel insurances won’t cover).
Not sure if it’s “standard” but our accident insurance from work covers us globally… see above
For accident recovery and medical treatment, no, you do not need extra, the Swiss accident insurance covers you anywhere. Liability insurance can often be included with a standard house insurance policy.
The “minimum standard” of the Swiss accident insurance is :
- EU and UK : presenting the EU card format on the back of the swiss health insurance card: all costs covered by the swiss health insurance (as if they heppened in switzerland)
- Rest of the world : Swiss heatlh Insurance covers up to 2x what it would cost in Switzerland. For hospitalization, this means 90% of whtat it costs in Swirzerland (as in CH 45% is paid by health insurance, the rest is the canton so does not apply abroad).
This is why medical travel insurance still exists, and is recommended outside the EU…
Your employer provided accident insurance may have extra perks regarding private room or more compensation for rescue and travel.
In reality that actually means the US. The only place where medical care costs massively more than here.
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Is this another example of where America doesn’t dictate the world but the world actually mocks the US?
Everybody has a mandatory accident insurance. Either from the employer or as an addition to the main health insurance (it costs a few francs extra). I had a ski accident in EU while being unemployed. My health insurance covered the costs, but usual conditions of health insurance applied (deductible and 10%). The only thing that wasn’t covered was the transport (it was Red Cross, don’t know why), but that bill was tiny compared to the treatment in the very overpriced private clinic.
Know that and the insurance companies know that too.
Actually, some employees can even have multiple accident insurances.
If you work for many employers, each part-time over 20%, each one must insure you for non-professional accidents. If you have an accident, the employer you worked last (before the accident) takes care of the accident, but the cost is split among the different employer’s insurances.
That sounds very civilized.
Yes, important point. I had a ski accident just over the Swiss border in Italy after I retired. I had added the extra insurance into my policy (as one should), however I was not aware (prior) that the accident insurance followed the same insurance model with deductable and excess as in my base insurance. I ended up paying the full 2500 CHF deductable (due to multi-fractured collar-bone) with bills from both Italy and Switzerland.
PS. What also hurt (as well as the shoulder, pun intended) was the bills were split over two years health coverage as the accident was in December.
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That is unfortunate!
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If you are employed and on the employers accident insurance that is not the case, only if your accident insurance is part of your own KK.
That is why so many Swiss are keen to get as much illness etc. as possible on the accident insurance!
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