Diving and non diving travel insurance

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Sbiriguda

Contributor
Messages
1,234
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Location
Italy
# of dives
50 - 99
Hello,
what kind of insurance coverage do you have when you travel abroad?
Right now I have no coverage at all...
I am considering DAN which is some kind of standard choice for divers. Though, I would like to understand exactly what it covers and in general which is the best choice
If you happen to need medical treatment due to a non diving activity, for example, a car accident when you travel abroad, does DAN cover the expenses?
What kind of travel and medical insurances do you purchase when you travel abroad for diving, and also let me say non diving trips, for example if you want to dedicate one week to visit the country and one week to diving in the country?
Thanks
 
I wouldn’t go on a dive trip without DAN. One ride in the chamber is all it takes to deplete your readies. It is amazing how many people put it off until it is too late. I normally don’t bother with trip insurance but DAN is a must for our family.
 
Ok... Does it cover any sort of medical expenses? For example, what if you have a car accident while you go to the divespot, is it covered as well? If that is the case, that would make sense also as a generic travel and medical insurance, to be exploited for diving trips if necessary and otherwise for any trip abroad
 
DAN Europe is different from DAN America. You should go on their websites and see what they cover and then use supplemental travel insurance where you deem necessary.
 
@caydiver is correct. Insurance terms and conditions are based on your country of residence and in the US, is based on state of residence.

You will need to go on DAN Europe or Italy site to read the coverage terms that apply to you.

Generally, in North America, DAN coverage only applies to dive related incidents. General travel medical insurance would normally cover illnesses and accidents while abroad. General travel medical insurance may or may not cover dive related incidents, so again, you’d have to read the specific policy to find that out.

Since having a dive related incident or general accident or illness abroad can cause extreme financial hardship for many (i.e. lose your house and savings), I always buy DAN insurance and have medical travel insurance through work. I also have travel medical insurance through my credit card.

I do not buy trip cancellation and interruption insurance for trips that are not too expensive because I cannot be buying every insurance out there (due to cost) and I figure the maximum I would lose in a covered incident is the money I can actually afford to pay for this trip. If I was going on a once in a lifetime trip worth more than 10K, I might start considering trip insurance. Those are my parameters. Other people will have different parameters.
 
To add to what others have said, in any of these insurance discussions I believe it is important to consider the different things one can insure against and decide, based on your own circumstances, what the coverage is worth to you. My thinking is similar to Dogbowl's that cancellation of my trip isn't always my biggest concern. If it's "only" a few thousand dollars, I might just absorb the loss and chalk it up to playing the odds. So-called Trip Cancellation and Interruption, Lost Baggage, and other things like that usually don't seem worth it to me to insure against if I am totaling the cost over many such trips. For me, I suppose my biggest concern these days would be accidents and medical events. I buy DAN accident insurance, and while I believe mine covers some non-diving "accidents," it does not cover non-diving medical events.

As for medical insurance, it may be useful to consider what, if anything, one's home-country medical insurance already covers. Here in the US, most of us have medical insurance that covers nothing or almost nothing abroad, but Europeans may be more fortunate. When my then-girlfriend (now my wife) visited me from abroad, her home country's insurance reimbursed her for 100% of an emergency room visit here in the US. Recently, I became covered by medical insurance that covers certain emergency treatment abroad, so I am fortunate. Before that, when I had insurance that covered almost nothing abroad, I bought GeoBlue insurance for a few trips. And before that ... well, in my younger days I felt less vulnerable and took many trips all over the world without insurance. Like most young people, I survived just fine. I see that you (OP) are in Italy, but we Americans might also consider that healthcare is generally less expensive almost everywhere else in the world. When I twisted my ankle in Guatemala an orthopedic specialist examined me and gave me an ankle brace for something like 25 USD. When I needed urgent care in Vietnam the clinic put me at the front of the line because I was a foreigner paying in cash, and it again cost very little. Of course, all this is simply gambling--playing the odds as we perceive them. It would be entirely possible to have a serious accident or medical event and potentially incur a huge bill at the local medical facilities, not to mention if evacuation to a major city or other country were required. Where each of us draws the line depends on how much we feel we can afford to pay out of pocket and how much risk we believe we are at. If you are highly risk-averse or value peace of mind highly enough, you could insure against almost everything.
 
I'm in the US. I buy DAN Accident Insurance (family plan) and DAN Annual Travel Insurance, good for all travel of any kind, all year. I do a lot of travel, not just for diving, and the annual plan works out pretty well, considering. There is some overlap in the coverage; I'll let DAN work that out if needed.
 
Thank you all
I checked dans Europe there is indeed a ‘Bronze’ insurance for diving medical expenses only and ‘Silver’ or ‘Gold’ that include also non diving medical expenses
DAN Europe - Sport Member

@Lorenzoid
In Europe it’s complicated because rules differ from country to country. There is a relevant difference between EU and non EU countries. EU citizens have the right to get medical assistance at least a basic one in the other EU countries free of charge or almost FoC, at the same conditions of the locals. Switzerland instead has a private healthcare like the US (and expensive too..) the UK provides basic healthcare but the tendency is to reduce the public health and increase the importance of private health. I am not sure if the rules applicable to EU citizens are applicable to US citizens
 
You must consider not only if non-diving medical is covered, but how much is the coverage. Also, non-diving medical - do they mean accident or illness or both?

For example, in Canada, the Guardian Plan does indeed cover non-diving accident to a max. of $20,000. Is that enough if you get into a serious car accident? Probably not if you need surgery, critical care and hospitalization. The plan as I read it does not cover illness, only accident. So if you have a heart attack, not covered.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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