Do I need DAN, please advise?

[DallasNewbie]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm still considering it. I do have high limit credit cards on me at all times, and my insurance card does say international coverage on it.

DAN is a whole lot more than insurance. Neither your credit card company, nor your insurance company has dive medicine experts sitting next to the phone 24 hours a day ready to answer any questions you or your MD have about your fitness to dive, possible injuries, or appropriate course of treatment. Your insurance company might pay for a medevac, but I doubt they'll do it up front, and I doubt they have the relationships already in place to make it happen quickly. Neither your insurance company nor your credit card company funds dive medicine research that benefits us all as divers.

I hope that I'll never need to collect on any of my insurance policies. But I insure any loss I can't afford to take the risk of myself. That includes monetary loss, and the risk of not getting the right treatment because an ER doc or my insurance company just doesn't know what the right thing to do is.

 

[BrianV]

I give up. You've made up your mind that dive insurance isn't for you.

I wish you good luck with your diving and hope you never have to regret not having some form of secondary coverage.

Geeze, chill out. That's a deciding factor for me right now. If they'll cover all out of pocket expenses including co-pay then that's reason enough to consider it right there. If they don't, then I'll have to factor that in as well.

Calm down. I haven't made up my mind at all at this point, I'm just trying to get the RIGHT facts. Everyone here says DAN is so great and that they're the best in an emergency, yet no one really has first hand experience; more just I heard from this guy that this other guy had good luck. I just want to know all the facts before I can make a decision, and all of the facts aren't all together yet.

 

[scubaguy655]

Calm down. I haven't made up my mind at all at this point, I'm just trying to get the RIGHT facts. Everyone here says DAN is so great and that they're the best in an emergency, yet no one really has first hand experience; more just I heard from this guy that this other guy had good luck. I just want to know all the facts before I can make a decision, and all of the facts aren't all together yet.

I think you have made a good point Brian and while I agree with most here about peace of mind and extra insurance, I really have no idea of how DAN would handle the situation if the need was there.

I would also be interested in hearing from those who have had to use any insurance DAN or otherwise while on a dive trip......for diving related accidents or problems.

I do have DAN insurance myself and consider it a small investment given the potential costs otherwise.

 

[Charlie59]

Brian, we are not talking that much money. Do or do not, there is no try- yoda.

 

[blizzard]

It seems interesting that all the "you must have DAN insurance" people are the ones that a) have DAN insurance and b) have never used it.

The one person who posted that they had DAN insurance and used it, said they had a terrible experience with DAN.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to consider DAN insurance in comparison to what someone already has. Blindly telling someone to "get it" without considering what may or may not already be covered is kind of, well "cultish". (Misery loves company? Justify your own decisions?)

People have been putting forward that you can call DAN at any time for advice. Well, you can do that whether you participate in their insurance program or not. Maybe that would be a reason to make a donation, or support other areas of DAN, but perhaps not a reason to buy their insurance.

An informed decision is always the best decision. Don't beat up on the original poster for asking questions and looking for first hand experience.

 

[DallasNewbie]

People have been putting forward that you can call DAN at any time for advice. Well, you can do that whether you participate in their insurance program or not. Maybe that would be a reason to make a donation, or support other areas of DAN, but perhaps not a reason to buy their insurance.

You can also be a member without purchasing insurance.

 

[BrianV]

It seems interesting that all the "you must have DAN insurance" people are the ones that a) have DAN insurance and b) have never used it.

The one person who posted that they had DAN insurance and used it, said they had a terrible experience with DAN.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to consider DAN insurance in comparison to what someone already has. Blindly telling someone to "get it" without considering what may or may not already be covered is kind of, well "cultish". (Misery loves company? Justify your own decisions?)

People have been putting forward that you can call DAN at any time for advice. Well, you can do that whether you participate in their insurance program or not. Maybe that would be a reason to make a donation, or support other areas of DAN, but perhaps not a reason to buy their insurance.

An informed decision is always the best decision. Don't beat up on the original poster for asking questions and looking for first hand experience.

Thank you!

I'm just trying to gather all of the facts. People are dissing my personal insurance left and right and swearing that DAN is the best, yet they've never used it, and DAN is an insurance company as well and they're going to try and pay the least too. That's how ALL insurance companies are (according to earlier posts).

The one thing that turns me off about DAN is that you have to call before you arrange evac and you have to have DAN setup everything. Like I said earlier, if I'm having bad DCS or are in an emergency; I want medical care ASAP not after someone makes a phone call, waits on hold (maybe), has language barriers to deal with (foriegn countries), etc. I'd rather have them rip out my 5 CC and charge the crap out of them if that gets me medical care 5 minutes quicker. I fear that if you get DAN and don't have them set everything up, they're going to deny the claims anyways. Meanwhile, my medical insurance card (which I keep visible on my dive bag), specifically says "International PPO" and "Portable International Travel Insurance" on it. I think if I include that with a laminated info card that says evac and deco chamber is covered then no one would hesitate to give me IMMEDIATE medical attention. I know it SUCKS to get billed $50k and have to deal with paying them back while your insurance company drags their feet, but hey if that's what gets me the most prompt care then it's a small annoyance.

All I'm looking for is the facts. I'll be calling DAN in the next couple days and explaining my current insurance and concerns about having to call them before evac/deco chamber. I'll get their professional opinion and factor that in as well.

 

[all4scuba05]

I'm not familiar with how medical care is at facilities with chambers. So could someone enlighten me a little. If they have a chamber at their location, do they not have experts there as well to take care of you? I mean who would operate a chamber withoout knowing what to do. Why would they need to get on the phone to find out what to do about DCS? That sounds a little scary.

Like I said, I'm very unfamiliar with how those hospitals work. So what is it that DAN knows that the "chamber specialist" won't? That's scary to know that if divers don't have DAN, someone at the chamber facility might not know what to do.

 

[Web Monkey]

One of the reasons to let DAN coordinate the effort instead of just showing up at a chamber, is that you might arrive, only to find that the chamber is currently occupied, broken or reserved for military use. Some are private, some aren't rated for required pressure, some don't have staff available, etc.

It make very little difference how much money is in your pocket if you need a chamber and the one you show up at already has someone in it.

DAN knows which chambers are available in which areas.

Terry

I'm not familiar with how medical care is at facilities with chambers. So could someone enlighten me a little. If they have a chamber at their location, do they not have experts there as well to take care of you? I mean who would operate a chamber withoout knowing what to do. Why would they need to get on the phone to find out what to do about DCS? That sounds a little scary.

Like I said, I'm very unfamiliar with how those hospitals work. So what is it that DAN knows that the "chamber specialist" won't? That's scary to know that if divers don't have DAN, someone at the chamber facility might not know what to do.

 

[Rick Inman]

Has anyone on this thread ever had a dive accident and needed DAN?

I ask because I have, I had a major problem, and DAN's highest level of coverage.

DAN did not pay, not me, not the chamber, not the doctor (who was a DAN affiliate), not anybody. I was out the full cost of treatment. The chamber that treated me later closed. When I talked to them last, they said that DAN had NEVER paid any of the bills, so when those SSS guys came along, my local chamber was gone. Thanks a bunch DAN!

Check with Dive Assure. At least then you will be dealing with a real insurance company and not some multi-headed hydra, part non-profit, part for profit, part research, and part hot line.

I have.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Mine was the opposite.

From the first call to the final bill being paid, DAN was on top of it and with me all the way. I got through on the phone to a DAN consultant in less than 60 seconds. The rep (whose name was Dan, BTW) was friendly, competent, helpful, caring and knowledgeable about diving accidents. Without looking, he knew the name of my local hyperbaric doctor, who called me back within 3 minutes. That doctor met me at the emergency room less than 20 minutes later. They treated me like a celebrity.

The doctor was an expert in hyperbaric medicine. I never had to try to explain anything to the emergency room random-selection doctor. He diagnosed me with DCS (neurological hit) and (after a full workup) had me doing a table six within minutes. The whole thing went so fast and smooth I couldn't believe it. And I couldn't help but notice the a lot of the chamber equipment had DAN stickers on it.

The day after treatment, Dan from DAN called me to see how everything went (can you imagine your insurance provider calling you to see how you feel?).

My primary insurance provider (who is supposed to cover diving accidents) sent me a "claim review" form a couple of weeks later, which my wife filled out, and which they, of course, dined without explanation. About the same time I got the huge bill from the hospital. We called the hospital, and when they saw in the computer that we have DAN, the lady said, "Don't worry about it, you have DAN. The bills are generated automatically, just toss them in the trash when you get them. DAN will take care of it."

And they did. Every cent, no questions asked. I never paid a dime.

I was bent, used DAN, had incredible service, and they covered every penny.

Do you need DAN? I hope not. I hope nobody does.

I will never be without DAN insurance. Period.