DAN (Divers Alert Network) Membership and Insurance

[Anthony A.]

Hi, ever since joing this forum recently I noticed that many here have DAN memberships. Upon visiting their website, it appears that you must get the standard membership and then insurance on top. I was wondering if some here can explain the differences in the basic membership and insurance premiums. For example, the basic membership ($35/year) it says it includes emergency evacuation service. I assume this could be a helicopter bringing you to a hospital or a chamber, correct? If so, is the chamber then included if you have the bends? Or must you then get the insurance on top of the basic membership to get the added benefits or chambers/hospital bills?

If a DAN member could help answer these questions it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[knotical]

My understanding:

Basic DAN membership, which includes TravelAssist, does not include chamber rides (a medical procedure).
DAN Accident Insurance does include chamber treatment.
DAN accident insurance is secondary coverage, so whether you want it at all, or what level, would typically depend largely on what your primary health insurance covers and/or excludes.

But, I’m in the US; the answer in Canada might differ.

Sources:
Join the Largest Scuba Diving Membership Organization in the World ? DAN | Divers Alert Network
Scuba Diving Accident Insurance ? About Scuba Insurance Programs ? DAN | Divers Alert Network

 

[Insta-Gator]

DAN is a great thing. My wife and I have the Preferred. It's a couple hundred a year to cover us both. If the S* hits the fan you will be very glad you have it.


$35.00 membership, $75.00 Preferred Insurance = $110.00

 

[Altamira]

Why not call DAN directly and talk to one of their customer service reps. I am sure they can answer any question you can pose, and you will be getting the information directly from the source. We have not had to use ours (thankfully), but I know there are some on SB that have used it and were very happy to have been a DAN member when they had a problem.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Was with a SB member in Coz last summer. He got bent. Long story short, I think his bill was something like $15,000 (he only had to pay a couple hundred.) I may not have all the details absolutely correct but I do know he was happy to have the insurance.

They also reimbursed him for some of his trip and pre-paid diving, since he was done for the week.

 

[Anthony A.]

I read through the DAN handbook, which explains most of the differences. I am still a bit concerned though. It says that if an emergency were to happen, you have to call DAN first, they will then call a doctor to see you, then once the doctor decides you need help, then they order the helicopter/ambulance to send you to the hospital or chamber. Then within 20 days, you need to file a claim. So im assuming you pay for everything and then they reimburse you? Seems like a really lengthy process, especially if you get bent on the boat and a doctor is an hour away to see you. Im always a bit skeptical for insurance, but it seems to me that it would make sense to get the necessary medical attention first and then submit a claim to DAN. Is it just me, or does the whole process of getting admitted seem rather long?

 

[fjpatrum]

Anthony, pretty much any insurance claim is going to be the same basic procedure. I haven't heard of anyone paying out of pocket through a DAN claim but I haven't read a lot about it.

I suspect that any dive operator (in this part of the world) that sees a bent customer is going to have someone call DAN either way. (Other "exotic" destinations may be drastically different, so if your plans include that kind of travel, make sure you know what their policy is.) I also suspect most chambers have DAN on speed dial for medical advice just as a second opinion, if nothing else.

I got a family plan with insurance added only for me since I'm the only diver. I wanted to make sure my family would be covered to travel with me in an emergency, though.

 

[theduckguru]

You might want to also look at Dive Assure, but their polices also have a pre-notification clause. If either company had a reputation for being unreasonable, you would be reading it hear on SB. The Dive Assure policy met my needs better than DAN.

 

[gcarter]

As a fellow Canadian, you may decide to visit Cuba. American based insurance companies cannot do business in Cuba. The DAN travel assist remains in force for evacuation because of how it is managed / underwritten, but the medical insurance does not. They are underwritten differently. I carry DAN insurance, but added additional supplemental for a Cuba trip for this reason.

This issue is not particular to DAN. If you plan a Cuba trip, double check coverage.

 

[Kitty_Kat]

I (like many others) am a huge DAN fan, but sincerely hope I will never have to utilize their services

Membership gives you: TravelAssist (up to $100,000 of evaculation assistance coverage for both diving and nondiving medical emergencies, but only if you are more than 50 miles from home), the Alert Diver magazine, a medical guide, and some trip planning resources and online seminars.

Added insurance gives you: differing values of medical dive accident, death and dismemberment/diving, permanent and total disability, extra transportation, extra accommodation, lost diving equipment, medical non-dive accident, diving vacation cancellation, and diving vacation interruption coverage. All of those are regardless of how far you are from home. The three different plans give you different amounts of each.

As a diver, the added insurance really is amazing! Many insurance plans will not cover your diving activities because they fall under the "risky" category. Even though the TravelAssist helps with evacuation assistance, you would still be covering the chamber costs if you got bent, which are going to be more expensive than the evacuation would have been. IMHO the added coverage is well worth it I have used the Master plan ($40 +$35 membership per year) for a while. Since I do most of my diving locally, or for work, I do not really need the added vacation benefits.