I read my Overwatch and Rescue Terms and Conditions. It says right up front that it is NOT insurance, but is an assistance plan. From there, it goes downhill. Its main focus is to be a coordinating agency, deferring to SAR for everything. As far as its funded benefit, in "hazardous winter events" (outside organized areas like ski areas or a commercial riding park), if SAR coordinating services are given before the need for medical advise/assistance is initiated, all you get is SAR benefit:
"the fully funded assistance benefit will be limited to either search & rescue expenses or medically necessary evacuation
to nearest appropriate hospital, but not both benefits. Therefore, this plan’s fully funded benefit
will cease immediately upon the completion of search & rescue expenses or medically necessary
evacuation to nearest appropriate hospital, whichever benefit has been provided first."
Since most need for service events start with SAR, I don't see how Overwatch ever becomes helpful with med-evac. There is a conflicting provision further in the document that might give you hope:
The necessary and reasonable search & rescue costs and expenses incurred by the emergency consultant on behalf
of an O&R customer, for the purposes of satisfying a payment demand required by the O&R customer for search,
stabilization, and transportation to the nearest appropriate medical or safe harbor facility; which have been
determined necessary by the responding rescue authorities in order to prevent serious bodily harm or death. The
O&R customer’s search & rescue expenses benefit under this plan will cease immediately upon the O&R customer’s
arrival to the nearest appropriate medical or safe harbor facility, following a search & rescue event.
This sounds like evacuation, and even medical evacuation, may be part of the same incident, and not end Overwatch obligation when the medical helicopter leaves its home base. Maybe.
Specific exclusions could lead to disputes. "There is no medical assistance for injuries resulting from . . .
13. Intentional self‐inflicted injuries, attempted suicide or being in a state of insanity.
14. The O&R customer’s deliberate exposure to extraordinary danger (except in an attempt to save human life). . ."
Will Overreach interpret standard mountain snowmobiling to fall into these categories?
And, to clarify you get one benefit or the other, no medical benefit following a snowmobile SAR effort:
20. A medically necessary repatriation request, after a search & rescue assistance, as a result of hazardous
summer or winter sports, has been completed.
Snowmobiling is not specifically listed in the "Hazardous Winter Sports" definition, but snowmobiling may well be a hazardous winter sport under the Overwatch catch-all in the definition of hazardous winter sport:
". . . or any other sport undertaken in non‐commercial areas that have no care, custody, or
control from a commercial operator and/or for thrill/profit/notoriety/publicity/endorsement/social
media attention‐seeking, versus standard recreational purposes."
Given the overall tenor of the benefit description, this plan is more oriented to ordinary travel outside the US. It is offering advice to local help, and only in very tightly defined circumstances will it apply. It is not what SPOT offered in years past. Read it yourself, and see if Overwatch is what you think you need/want/are getting. It might help, I bought it, I might renew, and might even extend it to a family member.
