DAN Divers Alert Network

[vladimir]

Most places won't even let you go diving without DAN insurance....dive ops want to see these 2 cards....your "C" card (scuba certification card sufficient to cover your 'level' of diving) ... AND...your DAN insurance card.

I have never been asked to show proof of DAN insurance. I do a fair amount of diving...

I doubt "most" dive operators require DAN (or any other) insurance, but I have run across it occasionally. If I recall correctly, the Undersea Hunter in Cocos required insurance. Aggressor recommends it but doesn't require it. None of the dive operators I use in Southeast Asia require it.

 

[Thalassamania]

Click here to review exclusions

It says: "2. A diving accident or injury for which benefits are paid or payable under Workman's Compensation or any Occupational Disease or similar law whether such benefits are insured or self-insured."

That will rule out diving "Pros" as they will either be covered by their employer under WC or they will be considered "self-insured" as independent contractors ... either way my read is that DAN Insurance would not cover them.

 

[vladimir]

Trip insurance is a good consideration but I don't care for theirs. Other than their dive insurance, the other insurance products are not competitive. Just the best they could broker when members told them to offer I suppose.

My understanding of the corporate structure is that the insurance is offered by the for-profit subsidiary, DAN Services, which I would expect to behave like any other for-profit company: in whatever way maximizes their profits. So I wouldn't assume that they are offering overpriced insurance at the behest of their members, but rather to exploit an opportunity. Since the subsidiary is wholly-owned by the non-profit DAN, those people who advocate joining because of the research or other services they provide to divers may be justified, but those benefits accrue to divers in general, and membership is not required to benefit.

To the OP, I am a DAN member, and I recommend membership. I have the Preferred Plan. Narrow casualty insurance like this (and trip insurance) tends to be expensive when compared to the actual expectancy of a payout, but if a six-figure medi-vac and treatment bill would be disruptive to your finances, you should probably have the insurance.