Dan Travel Insurance failed us again are there any better alternatives

[WarrenZ]

It looks like I am getting the run around from DAN Insurance again. They wont cover my trip to the bahamas since Blackbeards livaboard says that it is unsafe to run the charter in a Cat 5 hurricane. Dan travel insurance says this is not a covered event. This is the second time I have felt let down and left hanging in the wind by their travel insurance.

My question is what travel insurance company should I use in the future? Im looking for one that will pay out in the event of a hurricane cancelling a trip, the boat sinking before the charter/fire, flight cancellation causing you to miss the boat, etc you know the usual disasters that would detail a trip.

After these experiences I'm even rethinking weather Dan diver insurance is worth keeping since I don't want to hear that they won't help if I got bent or hit by the boat does anyone have a better alternative?

 

[kafkaland]

It looks like I am getting the run around from DAN Insurance again. They wont cover my trip to the bahamas since Blackbeards livaboard says that it is unsafe to run the charter in a Cat 5 hurricane. Dan travel insurance says this is not a covered event. This is the second time I have felt let down and left hanging in the wind by their travel insurance.

My question is what travel insurance company should I use in the future? Im looking for one that will pay out in the event of a hurricane cancelling a trip, the boat sinking before the charter/fire, flight cancellation causing you to miss the boat, etc you know the usual disasters that would detail a trip.

After these experiences I'm even rethinking weather Dan diver insurance is worth keeping since I don't want to hear that they won't help if I got bent or hit by the boat does anyone have a better alternative?

Are you getting a refund for the liveaboard portion from Blackbeard? If so, are you only stuck with the cost of the flight, or so there more?

 

[gopbroek]

Pretty narrow minded attitude on the part of Blackbeard's. If Forrest and Lt Dan could shimp through Camille then they should be able to dive through Irma.

 

[gr8jab]

My credit card includes travel insurance, and it worked when Matthew caused my dive trip to Key Largo to be canceled last October. They covered my lost airfare and condo rental.

I'm rather shocked that DAN travel insurance would not cover hurricanes, and I would therefore never use it.

 

[WarrenZ]

Are you getting a refund for the liveaboard portion from Blackbeard? If so, are you only stuck with the cost of the flight, or so there more?

Luckily I can get a "credit" for the flight and can rebook with Blackbeard's if we can find dates that work it should only cost the difference in airfare but I bought travel insurance thinking if a hurricane caused the trip to be cancelled I could get my money back rather than have to do the rebook shuffle trying to make something work.

 

[Aviyes]

Mandatory evac issued for Bahamas in the path of Hurricane Irma. I would try again as that falls under a different covered reason for their insurance.

 

[Stoo]

Travel insurance is weird... I only have the DAN medical insurance which was a great help when my wife broke her leg on a dive boat two years ago...

On the other hand, I once came down with a brutal chest infection before a dive trip. I made an attempt to claim the cost of the trip since I couldn't dive. I was told that it's "I can't travel" insurance, not "I can't dive" insurance. They said that they could offer to compensate the dive portion of the trip, but that was it.

It's not quote the same as your situation, but rest assured, an insurer will interpret the policy in the very narrowest way.

It's important to remember that insurance companies are not in business to cover our losses. They are in business to make money for their shareholders. Period.

In a completely unrelated situation, I was towing by old boat years ago and got rear-ended, totalling the boat, engine and trailer. I had been paying for full replacement cost insurance for years, but when it was time to pay up, they started in with all these reasons why it wasn't their problem. After dicking around with them for a week, I finally quietly said that if I didn't have a cheque by end of business the next day, they would hear from my lawyer.

I got the cheque at noon.

 

[Flotsam]

Wow. These are two basic things I assumed DAN would cover, trip cancelled by hurricane or can't dive because if medical issue. I know insurance companies will cover as little as possible, but it's really disappointing that DAN insurance is worthless in these cases. I had heard positives about the coverage people received when injured on trips.
I haven't been in a situation to use it, but I put most of my trips and rental cars on Sapphire Preferred because of the extra travel coverage they include. Whether they will actually pay out when needed...

 

[Trailboss123]

I copied and pasted this from another recent post that was indirectly related-- believe it was posted by @outofofficebrb


For Dive Accident, I would go with DAN.

For dive travel insurance that ALSO has liveaboard riders or just dive travel insurance, go Dive Assure. They automatically couple dive accident insurance with it but if you call instead, they can remove the dive accident and just do the dive travel with or without the liveaboard rider for less money.

I have broken the differences between the two in great detail in a few threads on scubaboard if you do a search. In general, Dive Assure is more encompassing about covering sunk costs that are non-refundable for a diver especially when it comes to dive specific bookings like liveaboards and day trips, including weather or medical reasons which may cause lost dives or cancellation. Also, with the liveaboard rider which DAN does not offer, it covers things like broken air compressors, another passenger getting DCS and changing plans which results in cancelled dives, etc., among many other things.

I carry DAN Guardian at all times since I travel to remote places for liveaboards often. I also carry GeoBlue traveler's medical for non-diving coverage since DAN limits this; I usually buy $1M and $0 deductible which covers pre-existing conditions. At 31, it's extremely affordable. Lastly, if I have a lot of non-refundable costs, complicated itineraries, or am going on a high value trip, or am on a liveaboard, I always buy Dive Assure with liveaboard rider as necessary.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Wow. These are two basic things I assumed DAN would cover, trip cancelled by hurricane or can't dive because if medical issue. I know insurance companies will cover as little as possible, but it's really disappointing that DAN insurance is worthless in these cases. I had heard positives about the coverage people received when injured on trips.
I haven't been in a situation to use it, but I put most of my trips and rental cars on Sapphire Preferred because of the extra travel coverage they include. Whether they will actually pay out when needed...

The Guardian Plan for accidents with DAN will cover some cancellation and interruptions but read the coverage handbook carefully. I have Sapphire Reserve and a lot of things are covered but not to the extent that you would need it to for an expensive dive trip. There are limitations to what it will cover and what you will be reimbursed for, both in dollar amount and what type of event qualifies as a covered event. In my opinion, it is not a substitute for dive trip insurance or in my case a liveaboard rider as well for a higher value trip. It is sufficient for a simple, straight forward, low cost trip for me though. Check your benefits guide for details. Once you start reading coverage policies and handbooks you will see how it all comes together. I also book everything on my Sapphire Reserve and the primary rental car coverage is great but that also has some holes in coverage (not all encompassing) if you were at fault. (Also...FYI it won't cover RVs and campervans!). Read the coverage for Chase below then read Dive Assure's coverage.

https://cdn.f9client.com/api3/file/...1f486cd42904544bef5e7a6bfb2c5c465791e66323362

https://diveassure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Standrd-Deluxe-Elite-LAR-DOC-2017.pdf