Divesafe??????

[Triton]

I finally decided to get diver insurance and I was all ready to go with DAN until I saw an ad in one of my magazines for Divesafe insurance. This is the first time I ever heard of divesafe insurance, so I wanted to ask if any of you have this insurance and if you ever had to use it what kind of support did you received from them?

Also, I want to get you opinion on what you think about this insurance. Would you consider getting it, or better yet, would you change the insurance you have now to this one? Or should I just go with DAN. Inquiring minds want to know.

Here is the site if you want to get more info. http://www.divesafeinsurance.com

 

[Sue]

Hi Triton

Doing a lot of trekking and mountaineering (mainly aboard) a worldwide valid insurance is a must. I'm considering to get the Dan's one. It´s well known everywhere.

I've looked at the site you mentioned (in order to have an option to DAN) but I haven't seen anything that would make me change my mind. Annual fees are similar as well as the benefits.

I'll go for DAN (but I'm in Europe, so I guess that also counts on my decision)

Take care!

Sue

 

[Warhammer]

DocVikingo is doing, or has done, a run down on dive insurance that is suppose to come out in the April or May issue of Undercurrent. You may want to check that out.

I recently purchased the DAN Master Plan. I considered others, including DiveSafe, but ultimately felt safer with DAN since they are the leaders here. The only thing that I dislike about the DAN coverage is that if you need an evac, you have to arrange it through DAN or else they won't cover it. This really isn't a big deal, I guess, but since most of my diving is done stateside, the first person that I'd want to call or have called for me, would be the people doing the rescue. To me, including a 3rd party in the picture in an emergency, just seems as though it would slow down the rescue. They seem to acting as an HMO and I hate HMOs, so much so that I choose a plan that covers at 15% less than an available HMO plan for one reason; cause I hate HMOs! Other dive insurance doesn't have this requirement. PADI's is one of them and I believe DiveSafe is too.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Triton,

As the good Warhammer has indicated, I have done a very detailed piece on dive accident insurance for the next (April) issue of "Undercurrent" (www.undercurrent.org). It includes a chart comparing DAN, PADI & DiveSafe policies, as well as guidelines for selecting which plan is best for you.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[Warhammer]

Something just came to mind about that 3rd party. In our other discussion you mentioned the costs involved in an evac and seemed to feel that calling DAN first wasn't a big deal because they would know more who to call. I'm coming around to your way of thinking, here's why. If I need immediate evacuation, in the US my first though while at sea would be the US Coast Guard. Hmmm, I don't believe I have the foggiest idea how or who to call there, maybe the boat captain does. If I'm inland, like in a spring or quarry, then my first thought would be, call 911. I or anyone else surely can handle that, but the thing is the people on the other end of the 911 line are a 3rd party (the reason I didn't want to call DAN in the first place) who may or may not have knowledge of dive related injuries and their treatment methods. DAN, on the other hand, would know exactly who to send for me and where they should take me, regardless of my location. They may or may not be as fast on the draw as 911, don't know since I've never had to use them (knock on wood), but I can rest assured the right assistance will come for me, ASAP.

Sometimes my hard head gets in the way of the bright light.

 

[tyki]

and that's always dangerous :devilish: ...so I went back over to the DAN site and clicked on their "Contact Us" link. What it provides there is a number for emergencies, WITH a reminder to call the local EMS first, then call DAN. I think what this says is get the local emergency system in gear, then call DAN to coordinate with the local EMS for dive specific procedures.

Just my .01 worth

tyki

 

[Warhammer]

I was refering to emergencies/accidents that require evacuation, be it by land, air, or sea. If you want DAN to cover those expenses you must call them first and allow them to arrange the evacuation, no exceptions. They'll still cover your medical expenses, but not the evac unless they arrange it. It's all over the material and member card that they sent me, as well as their website. I called them 3 different times, spoke to 3 different people, and got the same answer all 3 times. Which was call Travel Assist first.

 

[DivingGal]

Originally posted by Warhammer
...I recently purchased the DAN Master Plan. I considered others, including DiveSafe, but ultimately felt safer with DAN since they are the leaders here. ...

Warhammer said it all. I did exactly the same thing, for the same reason.

Though I had not thought about the evac costs.... hmmm something for me to think about.

 

[Triton]

I knew I could count on all of you for some very informative replies. So far I am still leaning towards DAN more but I think I will wait to see the comparison that will be coming out on the issue of Undercurrent.

DocVikingo, do you know when the new issue of Undercurrent comes out. My vacation is not until May 12, so I think I will have enough time to compare and decide on an insurance before that time.

 

[large_diver]

This brings up a good topic I admit I have not always paid close attention to in the past -- being knowledgable about who to contact in the event of an emergency. I now consider a cell phone an important part of my gear bag, especially when diving at more remote shore diving sites. Also important is a handy list of emergency phone numbers that both my buddy and I can access:

- DAN
- Local emergency numbers (since 911 is not always universal) -- police/fire/rescue
- My buddy's home number (to call family if there is an emergency)
- My own home phone number (")
- USCG