DAN vs. DiveAssure (or, why does everyone seem to love DAN so much?)

[Blackcrusader]

Where is the reply?

UK DAN

Post in thread 'Diving beyond cert?'

Aug 20, 2024

Just to be clear on something many people don't understand....

DAN has a number of policies with different names and different requirements. That is because the policy a diver chooses as to be legal in the state or country in which they have their primary residence.

Yup. I emailed DAN as my coverage is based in Taiwan but I pay through the Australian service.

I asked if any countries were excluded this was the reply

Thank you for your inquiry.

The following countries/regions are not approved for travel assistance benefits at this time: Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Iran...

• Blackcrusader

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[ScubaGini]

I have been an active DAN member and advocate for them for more than 30 years. I always recommended them to everyone I dove with. Until now.

I organized two 11-day back-to-back trips to Indonesia in Mar/Apr 2024. I personally knew most of the people who booked and they were all very experienced world travelers/divers. There was a lady who booked both trips. I don't want to go into details, but she was descending on her first dive of the trip, experienced some discomfort, notified the dive guide and they surfaced together. They got on the tender which brought them back to the main boat. She immediately collapsed and died.

Very, very long and convoluted story cut short, DAN didn't help. AT ALL. The owners of the liveaboard and their on-shore support crew arranged absolutely everything, from getting this lady to Sorong, to contacting the family, arranging her transport to Manado to be cremated, arranging to ship her belongings back to her family in the US, etc. The boat's owner had to pay for it all themselves because DAN was so unhelpful. Every time they'd get a request to help with something, they would tell them that this form or that paperwork or the other application would have to be filled out and approved first.

Yes, I realize the woman had passed away, so she wasn't in imminent danger any longer. But there was no compassion, no assistance, no cooperation, no financial help and every person on board was appalled by how badly DAN handled the situation. If it hadn't been for the crew and the owners, I don't know what would have happened.

Dive Assure (according to their website) will insure you up to age 80. We had several folks on each trip who were over 70 and every one of them said they had issues renewing their DAN membership after that age. One guy, who was probably the most experienced diver on the boat, with more than 55 years of very active diving, was denied renewal, for what reason he never did find out.

This put a really bad taste in my mouth for a company that I've been a member of, supported, recommended and relied on for more than 30 years. If there's an alternative, I will use it.

 

[greatwhite1]

I have been an active DAN member and advocate for them for more than 30 years. I always recommended them to everyone I dove with. Until now.

I organized two 11-day back-to-back trips to Indonesia in Mar/Apr 2024. I personally knew most of the people who booked and they were all very experienced world travelers/divers. There was a lady who booked both trips. I don't want to go into details, but she was descending on her first dive of the trip, experienced some discomfort, notified the dive guide and they surfaced together. They got on the tender which brought them back to the main boat. She immediately collapsed and died.

Very, very long and convoluted story cut short, DAN didn't help. AT ALL. The owners of the liveaboard and their on-shore support crew arranged absolutely everything, from getting this lady to Sorong, to contacting the family, arranging her transport to Manado to be cremated, arranging to ship her belongings back to her family in the US, etc. The boat's owner had to pay for it all themselves because DAN was so unhelpful. Every time they'd get a request to help with something, they would tell them that this form or that paperwork or the other application would have to be filled out and approved first.

Yes, I realize the woman had passed away, so she wasn't in imminent danger any longer. But there was no compassion, no assistance, no cooperation, no financial help and every person on board was appalled by how badly DAN handled the situation. If it hadn't been for the crew and the owners, I don't know what would have happened.

Dive Assure (according to their website) will insure you up to age 80. We had several folks on each trip who were over 70 and every one of them said they had issues renewing their DAN membership after that age. One guy, who was probably the most experienced diver on the boat, with more than 55 years of very active diving, was denied renewal, for what reason he never did find out.

This put a really bad taste in my mouth for a company that I've been a member of, supported, recommended and relied on for more than 30 years. If there's an alternative, I will use it.

Did DAN break the small print terms and conditions?