DAN Accident Insurance

[dkiely]

I'm starting my tec classes soon and I want to be sure I'm covered before we make our first dive. I've had DAN insurance for years and it's great, I'd never dive without it again. My question is, does the coverage offered by DAN cover diving outside of recreational depth limits and using gas mixes not used by recreational divers.

If DAN does cover this type of diving, are there any limits based on depth or gas mix? If DAN does not cover this type of diving, is there an insurance company that does cover it.

Thanks

 

[Dogbowl]

I don't have the answer...but I can tell you where to find the answer. It should be in the current DAN Handbook that you got when you signed up for insurance. There are 2 versions of the Handbook in the US, depending on which state you live in. Here's the link to the current version Scuba Diving Accident Insurance — About Scuba Insurance Programs — DAN | Divers Alert Network

Click on "View Plans" and then click on the appropriate boxes until you get directed to the appropriate Handbook for your state. Then download the Handbook.

In the Handbook, the answer should be under "Definitions" - for example, see what it says under "Covered Dive" and "Covered Diving Accident". Also, look under the "Exclusions" section.

If you can't find the answer or the answer isn't clear, you should call DAN.

Sorry I couldn't give you a straighter answer. Insurance is never straightforward, unfortunately.

 

[Altamira]

Whether it is DAN's dive accident or travel insurance, make sure you read, re-read, and understand every word in the policy from a lawyer's viewpoint because those policies are written by lawyers for the benefit of the underwriting insurance company. For example, the dive insurance might cover a certain type of diving, but their travel insurance, if you bought a policy, may not cover the same type of diving. I believe DAN has now changed its travel insurance policy after I pointed out on this board, and wrote to DAN's president, complaining that DAN had an idiotic exclusion in their travel policy for diving without a dive master. However, I think they may still have recreational depth restrictions on their travel insurance, so be sure to check that as well. Do not assume anything.

 

[scoobydrew]

The only DAN product that is limited is the sport diver bronze. I'm not sure if you guys (Americans) have that offer but DAN Europe does and it is limited to 40M.

I recently got bent doing a rebreather tec dive, DAN paid the lot.

In my saved emails, I have copies of questions I have sent DAN for my own piece of mind, one is around depth, DAN europe say:

First of all please be informed that our insurance policies do not foresee depth limits (with exception of the Sport Bronze that is limited to 40 meters) even though dives deeper than 130 meters must be evaluated and approved by our insurers beforehand. Please refer also to the policy conditions that you can download at the following link: DAN Europe - Sport Member and DAN Europe - Pro Member
https://www.daneurope.org/pro-member
It could be worth you shooting the same question to DAN US so that you have the respone to keep for your recrods too.

Having been through the mill I can confrm that DAN are still awesome and far superior to any other health related insurance I have had. My chamber ride and hospitalisation would have come in at around 10K, they paid everything without question or argument.

 

[Ouvea]

The handbook gives very confusing information. The handbook clearly states "recreational diving" only. However, it has a section about not having any depth limit. I don't know if they mean recreational in the terms of "non commercial," as opposed to non decompression diving.

You will need to contact the under writer. The guys are DAN are useless to answer this specific question.

 

[tstormdiver]

Last spring I got bent while doing CCR Cave diving & decompression diving. DAN paid what my current health insurance did not.

 

[Pullnglide]

I do not know of any limits. I was bent last March after a 2 stage cave dive. I was completely honest about every single aspect of the dive to include time, depth, conditions etc... My insurance covered all but $2400 and DAN covered the rest with no hassle at all.

 

[Makhno]

I was a DAN member for years but where I now do most of my diving I am covered for a chamber ride by my general non-diving insurance, so only get dive insurance when traveling abroad. I recently used DiveAssure for a policy combining travel insurance plus dive accident insurance, for a trip to Sri Lanka for a week of technical diving on and in the wreck of the HMS Hermes. I didn't need the dive accident insurance, but a couple of our planned (and prepaid) dives got blown out due to weather. When I submitted my claim for lost dives due to bad weather (with adequate supportin-gage documentation like a statement from the dive center), DiveAssure was great about promptly issuing me a check with few questions asked and no hassle. Those were trivia dives to 53 or 54 meters depth.

I have rarely had such a painless experience with an insurance company. I'm sure not everyone has had such a positive experience, and I'm sure a lot of folks are happy with DAN, but I thought it worth a. mention of DiveAssure because they're newer and thus not yet known to all divers, and offer ok policies at ok prices and give DAN a little competition, which is good for the consumer. And as mentioned, I was perfectly satisfied with how they handled my claim.

 

[Makhno]

Oops, bad auto-correct …
*supporting documentation
*trimix dives

 

[Doby45]

Most of your quality "tech" instructors actually require you to have DAN type insurance before you can take their class.

A tiny snippet from John Chatterton's requirements for his training of AN/DP

1. Students must be at least 18 years of age.
2. Students must be certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver
3. Students must be certified as a Nitrox Diver.
4. Students must show a minimum of fifty logged dives.
5. Students must have dive accident insurance.
6. Students must possess a level of physical and mental fitness suitable for the pressures of diving in the wreck environment, to a depth of 150 fsw.