What it’s really like to injure your knee skiing in Japan, and how Flip Roaming helps

As someone who has skied since he was six, Scot knew the kind of trip he wanted. He also knew the kind of cover he wanted, as he’d bought Flip Roaming before for several previous overseas ski trips, including to Italy. 

Why Scot got Flip Roaming

Scot is a Sydney-based infrastructure consultant and father of three who stays active year-round through cycling, mountain biking, trail running, boxing and skiing. He said he had “hardly ever hurt” himself in any serious way over decades of skiing, and did not really expect this trip to be any different. 

“I thought there was a risk of getting stuck somewhere if I went off-piste, but I really honestly never thought I would hurt myself on-piste,” he said. “I was more worried about the kids or my wife hurting themselves and I wanted to make sure they were looked after.”

The main reason he gets Flip Roaming for himself and his family is that he wants accidental injury cover for off-piste skiing. “I like getting off-piste with family and friends, but it’s really hard to get cover,” he said. “We were planning on going off-piste, so I thought it was just logical to cover that, because you hear some horror stories of how much injuries overseas can cost.”

The fall that changed the trip

The family arrived in Nozawa Onsen after visiting Tokyo, and on the first morning it had snowed overnight, so they got up early and, like always, were among the first on the lift. They were taking it easy because the kids had not skied for a while, sticking to green and blue runs and building into the day.

Late in the morning, while skiing down towards a lift and looking across to see where everyone was, Scot fell. “It was just a really slow, twisting fall,” he said. His binding didn’t release, and he felt immediate pain in his left knee. 

He remembers lying in the snow with the ski up in the air and then falling away to the side. “It wasn’t like I was flying along,” he said. “I wasn’t off-piste. I wasn’t going through moguls. I didn’t have a big stack. It was an uneventful fall” He managed to make his way down the mountain slowly, but he knew something wasn’t right. 

What happens next when you’re injured overseas

Scot’s wife rang their accommodation, the staff called the medical centre, and a car came to collect him from the bottom of the gondola. At the local clinic, an X-ray ruled out broken bones and he was given a brace and anti-inflammatories, with the first diagnosis being a probable sprain.

At first, Scot thought it might settle down in a few days. But the swelling kept building, and when he saw an Australian physio based in Japan, they began to suspect there was more going on. “That was the first time that I realised there might be a big problem,” he said.

The injury suddenly stopped feeling like an inconvenience that might keep him from skiing for a couple of days. It became something that might reshape his entire year. He was pretty devastated. “At first, I thought by the time I get home in a couple of weeks it’d be fine, I’d be back running and doing all the things I was expecting to do,” he said.

Instead, the holiday became a series of decisions. Brace or no brace. Ski or stop. Manage swelling. Get more advice. After much consultation and consideration, he ended up skiing carefully on-piste for two more days in a brace, and getting physio after each session. But the bigger plan was gone. The backcountry days with friends near Sapporo had to be cancelled. 

The injury that followed him home

Once Scot got back to Sydney, the injury moved into its next phase: GP, MRI, surgeon, rehab, then surgery planning. The MRI confirmed a ruptured ACL, a partial MCL tear and meniscus damage. In his case, the ACL had pulled off the femur.

He’s now booked for reconstruction surgery and has been doing what he called “prehab” beforehand to get as much function back into the knee as possible. He said one of the most surprising parts has been how quickly the muscle around the knee disappeared, and how much work is involved just getting strength and range of movement back before the operation.

Even with that, Scot has stayed matter-of-fact about it. “It’s certainly not something I wish on anyone,” he said, “but my view is that it’s not life changing and something I can work on.” Still, it is the kind of injury that keeps generating appointments, admin and recovery costs long after the trip itself has ended.

Where Flip Roaming came in

Flip Roaming has two relevant benefits for an accidental injury like Scot’s.

The first is the Overseas Medical Reimbursement, which covers eligible overseas medical care for an accidental injury up to $20,000. 

The second is the Extra Recovery Payout, which pays a set amount based on the types of injury listed in the benefits table. At the time of Scot’s injury, a complete tear of a ligament, muscle or tendon has a payout of $2,200, paid as cash directly to him to use however he wants.

That mattered because Scot’s costs did not begin and end in Japan. Overseas, he said the main costs were the X-ray, physio, brace and other injury-management items, which came to about $1,500 across six days. Under Flip Roaming, eligible overseas medical care can include things like diagnostic imaging, braces, medication, physio and other treatment directly related to the injury.

Then, once Scot was back in Sydney, the next stage of recovery began. He said the $2,200 Extra Recovery Payout had been especially helpful as the MRI, surgeon appointment, physio, GP visits, prescriptions and rehab-related costs started to build. 

For Scot, the value of Flip Roaming was that it supported both parts of the same injury: the immediate treatment overseas, and the slower recovery once he was home. “That’s been really helpful,” he said. “You start to get a lot of costs when you get home. This is not meant to pay for everything, but it does help support you to get the treatment you want.”

Scot’s claim experience

Scot had separate travel insurance for the changed flights and travel disruption, and he found the travel insurance claim far more gruelling than dealing with Flip. “The amount of information required and the steps you go through…I'd hate to be someone who doesn't understand the legal terminology. I only just finally submitted my travel insurance claim last weekend. There were about 20 documents attached to that claim."

He found the Flip experience very different. "Flip was quick, and the questions were pretty simple. The payment times were fast. The only delay was me wanting to make sure I gave the right information. You don't realise when you're overseas, it's really hard to get everything together. But doing it on the phone with Flip was simple."

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Ready for your next trip?

For someone heading on an overseas ski trip, Scot's story is a useful reminder that it is not always the dramatic off-piste moment that gets you. Sometimes it is a slow turn on a blue run, fifty metres from the lift, on the first morning of the trip.

Flip Roaming is designed to work alongside travel insurance by providing some cover for eligible accidental injuries overseas at covered destinations. For approved claims, it can reimburse eligible overseas medical care costs up to $20,000 and provide an Extra Recovery Payout based on the injury, paid directly to you to use however you want. Read the PDS to check whether Flip Roaming is right for your trip and the activities you have planned.

Scot is now focused on surgery, rehab and getting back to the activities he loves, with hopes of running again in the months ahead and easing back into skiing after that. We wish him all the best for his recovery, and for the future trip he is already thinking about — making it back to Japan and, this time, getting those off-piste adventures in properly.

About Scot

Scot is a Sydney-based infrastructure consultant and father of three. When he's not in the office, he's cycling, mountain biking, trail running, boxing, or planning his next ski trip. Connect with him on LinkedIn.