Anybody exercise their dive insurance policy?

[dgangi]

I have been looking over the various dive insurance policies from DAN, PADI, and Divesafe. They all have their pros and cons in terms of coverage. Both DAN and PADI are highly known name brands that should be respected anywhere in the world. And many of the comments that I read in posts on this board seem to lean towards DAN because of the research they do with respect to diver injury.

But what it all boils down to is this -- how good is the insurance when you really need it? After all, the policy limits themselves mean nothing if your insurance company bends over backwards to find loopholes so as to *not* pay for your expenses. And the best advertising in the world won't do you a bit of good when you have $50K in medical expenses and the insurance company is slow to pay. And the most "dive community" friendly company means nothing to me if I have my coverages forfeited because of some fine print.

So, does anybody out there have any stories to tell, good or bad, about actually using their dive coverage?

As with my homeowner and auto insurance, I didn't shop around solely on price or policy limits. I shopped around primarily based on claim satisfaction. And unfortunately there isn't a JDPower survey on how well dive insurance companies handle their claims...

Thx...Doug

 

[FredT]

I have a buddy that uses it regularly.

Pays off as advertized without delay, once primary insurance is settled.

 

[Scuba]

The only negative I've read somewhere is that there are locations in the world where they may not accept them. ( don't recall where, some remote place, remote for us anyways ) In this case you will have to come up with other means of at least partial payment, and then get re-imbursed by the insurance company.

As I recall, the eplanation given for this was the fact that some divers use these medical resources while on vacation, then return home and fail to follow up on the neccesary paperwork for the insurance company to reimburse the medical provider.

 

[CuriousMe]

Scuba once bubbled...
The only negative I've read somewhere is that there are locations in the world where they may not accept them. ( don't recall where, some remote place, remote for us anyways ) In this case you will have to come up with other means of at least partial payment, and then get re-imbursed by the insurance company.

As I recall, the eplanation given for this was the fact that some divers use these medical resources while on vacation, then return home and fail to follow up on the neccesary paperwork for the insurance company to reimburse the medical provider.

I have DAN insurance and one of the things they do is offer you a wire of cash to pay off medical bills immediately....don't know if all the plans has this, but I know the preferred does.

Peace.
Cathie

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

I have a freind who had to use it few years ago in Korea and to be hoest I t sold me they wear fast guick to get him help and assist him in money and in other ways plus got his family to him cant beat that in my book !!!!!!!!

 

[DiverG]

I had to use DAN's insurance while on a dive trip to Cozumel a couple of years ago. I had had some ear problems while on a dive, and after getting back to shore notice a little bit of bleeding in the ear. I called DAN, and was refered to doctor to be checked out. I ended up having to pay upfront, but was reimbursed in a timely manner after filing a claim when I got back home.

 

[tdesola]

Thank you all for answering this question! I am planning a trip to Cozumel, Mexico, and it sounds like the DAN preferred would be my best option.

Sincerely, Tammy

 

[fenderbender29]

the best answer in my opinionL YES. im not going into many details but an example is that i found out that even if you dive conservative profiles and dive correctly and surface correctly and are in shape---u can still get bent, beleive me, the policy is worth it.

 

[Cudabait]

I have been looking over the various dive insurance policies from DAN, PADI, and Divesafe. They all have their pros and cons in terms of coverage. Both DAN and PADI are highly known name brands that should be respected anywhere in the world. And many of the comments that I read in posts on this board seem to lean towards DAN because of the research they do with respect to diver injury.

But what it all boils down to is this -- how good is the insurance when you really need it? After all, the policy limits themselves mean nothing if your insurance company bends over backwards to find loopholes so as to *not* pay for your expenses. And the best advertising in the world won't do you a bit of good when you have $50K in medical expenses and the insurance company is slow to pay. And the most "dive community" friendly company means nothing to me if I have my coverages forfeited because of some fine print.

So, does anybody out there have any stories to tell, good or bad, about actually using their dive coverage?

As with my homeowner and auto insurance, I didn't shop around solely on price or policy limits. I shopped around primarily based on claim satisfaction. And unfortunately there isn't a JDPower survey on how well dive insurance companies handle their claims...

Thx...Doug

This thread was started some time ago, but it is a good subject. I'll add what I can and at the same time bring the thread to a current place of visibility.

A little over a year ago I experienced a severe barracuda attack to the face during a night dive in Honduras. So not only was this a very rare thing (I am the 20th documented attack on human since 1873) DAN has been exceptonal!! I had primary insurance. However, they asked if I would prepay and then make claim later. I could afford to do so and agreed. DAN's medical staff is superb!! They provided bilingual doctors 24 hrs. any time I called for info I spoke immediatly with the person who was managing my case. This was unusual in that it was not a "diving accident" as such because it did not involve any degree of barotrauma. So I call it a very bad fish bite that happened while I was using scuba equipment. Regardless, DAN has paid 100 percent of their part, including emergency transportation for me and my wife back to the states. I'll have some more minor surgery later this year to a tear duct. I'm certain they will pay whatever is their part as it is a result of the injury. I highly recommed DAN. My wife and I carry the prefererd policy.

Additionally, asearch can be conducted using "barracuda attack" as keyword and pull up most of the posts I have previously made regarding this incident.

Regards,

 

[theskull]

Have a friend who was asked to pay up front with a credit card, but DAN did reimburse everything that primary insurance did not cover.

And that's what credit cards are for, right?

theskull