Life Insurance

[brukb]

I have been through this one with a fine tooth comb, me being a climber and my father being an insurance agent. This goes for disability insurance as well as life insurance.

If your policy denotes climbing specifically as a high risk activity, or just makes a blanket statement in regards to "high risk activities", then your policy is sure to be denied if a claim is filed after a climbing accident. Although we all know that,except for a small fraction of a percent of climbers, we are safer climbing than driving to our day jobs in Mundania, the rest of the world thinks that "Vertical Limit" is what climbing is all about. So we get shafted while Joe Road Rage can have a sweet policy.

My father watched for policies that came across his desk that did not specify climbing, or more importantly, any high risk activity, as an exclusion. He finally found one and I bought it. The exclusion was probably left out due to sloppy policy writing, but will stand up in court. Those policies are out there and an agent who looks hard enough can find one eventually.

I also have membership in the American Alpine Club (surprised no one has mentioned that yet) which includes some insurance, and sells special insurance for the higher-risk expeditions. It's really a significant benefit.

Working in the health care field I have learned that having a serious accident and having to foot the bill yourself is seriously suckfull. You spend down all your assets until the State puts you on Medicaid, which is relatively poor coverage that you wouldn't want to have to depend on.

If you have no family or loved ones then the cost of death might not matter to you. However If you sustain a significant head injury, for example, without disability insurance, then you would get a minimal amount of health care and could end up wearing dirty diapers stuck in a broken wheelchair in a nasty nursing home. Seen it happen way too many times. BB

[freeclimb9]

quote:

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Originally posted by brukb:

I also have membership in the American Alpine Club (surprised no one has mentioned that yet) which includes some insurance, and sells special insurance for the higher-risk expeditions. It's really a significant benefit.

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I understand the AAC insurance to be for Rescue and Evacuation. Is the coverage for more than that?I do know the AAC puts a cap on the Search and Rescue amount. On their webpage http://www.americanalpineclub.org/members/insurance.shtml"There is a per accident limit of $10,000.00. If more than one AAC Member is involved in an emergency rescue or evacuation resulting from the same occurrence, the total amount payable will be no more than $10,000.00." I also got an email quote saying basically the same (the cap was some thousands higher with additional cost, but not nearly enough) when I was seeking coverage for a Greenland trip. The Danish Polar Center requires a huge amount of SAR insurance (like $130,000) --the lack of coverage has postponed that trip for the Spring. If I lived in the UK, I could get that coverage with the British Mountaineering Council.

[imorris]

I consider the AAC insurance to be worth the price of membership alone (of course I have not paid anything but junior member prices yet). I would be particularly interested in having this insurance when climbing on Mt. Hood, where if you so much as break a fingernail there's a photo of a blackhawk in the Oregonian the next day with a caption "WHO PAYS FOR THIS?" All goes back to the OES debacle in 1986. But I digress. There has not been a case where a climber has had to pay. Yet.

-Iain

[allison]

Curious to know if anyone has had trouble with health insurance in this way. When I got hurt, it cost my HMO about $8K in surgery and rehab, and we're not done yet. Never heard 'boo' about it in terms of the fact that it was a climbing accident.

And while we're sort of on the subject, my work is dangerous enough that we are considered somewhat uninsurable for long-term disablity insurance, but I would like to see about getting some, because my job is kind of dangerous. Anyone found a carrier that provides this service to people who work with their hands?

[Craftmatic]

Even if you get a cheaper life insurance policy that excludes climbing (ie won't pay if you check out with a rack around your shoulder or wearing clips and fluorescent spandex), you can cover yourself with an accidental death and dismemberment policy. These are often pretty cheap.

[Tom]

Allison... I race motorcycles (road race, not dirt) in addition to climbing. I specifically asked Group Health concerning the limits of coverage, and there were no additional limits. Climbing, being far more recreational, is no problem.

[Zee]

I just got life insurance through USAA (family memeber, spouse, etc in military)and I had to fill out a climbing addendum stating what type of climbing I did, frequency, and whether I plan any major climbing trips- (they defined it as the Himilayas but did not mention Alaska)in the future. The coverage was for $250,000 and for only $235/year. Just my 2 cents!

[Bug]

If I fell off a rock and died, Zee's policy would be what I would want. If I fall off a rock and can still talk, I will say that a giant child picked me up and tortured me for no apparent reason. I would NEVER say I purposely did something that 95% of all Americans consider to be very dangerous. Insurance companies run test cases occaissionally. The law is not a static thing. If the insurance industry can tweak a little bit here and a little bit there, pretty soon, they are paying out less. One way they test the law is to take a case to court. Let's say you break your ass at Index and report the whole climbing story complete with how the guy who gave you the beta described being really gripped at the point from which you fell. You file your claim and your insurance company denies it. You now have the option of giving up or hiring some pond scum lawer who will take your case pro bono. He will assess how often the insurance industry and your company in particular are willing to cough up a little more money or fight you in court. If they fight you in court and you lose, you do not have to pay the pro bono but you do have court costs, filing fees etc which add up very fast and would easily out price a broken leg.

Meanwhile the insurance industry has documented a set of reasons for which they are not liable for climbers who break their asses at Index. And so it goes...........

If you get hurt, do all climbers a favor, say you fell down the stairs or something. Do not admit to climbing!