Diving in to DAN membership/insurance for the first time

[CycleCat]

I've been looking at the DAN website the last month or two looking at options before a week long trip to Curacao next month and trying to understand how the various options will work together. Choosing the Enhanced membership option over Regular adds coverage for search & rescue, global security evacuation and disease & quarantine coverage. But if I choose the lower price options for accident insurance (Master<Preferred<Guardian), only Guardian says it covers search and rescue. So does Enhanced membership just provide the option of that coverage but only with purchase of the top tier coverage? What then is the advantage of Enhanced membership?

 

[tursiops]

I've been looking at the DAN website the last month or two looking at options before a week long trip to Curacao next month and trying to understand how the various options will work together. Choosing the Enhanced membership option over Regular adds coverage for search & rescue, global security evacuation and disease & quarantine coverage. But if I choose the lower price options for accident insurance (Master<Preferred<Guardian), only Guardian says it covers search and rescue. So does Enhanced membership just provide the option of that coverage but only with purchase of the top tier coverage? What then is the advantage of Enhanced membership?

Call DAN and ask.

 

[CycleCat]

Okay, calling DAN is the obvious choice, I only asked because I thought someone here would already know the answer. I called them today and a very polite and helpful person answered all my questions.

Enhanced membership gives some of the benefits of the top tier accident insurance without buying the top tier insurance. You get security evacuation, search and rescue, and quarantine coverage. To top it off, you get the printed version of the DAN magazine in addition to the online-only version (there is just something about holding a book or magazine in your hands that is not provided by a computer or phone). All the dollar limits still apply according to the accident level you buy.

 

[tursiops]

Okay, calling DAN is the obvious choice, I only asked because I thought someone here would already know the answer. I called them today and a very polite and helpful person answered all my questions.

Enhanced membership gives some of the benefits of the top tier accident insurance without buying the top tier insurance. You get security evacuation, search and rescue, and quarantine coverage. To top it off, you get the printed version of the DAN magazine in addition to the online-only version (there is just something about holding a book or magazine in your hands that is not provided by a computer or phone). All the dollar limits still apply according to the accident level you buy.

Thanks for reporting back. Yes, you might have gotten that answer here, but you'd also probably have gotten a lot of incorrect info, and you'd have had to call DAN anyway!

I have Enhanced and it has saved my butt a couple of times, helping me out when neither accident nor travel insurance would pay off.

 

[hiarnold]

Okay, calling DAN is the obvious choice, I only asked because I thought someone here would already know the answer. I called them today and a very polite and helpful person answered all my questions.

Enhanced membership gives some of the benefits of the top tier accident insurance without buying the top tier insurance. You get security evacuation, search and rescue, and quarantine coverage. To top it off, you get the printed version of the DAN magazine in addition to the online-only version (there is just something about holding a book or magazine in your hands that is not provided by a computer or phone). All the dollar limits still apply according to the accident level you buy.

Hi Chris, I'm a newbie too, and only go on one dive trip/year if I'm lucky. I'm planning to do 3 dives at Isla Coiba in Panama next week. Your info. is helpful. I'm agonizing over what to get for insurance. I'm curious which level insurance you ended up getting in addition to the Enhanced membership. Thanks!

 

[CycleCat]

I chose the cheaper Master level option but Enhanced membership. Don't agonize over it too much. You can always make adjustments at your annual renewal.

 

[tridacna]

Everyone buys it because they know they need it. No one really knows the coverage details at any level. It’s one of the great SCUBA mysteries.

They need to publish a simple explanation defining what you get at each level. But that’s not the way that insurance companies like to advertise. Most buyers discover their coverage gaps after a catastrophe.

I’ve asked many DAN employees at DEMA and BTS to explain the differences; I may as well have asked them to explain why the NY Jets suck year after year. “I’ll have to get back to you” is the most frequent answer. They never do.