Insurance in Switzerland/Are you covered?
High risk sports | 03. August 2009 Mountain rescue – who foots the bill?
Base jumpers leave invoices unpaid after costly rescue missions
The Jungfrau Microcosm is a Mecca for base jumpers from all over the world. Many return year after year to enjoy the thrills the steep cliffs offer, for instance in Lauterbrunnen. But what happens if a jump goes badly wrong, and who pays for the rescue costs and hospital fees?
Rescue services are often called out to aid injured base jumpers, and the cost of these expensive and complex assignments often remains unpaid.
Photo: archive
It usually goes according to plan. The jumper, suspended in the air, feels as free as a bird; there’s the adrenaline rush, the buzz and exhilaration flooding body and soul. Accidents and fatalities are few in proportion to the number of jumps, despite the considerable calculated risks base jumpers take each time they launch themselves into the void. And yet these are the accidents - especially the fatal ones - no one can forget. Compared with accidents in lower-risk sports, base jumping accidents are overwhelmingly serious ones, with grave injuries to the jumper, who is more likely than not lying in inaccessible terrain which requires a challenging and costly helicopter rescue.
Most of the injured are not Swiss citizens or residents who are covered by compulsory health insurance. Base jumping has a global following and thrill seekers come from far and wide. Many aren’t aware of the regulations and laws governing health insurance in Switzerland. Failure to purchase adequate travel cover at home, with language difficulties added into the mix at the holiday destination, often confuses matters. The shock of finding a bill for five figures or more in the mailbox after returning home appears to be unconducive to recuperation. It’s not uncommon for the patient to be never heard from again.
Hospital group fmi AG finds itself writing off the occasional debt. According to head of accounts Peter Wyss, the problem doesn’t lie with patients from EU countries, whose insurance companies reimburse the costs in most cases. It’s a different story with patients from overseas, such as Americans and Asians. There aren't many, Wyss says. The sums involved are in the region of around SFr.100,000 per year.
Unpaid invoices are commonplace in helicopter rescue: Air-Glaciers in Lauterbrunnen says it's rare for costs to be paid in full. It’s often a case of debtors being too optimistic about their insurance cover, and the language barrier complicates matters further. Many debtors believe the purchase of an insurance card such as Card 144 gives them sufficient cover for high-cost rescue missions. Most base jumpers purchase the card every year before their first jump. What they do not realise is that the so-called rescue card provides additional or top-up cover on an existing insurance policy. It pays for rescue costs that might exceed those paid or reimbursed by regular health or accident insurance.
It’s not only base jumpers who have poor paying habits; skiers, snowboarders and others who enjoy the high alpine outdoors and find themselves in an awkward predicament on the mountain often find themselves in an awkward financial predicament at home. Gratitude for rescue, surgery and hospital care doesn’t necessarily extend to picking up the tab.