Year-round, worldwide, during leisure time; Rescue costs are those costs incurred by local rescue organisations (including the costs of rescue organisations from the neighbouring country in the event of incidents near borders), which are necessary if the insured party has an emergency/accident or must be rescued from mountain or aquatic distress or from off-road terrain, either injured or uninjured (the same applies accordingly in the event of death). Rescue costs are verified costs of searching for an insured party and his or her transport from off-road terrain
a) to the next accessible road or
b) to the hospital closest to the site of the accident.
Costs for transport and transfer within one’s country of main place of residence #
After a rescue covered by insurance, the costs of transfers of injured/ill persons and transfer costs for deceased persons within the same country as the insured party’s main place of residence shall be covered without limitation on costs. Transfer costs are costs of transport from one hospital to a hospital near the main place of residence or to the main place of residence itself.
Transport costs are the costs of transporting a deceased party to his or her last main place of residence. Transport must be organised by the contract organisation stated on the Alpenverein membership card. If this is not the case, max. EUR 750 shall be compensated:
Europ Assistance, tel: +43/1/253 3798, fax +43/1/313 89 1304, email: aws@alpenverein.at
Exclusions relating to rescue costs #
The insurance protection does not extend to:
- Accidents/illnesses as part of work-related or other professional activities and accidents by members ofrescue organisations, which occur as part of organised rescue deployments and training on behalf ofthe rescue organisation. However, accidents during paid work by members of the Österreichischer Bergführer Verband as qualified mountain and ski guides, and as officially approved and qualified hiking guides are insured.
- Accidents when using motor vehicles, however motor vehicle accidents directly and indirectly on the way to and from meetings and events of the Österreichische Alpenverein and on the way to and from statutory (including private) association activities (hikes, snowshoe hikes, mountaineering, climbing, via ferrata, skiing, ski touring, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, white water canoeing, canyoning and mountain biking/trekking tours as well as when using cable cars and lifts) are insured.
- Accidents during participation in provincial, national or international competitions in Nordic and Alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyling, freeriding, bob, ski-bob, skeleton or luge and when training for such events;
- Accidents involving insured persons as pilots (including Sports pilots, Operators of aviated devices, such as e.g. paragliders), where they require a permit for this under Austrian law, and as other crew members of aircraft and when using spacecraft or as a drone passenger;
- Dives featuring exceptional risk (dives of 40 m or more, ice diving, diving expeditions);
- Participation in mountain bike competitions (downhill, four cross, dirt jump), including the official training and qualification runs;
- Record attempts relating to speed, diving and aeronautics;
- Accidents/illnesses on trips with planned ascents of mountains with summits over 6,000 m in height and travel to the Arctic (destinations north of he Arctic Circle), Antarctic (destinations south of the Antarctic Circle) and Greenland. *
- Participation in expeditions – an expedition is defined as a trip to rarely-visited areas lacking permanent infrastructure (e.g. huts) that lasts for several days or weeks and is undertaken for exploration or research purposes to a certain extent.
Clarification:
In accordance with the exceptions stated above, all mountaineering activities and trips that are undertaken with the aim of climbing a mountain featuring a summit height below 6,000 m and that do not visitthe stated Arctic or Antarctic regions or Greenland are nevertheless insured even if these are designated as expeditions by an organiser. However, journeys with any kind of commercial background (professional activity) are exclused from the insurance coverfor the participant. Trips featuring planned ascents of mountains with a summit height above 6,000 m or trips to the stated Arctic or Antarctic regions or Greenland are classed as expeditions.
For ascents of mountains with a summit height above 6,000 m, a separate insurance is offered. Information and documentation, see: www.alpenverein.at/versicherung
The insurance protection also extends to accidents that occur when taking part in the activity of mountain climbing with exceptional risk (climbing at difficulty level 5 UIAA and up, free solo ascents (unsecured climbing) and icefall climbing).
* Travel to all parts of the mainland of Finland, Norway and Sweden is insured, even if north of the Arctic Circle. “Mainland” means that part of those countries that is reachable overland, including by use of bridges and/or tunnels.
