Bobsleighing takes place on an enclosed artificial ice track with its own operator, and that makes both the injury pattern and the question of recovery different from sports in open country.
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In brief
A winter sports module is written for the piste. A bobsleigh track is not a piste: it is a sports facility with track rules, a start procedure and a pilot who steers. Insurers therefore treat the tourist passenger run in the same way as the competitive sport, because the injury mechanism is identical. Without a declaration in advance there is no cover, not even for ordinary medical expenses.
The risk lies not in a fall from height but in speed and lateral forces. In the bends those forces press the head and shoulders against the shell. If the sleigh turns over, abrasion injuries from the ice are added. Neck, shoulder and back complaints are the most commonly reported consequences and are exactly the kind of injury that only makes itself felt days later.
Before the run you almost always sign a participation form in which the track operator limits its liability. That paper affects your recovery against the operator, but not your own accident or travel cover. Tobogganing on a prepared run is a different product and is dealt with under tobogganing.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The essentials
Declare in advance
What you do not declare is not covered.
Notify before departure
Surcharge or separate module
Also for one-off participation
Note all three
Three covers
They do not always run in step.
Medical expenses
Accidents and disability
Liability
Emergency assistance centre
In an accident
Call before you incur costs.
Arranging a guarantee
Salvage and repatriation
Keep all receipts
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Medical expenses after an accident
No
Yes
Rescue and salvage costs
No
Yes
Permanent disability
No
Sometimes
Liability towards third parties
Sometimes
Yes
Taking part in competition
No
Sometimes
Taking part without the required qualification
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
A passenger run counts as the same sport
You need no skill: you get in behind an experienced pilot and the run is short. For your policy that is no mitigating circumstance. The classification into risk categories follows the speed and the forces on the body, not your role in the sleigh. If you book such a run during a winter sports holiday, declare it separately from the skiing. The winter sports module does not cover it.
The waiver at the desk
Operators have participants sign a declaration excluding liability. Such a clause does not always hold, for example not in cases of intent or deliberate recklessness, and for mistakes by their own staff Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code applies. But after an accident you do not want to depend on that argument in a foreign language. Your own accident cover pays out without your having to hold anyone liable.
Injury that only appears later
Neck and back complaints after a run are often only reported after you get home. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report the loss as soon as possible. If you wait too long, the insurer can argue that its interests have been harmed because the link with the run can no longer be established. Have yourself examined on the spot and ask for a written finding, even for mild complaints.
Skeleton, monobob and the natural ice track
Policy conditions sometimes name only bobsleighing. Skeleton, monobob and runs on a natural ice track are then not included, while they are different risks: in skeleton you lie head first, and on natural ice the track changes with the weather. Ask for written confirmation of which discipline is included. Steering yourself without a licence, competitions and the training for them remain excluded almost everywhere.
What does your premium depend on?
Passenger run or steering yourself. Riding behind a licence holder is assessed differently from driving a sleigh yourself.
Artificial or natural ice track. A refrigerated track with fixed profiles differs from a natural ice track that changes from day to day.
Recreational or in competition. Taking part in competitions and the training for them calls for a separate extension.
Destination. The costs of hospital care and adapted transport to the Netherlands differ considerably by country.
Sum insured for disability. With neck and back injuries, the disability payment is the part that really matters.
One-off or seasonal cover. One booked run is insured differently from taking part throughout an ice season.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
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Does bobsleighing fall under my winter sports module?
No. That module is written for skiing and snowboarding on open pistes. A bobsleigh track is a sports facility with its own rules and falls under special sports. You need a separate extension, even for a single tourist run. Ask the insurer to confirm the discipline by name rather than relying on the term winter sports.
I signed a waiver. Does that leave me uninsured?
No. Such a declaration is about the track operator's liability and says nothing about your own travel or accident insurance. That pays out on the basis of your policy, regardless of who is at fault. It does limit your ability to hold the operator liable, and that is precisely the reason to have your own cover in order before you get in.
My neck only started hurting after I got home. Can I still report it?
Report it as soon as you have the complaints. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code calls for a report as soon as reasonably possible. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to show that the complaints arise from the run. A medical file in which the run is named as the cause matters more here than the date of the report itself.
Does this also apply to skeleton and to tobogganing on the ice track?
Often yes, but check the wording. Some policies name only bobsleighing, so that skeleton or a toboggan run on the artificial ice track falls outside the confirmed cover. State which disciplines you are actually going to do and have that recorded in writing. Different conditions apply to tobogganing on an ordinary winter run than to the ice track version.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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