DAN Membership vs. Dive Insurance vs. Health Insurance

[SmashMonkey]

I am interested in hearing from divers who have been in a diving incident and dealing with it both with or without DAN and/or dive insurance.

I am a sporadic vacation diver since the 1980s. In the past, before a trip I would join DAN and buy dive insurance, because lack of financial stability and limited health insurance. Currently our financial situation is more than adequate and we have excellent health insurance. We are planning a dive vacation to Florida.

What is the additional benefit of DAN membership + dive insurance - or would it just be duplicate coverage?

My health insurance tells me that they do cover recreational diving accidents, including DCI and chamber recompression and medical evacuation. Overseas medical expenses are also reimbursable as out-of-network.

Health insurance exclusions like repatriation of remains, funeral expenses, trip cancellation, etc. we are fine with self insuring.

For that matter are there options when buying dive insurance for making it primary or secondary to health insurance?

 

[tursiops]

My health insurance tells me that they do cover recreational diving accidents, including DCI and chamber recompression and medical evacuation. Overseas medical expenses are also reimbursable as out-of-network.

Was this a verbal statement, or can you find it in the written policy? The former can be disavowed; the latter cannot.

For that matter are there options when buying dive insurance for making it primary or secondary to health insurance?

Depends on the policies, not the options within a policy. DiveAssure is primary, for example, but will not cover you diving in Florida, if you are a US resident. DAN is always secondary.

 

[Gareth J]

I live in the UK, as we have a nationalised heath service, I never worry about medical, or accidental coverage when diving in the UK (which is most of the time).

When I go overseas, I buy DAN insurance. I don't trust regular holiday insurance, especially with the type and amount of diving I do.

 

[DogDiver]

Most private health insurance policies only cover ground ambulance transport services. If your choppered out, they will usually only pay what it would cost for ground transportation and you would be responsible for the balance.
Been bent twice requiring helicopter transport. They charge you $5000 just to start the engine. My bill was $50000 for a one way 120 mile trip to the chamber.
DAN paid it all.

 

[Lostdiver71]

Get the DAN Insurance, it is cheap extra coverage for any diving or watersport related medical issues that your insurance does not cover while you are on vacation.

 

[Dan]

Back in 2017, I had DAN accident insurance, DAN travel insurance & Blue Cross Health Insurance when I passed out in airplane, while flying from Palau to Oahu, after a diving trip in Palau. Apparently I contracted a flu from another guest in Palau Aggressor II. I had to be put in a stretcher after we landed in Honolulu and picked by ambulance to hospital emergency. They put saline IV and gave me tamiflu and put me on overnight observation until my body temperature was back to normal. By morning I was back to normal and the hospital let me continue to fly home.

Blue Cross covered the emergency & hospital cost ~ $7000 and my $1500 deductible was covered by DAN travel insurance. So nothing was coming out of my pocket other than the insurance premiums.

As to my experience with DAN accident insurance, I fell off a stair in a liveaboard after diving in Raja Ampat, landed on my knee on the boat deck and splitted my right knee cap into two pieces. My knee surgery was done in Jakarta and it was covered by my health insurance. Then on the way home to Houston (24-hour flight), a week later, I had to keep my right leg straight while in the airplane. So I had to sit in business class. DAN dive accident insurance reimbursed the $5000 business class ticket.

 

[SmashMonkey]

Was this a verbal statement, or can you find it in the written policy? The former can be disavowed; the latter cannot.

Yes, inasmuch as there is no express written exclusion for medical coverage related to diving, and the Aetna representative orally confirming that diving accidents, including DCI, chamber recompression, and emergency evacuation are all part of coverage.

Most private health insurance policies only cover ground ambulance transport services. If your choppered out, they will usually only pay what it would cost for ground transportation and you would be responsible for the balance.
Been bent twice requiring helicopter transport. They charge you $5000 just to start the engine. My bill was $50000 for a one way 120 mile trip to the chamber.
DAN paid it all.

Our Aetna plan expressly states that air ambulance transport is covered. However, IDK if a business class commercial airline ticket would be covered as "air transport". Although we will be in Key Largo, so relatively close to quaternary care hospitals.

What benefits does DAN membership alone provide in an incident? Is "assistance" just a hotline and some free advice or do they provide/coordinate services?

 

[tursiops]

Yes, inasmuch as there is no express written exclusion for medical coverage related to diving, and the Aetna representative orally confirming that diving accidents, including DCI, chamber recompression, and emergency evacuation are all part of coverage.

Honestly, I think that verbal info like that is interesting but worthless. If you can get him to say that in a written form, with his name on it, OK. Otherwise, it is a sales job.

What benefits does DAN membership alone provide in an incident? Is "assistance" just a hotline and some free advice or do they provide/coordinate services?

Yes, many have reported this coordination as part of the service they received.

 

[Lostdiver71]

Your insurance company can tell you whatever they want verbally and after a fight they may or may not come through! DAN takes the hassle out of an incident, will coordinate care as needed and you know everything is covered.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . What benefits does DAN membership alone provide in an incident? Is "assistance" just a hotline and some free advice or do they provide/coordinate services?

I believe DAN membership alone--that is, without buying the optional accident insurance that many of us traveling divers think of as the meat of what DAN does--provides little to no benefit. As I understand it, the hotline people will try to help anyone who calls, regardless of whether they are a DAN member. I would imagine they draw the line at coordinating with your insurer, but it's an interesting question as to what other services they might be willing to help coordinate.