I'm 71 and DAN won't insure me -- now what?

[KathyV]

Thie TripAdvisor Forum thread at the link below is 2 years old but I'm posting it because it is another example of insurance companies limiting the activities of the older individuals specifically by setting a maximum age limit.

The OP wanted to rent a car on Grand Cayman and the rental agency agreed to rent the car - but they refused to sell him any liability insurance because he was 75 years old.

It turns out that age limitations/polices for car rentals may vary by agency in Cayman - and perhaps also in other areas of the world?

rental car insurance and age limits - Cayman Islands Forum - TripAdvisor

 

[fmerkel]

Seeing this thread, being over 70, living in WA (active local diver), AND leaving for Bonaire in 2 weeks I called the DAN # listed in Peter's attachment. Our cards say we are valid until Feb. 2020 and was assured that we would be grandfathered in until that date. They've had a lot of feedback about this issue and are trying to fill the gap. Hope this gets sorted out soon.

 

[tursiops]

Seeing this thread, being over 70, living in WA (active local diver), AND leaving for Bonaire in 2 weeks I called the DAN # listed in Peter's attachment. Our cards say we are valid until Feb. 2020 and was assured that we would be grandfathered in until that date. They've had a lot of feedback about this issue and are trying to fill the gap. Hope this gets sorted out soon.

Concur. DAN just said to me: "We were informed after you had renewed your policy so our underwriters have agreed to still honor those who had already renewed."

 

[chillyinCanada]

There's more of us getting up there in age. Something will have to be done.

The travel medical that I carried for years cut me off age wise a couple of years back. That's when I found that the equivalent of the AAA would provide. Yes, it's a bit more expensive but that's to be expected, I guess. Sigh.

My aunt is over 85 years old. For her to go to stay at my cousin's place in Phoenix for a month every year is a ridiculous amount of money. There's nothing to be done about it though. Who can afford to take a chance on needing medical in the US, no matter their age. Anything could happen even an injury from a vehicle accident or a fall that breaks a bone could make a serious dent in a non-citizens finances.

 

[Celt]

I run some dive trips. I won't take anyone who does not have DAN accident insurance or equivalent. This is pretty common for dive trips.

Must you still have public liability insurance even if the divers have their own personal insurance? Just wondering how the system works. In Ireland the boat insurance covers everyone on board.

 

[ibj40]

There's more of us getting up there in age. Something will have to be done.

The travel medical that I carried for years cut me off age wise a couple of years back. That's when I found that the equivalent of the AAA would provide. Yes, it's a bit more expensive but that's to be expected, I guess. Sigh.

My aunt is over 85 years old. For her to go to stay at my cousin's place in Phoenix for a month every year is a ridiculous amount of money. There's nothing to be done about it though. Who can afford to take a chance on needing medical in the US, no matter their age. Anything could happen even an injury from a vehicle accident or a fall that breaks a bone could make a serious dent in a non-citizens finances.

I am on the Board of a retirement plan, and one of the things our actuary recommended was a change in the mortality table we use, for the same reason I bolded in the quote above.

Plus, this is not a surprise to either the insurance or retirement industry, it's been staring them in the face since the term "Baby Boom" was created, and if they had better been preparing for it.

Personally, I recently had a personal disability policy age-out, but I knew that was going to happen, as soon as I reached Social Security eligibility. I paid an inflated premium from age 65 up to now (just turned 69), but with retirement less than a year away, to hold on to it until then didn't make sense economically.

For AIG to arbitrarily begin to enforce a clause in their insurance agreement with DAN tells me that someone was asleep at the switch. If that is the fact, I would be very worried about any product that AIG sells or underwrites.

Let's hope that DAN and AIG come to their senses. It would seem to me that there is a huge loss of income potential if they ditch all of us old guys.

 

[Celt]

Of course. No one needs insurance . . .until they do and then they really do.

What I’m trying to figure out is why you need personal insurance when you’re covered by boat and public liability insurance, it just seem like a way for insurance companies to argue about who is liable.

 

[KathyV]

What I’m trying to figure out is why you need personal insurance when you’re covered by boat and public liability insurance, it just seem like a way for insurance companies to argue about who is liable.

What do you mean by "public liability insurance", what does it cover? I don't think that term is common in the US.

If the boat crew were not at fault, they probably have some liability responsibility - like if you fall and break your leg on their property - but if you have a heart attack, they probably won't be responsible for all of your costs - emergency care, hospitalization, transport back home, etc.

 

[KathyV]

What I’m trying to figure out is why you need personal insurance when you’re covered by boat and public liability insurance, it just seem like a way for insurance companies to argue about who is liable.

I have posted this story in the past, but new members join SB all the time so it doesn't hurt to repeat information about an event (not connected to me) that helped me to finally make up my mind about the wisdom of taking dive and travel insurance.

A dive shop owner named Gary McNabb had retired and closed his shop and moved to Florida. While all these changes were taking place he let his DAN insurance lapse and forgot to renew it before making a dive trip with his wife to Ambergris Caye, Belize. On one of the dives he surfaced too close to the boat and suffered a serious head injury. He was transferred to a hospital in Belize City for surgery and critical care and later transported by air to Texas where he died in a hospital.

He was a veteran and he had good insurance coverage in the US but his expenses outside the US were very great, and apparently not covered by the dive op or the resort, and so his friends set up the GoFundMe page at the link below to try and help his family.

I didn't know Gary McNabb but I am guessing that he wouldn't have wanted to leave behind a terrible financial burden for his family. He paid for insurance for years and probably didn't use it much, but the one time he really needed it, he didn't have it. So now I try to make sure that we always have it - but I hope that we will never need it!

Click here to support Gary McNabb Family Support Fund organized by Barbara Brower

 

[Celt]

What do you mean by "public liability insurance", what does it cover? I don't think that term is common in the US.

If the boat crew were not at fault, they probably have some liability responsibility - like if you fall and break your leg on their property - but if you have a heart attack, they probably won't be responsible for all of your costs - emergency care, hospitalization, transport back home, etc.

As a business operator you must have insurance to cover your clients,