I need to look into exactly what is covered with the insurance that Garmin sells.

Thanks for the info!


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Dick, thank you for sharing your experience with us. I just ordered the inReach from RAF, after putting it off for so long. Also, I had no idea that you can become a member of Life Flight Network. Signed up the family, especially for my wife since she does a lot of hiking in the Cascades and is a big "Roadie" cyclist where she will be on the road far from home at times. She has done that crazy RAMROD ride three times!

Depending on the weather I will be heading back to Idaho later next week. Glad your wife is ok and thanks again for posting.
Cheers!
Doug

This looks like an option for those of us not in the PNW, http://www.medevacco.com/membership.html

Life Flight recently started up operations in the north Puget Sound area.
For years, the only medevac outfit around here was Airlift Northwest.
Membership with them is $60 / year for WA & $99 in SE AK.
https://www.uwmedicine.org/airliftnw/membership
Here is a clip from the Airlift NW website:

"The membership costs $60 a year in Washington and covers all members of your household. Household members are defined as you, your spouse, unmarried partner and any children (dependents) claimed on your current income tax return.
All members of the household are required to have an insurance product that includes air medical transport benefits. Members must be listed on the enrollment form."

The Life Flight website doesn't specifically say that you must have insurance with medevac coverage,
but they seem to imply it.
https://www.lifeflight.org/membership/
"• No out-of-pocket expenses for medically necessary emergent flights if flown by Life Flight Network. Life Flight Network works directly with your insurance company (if any) for their portion of the payment and the rest of the cost is covered by your Membership.
• Covers you, your spouse or domestic partner, and dependents you claim on your income tax return. Elderly and disabled family members living in the same household can also be covered.
• Life Flight Network Memberships are not an insurance policy but secondary to insurance carriers."

Another thing to consider-- if you have Life Flight insurance but Airlift NW (or whoever) is closer,
is the membership coverage reciprocal?
IMHO the bottom line is to do your due diligence before you enroll-- the devil is in the details.

I saw mention on Lifeflight and on AirMedCare's sites about them being reciprocal with some other providers listed. It looked like there is overlap and support between the organizations. It would require some deeper reading for sure.

https://www.airmedcarenetwork.com/air_a ... ea-pricing

Their coverage map seems to cover most of the country except WA and New England. I used to belong to CalStar, then they became part of AirMedCare. Through my part time employer, Vail resorts, I got a discounted membership. I believe some other groups and large employers also offer a discounted rate. Seniors 60 and over also get a discount.

Pierre

This is the inside of the Lifeflight chopper. They send a paramedic, a nurse and the pilot. They had an intravenous line into her while she was still on the ground. They gave her pain medication before they moved her. Once inside the chopper they hooked her up to the monitors and continued with the drug medication, etc. These were extremely professional people. The cost of this helicopter is probably in the millions.
They are based in Missoula, Boise, Pullman, Spokane and elsewhere. They are on standby 24/7. This was the 4th of July and they were there in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. They do not have a requirement that you have other airmedivac insurance. It says that the normal minimum charge is $19,000 or much more. I do not think our normal medical insurance will cover all or much of that. Mountain Doctor, you are a physician, what do you think? The last time that I saw them in action was at Johnson Creek years ago. My wife and I were among the first responders to the midair at the end of the runway. They brought in two Lifeflight choppers. I think $69 a year is a great investment.
Fly Safe Dick

Thanks for sharing your story. It is really reassuring knowing that SOS button is that effective. I carry the search and rescue policy through GEOS. It covers up to 50K in search/rescue costs. It seemed like a pretty good deal at 25 dollars but I may up the coverage to 100K after reading this thread. I have my InReach mounted right next to me. It is always charged. I keep a backup battery with charging cable nearby and if I ever need to activate it I will do so in the air. I am concerned that I might either be incapacitated by injury after crash or in a place where I do not have line of site to the SE portion of the sky. I am glad your wife is doing with a relocated hip.


Josh


https://www.geostravelsafety.com/sar-memberships.html

Josh and Grass strip ipilot
I also have the GEOS membership thru Garmin. I bought it to defer any search and rescue costs that some states levy. I did not buy it for the medivac situation. GEOS says that for the membership benefits you must have notified them by an accepted sos device like the Garmin in-reach. What if you are unconscious and someone else calls it in on a satellite phone? I am not sure but I would rather not take the chance. I guess you might want to check more closely what the fine print means. We are not talking about a lot of premium cost when you compare it to your plane insurance. Let me know what you find out. Dick

Great info. Thanks! Definitely need to look into this more.


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Have not had to use it, but have it case. Suppose to cover world wide.

https://www.masamts.com/

This guy has a lot of good info for insurance options.

https://hikingguy.com/hiking-gear/in-de ... er-review/

pic1083

I have also considered MASA. If you look at the fine print under exceptions, it states that if you are a crew of an aircraft in an accident you will be an exception to their coverage. Look over this exception and tell me what you think and what would a lawyer think. I am somewhat of a pessimist when it comes to insurance coverage and the fine print. Dick

GEOS is more expensive than Lifeflight or Medevacco, but for one premium it covers all of the places I fly during the year. It looks like adding family members costs more than the base premium for a single member, and the use of a particular device to trigger SAR does seem like a gotcha.