Medical Insurance and Jumping ...

[KermieCorleone 0]

A recent mishap made me review my policy a little closer and found this exclusion:

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The company will not pay benefits for loss or expense incurred: as a result of an accident occurring in consequence of riding as a passenger or otherwise in any vehicle or device for aerial navigation: except as a fare paying passenger in an aircraft operated by a commercial scheduled airline maintaining regular published schedules on a regularly established route

I was wondering how many folks jump while having medical insurance that does not cover skydiving. Anyone ever just tell the EMTs that they "tripped and fell" if they know they are not covered?

- Neil

Never make assumptions! That harmless rectangle could be two triangles having sex ...

[smartalecc5 0]

I need the option for "Have medical insurance and don't know if it covers skydiving!"

[nbblood 0]

Quote

A recent mishap made me review my policy a little closer and found this exclusion:

Quote

The company will not pay benefits for loss or expense incurred: as a result of an accident occurring in consequence of riding as a passenger or otherwise in any vehicle or device for aerial navigation: except as a fare paying passenger in an aircraft operated by a commercial scheduled airline maintaining regular published schedules on a regularly established route

I was wondering how many folks jump while having medical insurance that does not cover skydiving. Anyone ever just tell the EMTs that they "tripped and fell" if they know they are not covered?

I'm wondering if a good lawyer could convince a court that a dropzone IS a commercial airline that maintains regular pubished schedules on a regular established route. It kind of depends on how you define that. Note: I am not a lawyer and certainly wouldn't want to find myself relying on the outcome of that debate.

I have medical insurance (military) that does cover skydiving. I have some free screws and plates from a free surgery to prove it. I also had a free emergency room visit. I also had numerous free follow-ups and physical therapy sessions.

I wouldn't risk financial catastrophe by not having adequate insurance for the sport.

Blues,
Nathan

If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

[DBCOOPER 5]

That would mean you not covered if you got hurt in a medical helicopter crash...


What kind of policy is it?

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[beowulf 1]

I am not sure that would call that free medical. You are in the military and I would consider the medical care as part of your compensation.

[Zlew 0]

As far as I know, for medical insurance (not Life insurance), they dont typically ask lifestyle questions (do you skydive etc.). Also, as far as I know, if you are insured, you should be covered regardless of what caused your problem/illness/injury.

[jsreznor 0]

Thanks for asking. Now I went to look and found that I my insurance company pays 100% after a $100 deductible for ground and aerial transport, in and out of network.

SWEET!

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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As far as I know, for medical insurance (not Life insurance), they dont typically ask lifestyle questions (do you skydive etc.). Also, as far as I know, if you are insured, you should be covered regardless of what caused your problem/illness/injury.

NO.

HIPAA specifically allows source-of-injury exclusions.

It only prohibits denying coverage completely in a group plan based on what activities you do.

As a skydiver your group plan at work still needs to accept you. It needs to pay if you fall off a ladder. But it's free to exclude injuries covered by riding a horse, flying a plane, skiing, or skydiving.

Individual insurance is subject to even fewer restrictions and less likely to cover skydiving/general aviation accidents.

[TheCaptain 2]

I have checked that my medical coverage covers a skydiving accident. That being said when I got hurt skydiving 8 years ago, I told them I fell off my roof (just in case)

Kirk
He's dead Jim

[thrillstalker 0]

i have health insurance now, but i still jumped while i didnt have any.

some people say it is worth it, some dont. for me it was, but you have to make up your own mind.

the way i see it, insurance companies have been fucking us over our whole life, maybe we deserve the reach around. lie away!!!

you can do better than falling off a ladder

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[rhys 0]

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I'm wondering if a good lawyer could convince a court that a dropzone IS a commercial airline that maintains regular pubished schedules on a regular established route. It kind of depends on how you define that. Note: I am not a lawyer and certainly wouldn't want to find myself relying on the outcome of that debate.

Most skydiving operations would be under a part 149 (or the FAA equivelant) maintenance schedule, part 149 is for sport aviation.

My DZ uses part 135 (air transport ops.) aircraft with the relevant maintenance schedule.

I doubt many that own their own aircraft would do so, we do as we lease our aircraft and that is the schedule thay are on.

You would have a hard time convincing an insurance company with a sport aviation maintenance schedule is an air transport provider.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[catfishhunter 2]

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As far as I know, for medical insurance (not Life insurance), they dont typically ask lifestyle questions (do you skydive etc.). Also, as far as I know, if you are insured, you should be covered regardless of what caused your problem/illness/injury.

Mine specificly list Skydiving,Rock Climbing and Snowmobiling under extreme sports that it WILL NOT cover injuries from. So I tripped and fell down a flight of stairs.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[NWFlyer 2]

I'm covered through my employer, and my plan does not exclude skydiving. I'm a lousy liar, so I'm not convinced that even if I were in a position to make up a story that I could do very well at keeping my story straight through all of the treatment (especially if it was extensive). Then of course, there's the scenario where I'm not able to 'splain myself but still very much need treatment and need that treatment to be paid for. Ambulance driver (or pilot) picks me up at a dropzone and notes the mechanism of injury ... and now I'm supposed to say I "fell off a ladder"?

I've also purchased travel medical insurance to cover me at the Belize Boogie last year (that covered international evac among many other things) and made sure to find a company that didn't exclude skydiving or scuba (since I was going to be doing both and they were the most likely to cause me to need to use the coverage). Same with buying trip cancellation insurance for a Grand Canyon rafting trip I'm taking this year - it's an expensive, non-refundable trip (and one that I won't be able to do if I'm injured), so I bought insurance and read all the fine print to make sure that it would cover the cancellation if I were injured skydiving (turns out that I had to purchase an extra bit of coverage, but it was available). Again, since skydiving is the most likely way that I'll hurt myself between now and the trip, it made sense to get coverage that would actually cover skydiving.

TL;DR version - read the fine print. Even if it is TL.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[jumpsalot-2 3]

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As far as I know, for medical insurance (not Life insurance), they dont typically ask lifestyle questions (do you skydive etc.). Also, as far as I know, if you are insured, you should be covered regardless of what caused your problem/illness/injury.

Mine specificly list Skydiving,Rock Climbing and Snowmobiling under extreme sports that it WILL NOT cover injuries from. So I tripped and fell down a flight of stairs.

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I've heard of sports as basic as high school football not being covered.

Life is short ... jump often.

• Quote

[Arvoitus 1]

I live in one of those filthy socialist states where, if you fuck yourself up and regardless of how you do it, you'll be stitched back together whilst all the bills will be paid by other peoples tax monies.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[skydiverbry 0]

Think I need to move to one of those "filthy socialist" states...my insurance company is killing me...almost literally
At the very least they're deciding to let me go blind because of an auto-immune disease.
I had to pay for my own blood test to determine I had the disease and the meds......well I pay 93% out-of-pocket for!!!!!


Bry

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[piisfish 140]

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I live in one of those filthy socialist states where, if you fuck yourself up and regardless of how you do it, you'll be stitched back together whilst all the bills will be paid by other peoples tax monies.

well in my capitalist country, which is also known as insuranceland, we separate insurances, even health. Accident is paid by your employer (and covers you for almost any kind of accident) and "illness" which is personal and mandatory, and in most cases paid by the insured.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Repeat after me.... "I did it playing volleyball! I always play V-Ball wearing a rig and a jumpsuit."

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[Andy9o8 2]

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I'm wondering if a good lawyer could convince a court that a dropzone IS a commercial airline that maintains regular pubished schedules on a regular established route.

I seriously doubt it.

[Krip 2]

Quote

A recent mishap made me review my policy a little closer and found this exclusion:

Quote

The company will not pay benefits for loss or expense incurred: as a result of an accident occurring in consequence of riding as a passenger or otherwise in any vehicle or device for aerial navigation: except as a fare paying passenger in an aircraft operated by a commercial scheduled airline maintaining regular published schedules on a regularly established route

I was wondering how many folks jump while having medical insurance that does not cover skydiving. Anyone ever just tell the EMTs that they "tripped and fell" if they know they are not covered?

Hi KC

Insurance companies have investors that they have to protect etc. Not sure if a EMT arriving at a DZ will accept the tripped and fell excuse froma person wearing gear or what the insurance co will decide.

OTOH We had a health insurance policy while attending college in 1970. There was some kind of a exclusion for injuries sustained involving privatly owned acft.

We injuried our ankle & fib on landing a parachute the insurance company rejected our initial medical insurance claim due to the acft exclusion policy.
A parachute is not a airplane

Good news bad news we were able to qualify for free medical care

Most of the survisable injuriess at the DZ's up to the mid 70's were usually a lot less severe than the ones we're hearing about today. Just a couple of broken leg/ankle bones in one or two legs/jumper. Tail bones, but never hearrd of the pelvis injuries.

Warning: I have no medical training the following is just the way we handled it almost back in the day in a dropzone ks.

Due to the insurance policy fine print. When a jumper had a clean break/s. We would remove the gear and transport to the local hospital. In the back of a PU or station wagon.

ER "what happened" Fell out of a tree

Transported a newer jumper with two broken legs on a door in the back of his own station wagon and stopped off at his house, picked up his wife on the way to the ER "because her huband had injured his leg". had a chase car following so we had a drive and the wife could drive her station wagon home

When we got to the ER they wanted to use a wheel chair to tranport the injured leg from the station wagon into the ER.

We suggested the ER folks use one of those long flat things on wheels (Gurny?) and moved the station wagon around so it was almost level with the Gurney? for ease of tranfer.

After we got the in the ER we told his wife his leg wasn't just injuried it was broken and it was actually both legs.

The Dr comes out with the x rays explains to the wife that her injuried husband had 2 spiral fractures on both legs and in the big and little bone below the knee.

"You mean the tibula and fibula Dr asks if we had any medical training. Nope 3,2,1, cya.

I doubt the insurance companies have changed their SOPS over the years.

But Is it really worth risking someones life by transporting a injured jumper to the ER from the DZ even if some people consider the injuries to be
minor.

I'll leave that for the medical people to discuss.

1)Save life
2) cause no further injury
3 ) Have excellent medical insurance
4) Have excellent loss of income insurance

One Jump Wonder

[david3 0]

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I'm wondering if a good lawyer could convince a court that a dropzone IS a commercial airline that maintains regular pubished schedules on a regular established route.

I seriously doubt it.

They said "a good lawyer".