How Flip solved Michaela’s snowboard insurance

May 13
2
 min read
Last updated: 
March 15, 2023
A Man Holding A Snowboard On Top Of A Snow Covered Mountain

Important note: The statements made in this paragraph about the cover provided by Flip insurance for accidental injuries and the amount of benefits payable relate to the Flip Active product dated 31 May 2023. That product was withdrawn and replaced with the new Flip Active product on 27 June 2023, which has a different scope of cover for accidental injuries. These statements do not describe the scope of cover under that new product. Please refer to the current Product Disclosure Statement for details of that cover.

Michaela Davis-Meehan is a professional snowboarder, Freeride World Tour athlete and Flip ambassador. When she’s not in the snow, she’s in the surf, paragliding or making films. With her active lifestyle, she knows injuries are just a matter of time.

Michaela learned the hard way that getting insurance to cover her when she's snowboarding is a good idea, in case things go wrong. She buys it for peace of mind, so she doesn’t have to worry about how she’ll pay for stuff if she gets hurt doing what she loves. 

Private health insurance, life insurance and snowboarding travel insurance didn’t really suit her, so she went without insurance altogether. When she tore her ACL snowboarding, she was on her own.

Now she has Flip. It took her a while to find insurance that fits her lifestyle like an insulated, waterproof glove, but she’s so grateful she did. This is her story.    

Traditional insurance didn't fit Michaela's needs

I travel a lot. I’m usually away for three months at a time, and I always get travel insurance. There’s no way I’d travel without protection. At home, I used to have private health cover, but I paused it when I went away and forgot to renew it when I got back. It just slips your mind.

My adventure style is very spontaneous. A friend and I decided last-minute to go snowboarding in the backcountry past Thredbo. I tried to switch my private health cover back on, but it had lapsed or something and there was a waiting period. Annoying! So, I just went without. We weren’t planning anything crazy, just a fun day out. It’d be fine.

The reality of injury sinks in

I wasn’t doing anything cool, and it wasn’t even a good crash. It always seems to be the way with big injuries. We were just having fun filming each other, and I landed weirdly, back-legged, and heard the pop. I remembered I hadn’t sorted anything out insurance-wise. Such a sinking feeling. I felt super worried about what this fun day out would end up costing me.

I hiked out and then rode back to the car. It was sore, but hopefully just inflamed. I could still walk. So, I conveniently erased that popping sound from my memory. But after a phone consult with Dr. Mum, I was straight off to the doctor. Full ACL tear. Crap.

The long road back

I did three months of pre-surgery rehab to straighten my leg, which made for a much better recovery. Then I had the surgery, then more rehab. I ended up taking a full year off snowboarding to get myself right. I’ve heard of so many people who go back after six months and tear it again. I couldn’t face that. I put in the hard yards, and now it’s as strong as ever.

Finding Flip

After that incident, I decided I’d never go without insurance again. Here’s why Flip works so well for me:

  • I have a lot of hobbies, and some are on the extreme side. Flip covers me when I’m snowboarding out backcountry.
  • It’s hard to find insurance that covers you when you’re competing. Enter Flip. I love that they welcome and celebrate pro athletes, as well as weekend warriors!
  • Last-minute adventures are the best, so anything with a waiting period doesn’t work for me. You can turn Flip on literally at the top of the mountain if you need to.
  • I’m away for months at a time, and I hate paying for cover that I’m not using. Flip’s on-demand cover was a huge attraction for me because I could turn my cover on and off whenever I wanted.

With Flip, I can snowboard, surf, paraglide, hike and try new things with one less thing to worry about, which makes me want to go on even more adventures and give it my all.

A snapshot of Australian injuries in Financial Year 2020

90%

of Aussies did some exercise at least once
team sport being Soccer followed by AFL & Rugby

1.75

million
injuries 

were estimated

52,300

sport injuries were serious
enough to require a
hospital stay

29%

were cycling injuries
(up by 18%)

Double

injuries in men
than women

15-24

years
highest decade of
injury

1/2

of main injuries were a
fracture, followed by soft
tissue injuries
The true cost:

$29.8

billion
paid by Aussies for
out-of-pocket* healthcare
costs


*not covered by Medicare or private health insurance
Note: All dates unless
otherwise stated refer to
Financial Year 2019-2020
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Sports injury hospitalisations in
Australia, 2019–20
Stuart Babbage and Dr. Dana Hutchins for PwC, Australia’s out-of-pocket healthcare problem
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That’s why we created Flip
Personal accidental injury cover from $7 for a single day
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You should consider whether Flip Insurance is appropriate for you. It’s important to read our Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Services Guide and Target Market Determination before signing up, too. Issued by HCF Life.

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Tell me more about Flip? 

Drop us your email and we’ll tell you about the latest ways Flip is helping people do more of what they love.

Privacy: Flip collects your personal information that you provide in this form for the purpose of providing you with information about Flip products, services and promotions. If you don’t provide your email address, Flip won’t be able to contact you about these matters. How Flip collects, uses, discloses (including overseas) and keeps and secures personal information, how to request access to and correction of your personal information, how to complain about a privacy breach and how this is handled, and how to opt out of direct marketing, is explained in the Flip privacy policy.
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