Dive Trip Insurance: Dive Assure, DAN? Necessary?

[Guitarcrazy]

My wife and I are (hopefully) going back to Cozumel the first week of Feb. We are members of DAN, but have never purchased their dive trip insurance. When we book with Delta Vacations or United Vacations we usually get their cancel for any reason insurance, which usually runs $125 or so. We did not purchase this time because the airlines and the resorts are all offering free cancelation and rebooking, so we figured we could always book another trip.

I have heard others mention the medical coverage if something happens on a dive. 3 years ago my wife and I were diving in Puerto Vallarta when we had an accident and got tossed on the rocks. We were both pincushioned from loads of sea urchin spines, but my wife also dislocated her finger and needed surgery. We went to the pay hospital in PV that caters to tourists and well-off locals. The experience was very good, surgery went well, and all was better in a few weeks. My insurance (Blue Cross) paid for everything except our deductible. ($11,000 for the total bill). Side note; they knew our insurance better than we did and charged the maximum allowable for every item on the bill.

Knowing this, would we have been better off if we had purchased DAN or Dive Assure coverage? Do you buy for all of your dive trips? We normally take 3 trips each winter to escape the cold, but this year has been an anomaly due to Covid.

If you think the coverage is a necessity, which do you prefer? Thanks.

 

[Gareth J]

Remember that DAN insurance specifically covers diving related accidents and incidents, as well as 'normal' medical cover.

Most normal 'holiday' insurances don't cover diving, or any accident that they can define as having occurred as a result of diving.
As always, the devil is in the detail.

Personally, when travelling overseas, I use DAN. Within the UK I am automatically covered by the NHS.

If you do a search, you will probably find quite a lot of information.

The other question, is DAN valid for your state/country etc. For me, normal DAN covers most of the world with the exception of the USA. I need to specify the USA when I take out the cover, and then there is a heavy loading added. Insurance companies hate the USA.
Our corporate insurance heavily penalises the fact that we trade with the USA, and our travel cover is heavily loaded because we travel to the USA at various times as part of our business.

 

[mediumone]

My wife and I are (hopefully) going back to Cozumel the first week of Feb. We are members of DAN, but have never purchased their dive trip insurance. When we book with Delta Vacations or United Vacations we usually get their cancel for any reason insurance, which usually runs $125 or so. We did not purchase this time because the airlines and the resorts are all offering free cancelation and rebooking, so we figured we could always book another trip.

I have heard others mention the medical coverage if something happens on a dive. 3 years ago my wife and I were diving in Puerto Vallarta when we had an accident and got tossed on the rocks. We were both pincushioned from loads of sea urchin spines, but my wife also dislocated her finger and needed surgery. We went to the pay hospital in PV that caters to tourists and well-off locals. The experience was very good, surgery went well, and all was better in a few weeks. My insurance (Blue Cross) paid for everything except our deductible. ($11,000 for the total bill). Side note; they knew our insurance better than we did and charged the maximum allowable for every item on the bill.

Knowing this, would we have been better off if we had purchased DAN or Dive Assure coverage? Do you buy for all of your dive trips? We normally take 3 trips each winter to escape the cold, but this year has been an anomaly due to Covid.

If you think the coverage is a necessity, which do you prefer? Thanks.

There are several reasons that I buy trip insurance.
I use Travel Insurance - Compare and Buy | Squaremouth as I find their site the most user friendly and efficient.

The policies offer better coverage for less than DAN and Dive Assure.

Yes, no need to cover the cost of your flights at this time.

I do always make sure that the medical coverage is secondary. That way I'm covered for the out of pocket expenses that my primary insurer, (Blue Cross), doesn't cover.

When we fly United and purchase with my Mileage Plus card, the accompanying benefits are very good. The only reason I buy is for the medical and for emergency evacuation and repatriation of my remains. My wife wouldn't be comfortable in hauling my carcass out into the jungle.

The last time I purchased, it was under $60.00 for our trip for way, way more than enough to take care of the most catastrophic situation.


Edit to add: It's really not a big deal to read the exclusions to see if scuba is covered. Some cover to 120', some to 130'. You can also do a search to filter the results in the site I referenced

 

[mediumone]

Most normal 'holiday' insurances don't cover diving, or any accident that they can define as having occurred as a result of diving.

That is not correct.

 

[Guitarcrazy]

Thanks. I am on that site now. Quite a variance in policy cost.

 

[DandyDon]

Knowing this, would we have been better off if we had purchased DAN or Dive Assure coverage?

Dive Assure doesn't cover diving in US waters so I go with DAN dive insurance, who would have paid the whole bill, no deductible.

Most normal 'holiday' insurances don't cover diving, or any accident that they can define as having occurred as a result of diving.

My trip insurance covers diving, but I still carry DAN dive insurance. I get trip insurance mostly because I have very little medical coverage outside of the US, but count on DAN for diving.

If I have a claim or a need to be repatriated, I'll let them split the costs as much as they want.

 

[Gareth J]

That is not correct.

I didn't say all, I said most.
Those that do (at least in Europe) have quite prescriptive restrictions. Ultimately, read the small print!

At least with DAN, it's a diving insurance, so they know my intention is to dive. Even here, you need to read the small print, to confirm you are covered for the type of diving you are doing.
My DAN cover was good for my CCR advanced mix course. It also has no depth restriction in the event you are involved in a rescue.

 

[DandyDon]

Even here, you need to read the small print, to confirm you are covered for the type of diving you are doing.

Yes, not only are there different DAN policies, DAN America is different from DAN Europe.

 

[donhealy]

DAN is almost mandatory for diving. I don't know anyone who doesn't have DAN or it's Euro equiv.

Trip insurance can be quite a good backstop should you need it. If you can get "cancellation for any reason" included then that is even better. In these days of "CoVid" and international travel it can come in handy. I had to cancel my Coz trip in Oct. at the last minute and my Tripmate insurance covered everything but the deductible. I always hate paying for the insurance but in that rare case when you need it - it's invaluable.

 

[ReefHound]

Your trip insurance or your home medical insurance may cover diving accidents but something to consider is that in many countries you aren't getting the treatment until they confirm they are getting paid for it. Getting into a chamber can be time critical and most chambers instantly recognize DAN but how long will it take them to confirm coverage with some insurer they've never heard of?