Do I need DAN, please advise?

[BrianV]

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.

Thanks for the real life review!

 

[all4scuba05]

Now THAT makes sense. The guy wasn't relying on DAN to tell him how to diagnose or treat you. Plus the part about DAN knowing which facility was available and manned. That's great.
Guess I'll be getting DAN prior to my out of country dives. In the meantime my awesome insurance covers all costs for transport and treatment at a chamber. Wether by helicopter or ambulance. Countrywide too. Well, almost all. Still have to pay $75 for going to emergency room.

 

[IceIce]

I've just purchased my DAN insurance before my trip last week, in a dive exhibition.
I hope to ask some things I missed out, in case anyone has experiences, first hand or not.
1. Does DAN cover 'equipment accident' such as stolen equipment or things like flooding camera?
2. If DAN is secondary-coverage Insurance, how if the member doesn't have other insurance? Would they cover the whole medical and evacuation bills in case anything happens?
Thanks in advanced for all informations.

Cheers.

 

[hlsooner]

I have a DAN membership, but I rely on Dive Assure (http://www.diveassure.com) for my diving insurance. Their plans are comprehensive and reasonably priced. Fortunately, I have never had to use the insurance yet, so I can't give any opinions about how easy it is to file claims or get payments.

 

[scubamickey]

I've just purchased my DAN insurance before my trip last week, in a dive exhibition.
I hope to ask some things I missed out, in case anyone has experiences, first hand or not.
1. Does DAN cover 'equipment accident' such as stolen equipment or things like flooding camera?
2. If DAN is secondary-coverage Insurance, how if the member doesn't have other insurance? Would they cover the whole medical and evacuation bills in case anything happens?
Thanks in advanced for all informations.

Cheers.

1. DAN has a separate equipment insurance plan you can buy.

2. If you have no primary insurance then DAN covers everything as the only insurance. This is stated in their policy.

 

[IceIce]

I emailed them yesterday but haven't got a reply.
Thanks for the info, Scubamickey.

 

[moray48]

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.

Looking back over some posts this seems odd you can't make both statements

Originally Posted by Fred R.
Therefore, based on years of research with some of the best hyperbaric people, I developed my own ascent procedures for recreational diving.

By following my liberal computer and a very conservative ascent procedure, I have stayed unbent for all of my 13,000 + dives. More importantly, the 100,000 or so dive events that I guided have the same complete lack of incident.



Just wondering Jim

 

[Fireman Ken]

DAN is a great organization and I highly recommend it.

Take this for what it is worth.

A dear friend of mine was on a dive trip to Australia and developed an ear infection and could not fly home with the group. She was stranded in Cairns and did not have the money for a hotel; let alone the airfare back to D.C. when her infection cleared up.

Through her DAN insurance, she got the proper medical care locally and was reimbursed for all of her expenses including the hotel, food and airfare. DAN could not have been more helpful or understanding and took a tremendous load off of her shoulders. Their hotline is staffed 24 - 7!!

In addition, DAN conducts tremendous, groundbreaking research into diving physiology, lobbies on the part of the diving community and is making our sport as well as the individual diver safer. Our sport needs a good advocate like DAN.

I personally would not think about getting wet without DAN coverage. In addition to my DAN insurance policy, I have full medical coverage through both my employment and my volunteer fire/EMS department. For me, having DAN insurance is peace of mind when I go diving. DAN deals with divers and they do it right. For many other insurance plans, dive issues are collateral duty that they deal with once in a blue moon.

Good Luck,

Ken