DAN Insurance – should I get it?

[Immense]

I am a recently certified OW diver and am leaving for Cozumel tomorrow morning! I have always been told by my LDS to get DAN coverage – and for $100.00 I am all for it.

The only problem is I have heard of Deco Chambers in Cozumel not accepting the insurance? Can anyone shed some light on this? I am diving in 3 days and want to have the best insurance possible.

Thanks,
Curtis

 

[wetrat]

Hey Curtis, definitely get insurance. Health care costs following a dive accident are insane so you should protect yourself. The dispute between DAN and SSS Recompression Chambers has been resolved so you shouldn't have a problem. However, I have Diveassure insurance if that tells you anything about my opinion on the issue.

 

[Halthron]

Yopu might want to look at the DAN forum, which is a subforum from the Basic SCUBA Discussions forum: http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=498

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

In a word, yes. Your insurance will most likely not cover you for a dive related incident and the costs are HUGE. It doesn't cost much, and when you support an organization like DAN part of that money goes back to supporting the diving community.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Cozumel usually means deep and long. Dive insurance is a must there and is of course always prudent. The SSS chamber dispute is and always has been a non-issue for us divers. Bills were paid by DAN before, during, and after, the dispute. No problems.

I usually suggest DAN although the other options are great as well and I have used most of them at one point or another.

While you may never use your dive insurance (we hope), regardless of your carrier, you WILL use the information gained through the research DAN conducts as a result of your/our support. That is why I suggest DAN. Another reason would be the free hotline. Call them whenever you want if you feel you may have a dive related health concern, and they will try to answer questions for you, if you are a DAN member or not. Now that's support!

Have fun in Coz!

 

[Ted S]

Curtis,
What matters is that you have insurance which specifically covers you for diving and the potential risks (and costs) associated with our sport.

DAN is used by thousands of divers and a very popular option, which I personally have. However, they are not the only choice out there and it is certainly worth looking at your options. Just be sure you sign up with someone, the $50-$100 annual cost of dive insurance is a heck of a lot less than the costs of a helicopter flight, chamber trip and recovery process should the worst happen to you.

It's also a good idea to have equipment insurance for your dive gear if it isn't already covered by another policy like your home owners.

 

[Immense]

As usual I would like to thank all of you for your replies – this board is simply the best. I went ahead and signed up for DAN insurance last night. After reviewing my options I feel that it is probably the best way to go for a new diver like me.

Thanks again!

-Curtis

 

[CrawfishDiver]

Dan Has even taken care of non dive injuries for one of our group. I signed up never know when something might go wrong.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

There is a $6.00 service charge added to each dive in Cozumel to cover any Chamber needs.

What isn't in that charge are all the medical personel, or any of the other things that can arise.

You do need some type of diver insurance. I have DAN, but have not checked out Diveassure