A guy i know does some bike hire and occasional guiding in Spain and posted this up on his facebook page.
He had a recent run in with the Guardia about insurance and they threatened that if any of his customers did not have insurance he would be liable for all costs resulting from accidents,including medical costs.
Anybody heard anything about this ?

I might be true but the Guardia are known, especially in Majorca for ‘inventing’ fines as a bit of a revenue maker.
A group of our friends were out there and got stopped at the side of the road and told they were breaking the law by riding 2 a breast, had to pay a €100 fine and given documentation. When examined later on by the local restaurant owner, as it was all in Spanish, they found out the documentation was in relation to a car traffic law and mentioned nothing about bikes.

Having said that, I’d never travel or ride a bike abroad without the travel insurance anyway. It’s really not that expensive and after my wife had quite a nasty crash in Spain once, which required a week in private hospital, several cat scans and surgery, the £18 we paid for AXA to cover us was well worth while!

i used to live in Switzlerand and insurance is compulsory there. no big deal. Its liability insurance in case you do something dumb and hurt someone else or damage someone’s property

Would be quite logical to me.

I can’t understand why any customer wouldn’t have insurance anyhow, you need it skiing etc.

Simple check, don’t take anyone out unless they can show you a valid insurance document.

The guy has no insurance on his hire bikes and the incident with the Guardia occurred after a quad bike trip when a woman customer had an accident and was quite badly injured.She had no insurance, and my friend had no insurance on the quads he hires out.Gets the customers to sign disclaimers,although that is now looking like they are not worth the paper they are written on.
He’s had to suspend the quad trips and it looks like the insurance is going to be hefty.The woman from the accident had a near £30,000 bill for the helicopter and operations.

The woman from the accident had a near £30,000 bill for the helicopter and operations.

Exactly! who’s gonna pay that, Insurance is always a good idea. My wifes total medical care from the accident was £11,500! and she didn’t even need a helicopter ride. Axa picked up the tab and we had to pay the £50 excess.

I think the correct title for the thread is ‘Compulsory business insurance for businesses in Spain’. He’d be in the same situation if he was hiring out lawnmowers, pedalos or deck chairs.

I think you should definitely have insurance but it’s worth knowing that mountain rescue for any EU citizin in an EU country is free. As a member of the EU you get the same access to emergency and medical services as a national of that country would get.

I think the correct title for the thread is ‘Compulsory business insurance for businesses in Spain’.

+1

mauja – Member

I think you should definitely have insurance but it’s worth knowing that mountain rescue for any EU citizin in an EU country is free. As a member of the EU you get the same access to emergency and medical services as a national of that country would get.

That’s not true unfortunately – see here for further details:

http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Articles/Search-And-Rescue-Costs

Joegg,

If I understood correctly, then I think that your friend (or whatever is a fool).

Its beyond me how anyone would think of hiring out quad bikes to someone who does not have any insurance. This is absolute foolishness and completely irresponsible.

It is this guys duty to ensure that people are adequately covered to exactly prevent situations like this from arising. It’s very simple. Just ask do you have insurance, if the answer is no, then you provide it at an extra cost.

The other thing is how would someone, go out and start a business like this without being aware of the legal/insurance requirements.

tallie,
That’s a pretty old article, as an EU citizen you do get the same access to emergency and medical services as a local would.

Some ski resorts send private helicopters, put you in private ambulances and send you to private clinics especially if they know yu have insurance. These services have to be paid for by anyone who uses them and that’s why I said you should definitely still have insurance. It’s the same in the UK with the free NHS and paid for private services.

I’ve been unfortunate enough to have had a few accidents abroad that needed treatment, skiing in Courcheval they pretty much wanted a credit card and insurance details upfront but in Spain and Austria I’ve been treated for free with just my NHS EHIC card.

He spoke with his solicitor,the Guardia were present,and went through the disclaimer everyone signs.His disclaimer was legal,but i don’t think it would cover an accident due to something failing on the quad,or a hire bike.He has no insurance for this.
Does the EHIC card cover for such activities as quadding ? It may entitle you to treatment but does it cover the whole cost?
I believe the woman in the accident did have to pay something.
His solicitor did point out to him that he was the only quad business in the region without insurance,and also his prices were half everybody elses.I think that sums it up.

A group of our friends were out there and got stopped at the side of the road and told they were breaking the law by riding 2 a breast, had to pay a €100 fine and given documentation. When examined later on by the local restaurant owner, as it was all in Spanish, they found out the documentation was in relation to a car traffic law and mentioned nothing about bikes.

The car traffic law also covers bikes, in the same way the Highway Code covers bikes+cars+pedestrians etc. That said, the law changed at least 5 years ago to permit cycling 2 abreast, as long as the conditions allow it. No idea whether or not that was the case with your friends, and while the Guardia Civil aren’t quite as corrupt as some may think (certainly compared to the local politicians…) I wouldn’t be overly surprised if they were over-zealous in applying the law.

(And running a quad-hire business without insurance 🙄 )

Mauja,

I think the point is that you are getting the same rescue service as a local if your accident occurs within an area covered by a resort; unfortunately it’s not free.

If you need rescue from a more remote high mountain area then it is operated by the French national government and is indeed free.

Another point is that insurance also covers repatriation costs – I’ve no idea whether the Spanish would charge you for a helicopter ride to hospital, but I’m 100% certain they won’t send you back to the UK for free.

Irrespective of my own personal insurance arrangements, I wouldn’t even consider booking a guiding company if they didn’t have insurance.

Having completed the first stage of my trail cycle leader, I am very aware of the risks that sit on your shoulders should a client be injured. So insurance is not only a legal requirement, but also a moral one as well. Why some idiot would take anyone out without covering his own a###se first is beyond me. To think that in Spain you would get away with it, considering their policing strategy is just plain daft. Goes right back to personal responsibility at end of day – get your own insurance and you won’t be short hanged by some dodgy johnny foreigner – simples!!!

I don’t know about cycling etc, but my parents run a scuba diving business in spain. They have to have certain protection set up behind the scenes (insurance for them, contract with a local private hospital, access to a decompression chamber) and I think they have to check clients’ insurance. They certainly have a day insurance package they offer to people without holiday insurance (although a decent holiday insurance policy covers most dives – other than particularly deep dives/stuff without an instructor present). I’m not sure how much of that is national law, how much is canarian law and how much is common sense but I can’t really see why anyone wouldn’t have that in place for their own protection. My parents have had claims against them – stupid stuff that the insurer has successfully defended, but it’s nice to leave it to the insurer rather than doing it yourself!