Inactive Divemaster

[Aguablanco1]

PADI $125 SDI $55.
While it may be true that I can show, what would be my DM card, if the shop checks and I wasn't paid up it would show suspended or worse. $55 per year is not enough to worry about. If the Agencies would make the AOW or Rescue courses tougher to pass I wouldn't need a DM card.

 

[Tug]

By all means continue to pay to stay active, but if you don't pay your dues it just shows that you aren't renewed nothing like suspended. On the other side, why do you need to show anything higher than Rescue (or even AOW)?

 

[Bennno]

$55 per year is not enough to worry about.

I'm not paying because the amount is too high. I'm not paying because I'd be paying for nothing... there's no upside in being a member.
If you're a DM your're a DM whether you paid or not.

Edit: I paid SSI membership for 12 or 14 years... total waste of money.

 

[TMHeimer]

When I was active I got the Sport Diver too (as pros automatically were PADI Diving Soc. members), until PADI decided that pro members could only get it digitally (though non pro PADI Diving Society members could still get the hard copy for THEIR toilet time use). This was not very pleasing to me. On a side note, if you only assist with courses and don't DM charters or teach the several courses DMs can teach, your annual insurance rate drops by maybe $100 or so. But membership stays the same. I do miss reading the Underwater Journal, which you could still get hard copy. So I grab whatever free mags I can when in dive shops.

 

[guruboy]

Can you get professional liability insurance if you don't pay dues?

 

[mmerriman]

Can you get professional liability insurance if you don't pay dues?

I don't see any reason why you couldn't - and in general someone might question why you would want to - but imagine this scenario - you're active and then decide to "retire" and no longer stay active. However someone comes out of the woodwork and names you in a suit from an event 2 years ago. Insurance applies when the case is brought - not when the event happened...

 

[DustyC]

I don't see any reason why you couldn't - and in general someone might question why you would want to - but imagine this scenario - you're active and then decide to "retire" and no longer stay active. However someone comes out of the woodwork and names you in a suit from an event 2 years ago. Insurance applies when the case is brought - not when the event happened...

Incorrect. Insurance coverage is for the date of the event.

 

[mmerriman]

Incorrect. Insurance coverage is for the date of the event.

sorry - but V&B policies are "claims made" policies. other providers (maybe yours) may be different...

from V&B:
I won’t be teaching again until after the first of the year, why must I renew my insurance?

By not renewing, you will have a gap or lapse in your insurance and will not have coverage for any "prior acts". This means if a student makes a claim against you for a wrongful act that occurred prior to your gap or lapse in coverage, then you would not be covered for this student's claim. This would be a "prior act".

In addition, the insurance you are purchasing is a "claims made" policy, requiring you to have insurance at the time of the claim. For example, you certified a student in 2004 and your insurance expired in June 2005. You obtain insurance again in January 2006, however, your student has an incident in October 2005 and files a claim against you. You will not have coverage for this claim because you did not have insurance at the time of the incident and since you had a "gap" in coverage, you will not be covered for any acts prior to January 2006.


It is important to maintain continuous coverage even if you won't be actively teaching for a while. We strongly recommend you purchase the non-teaching or retired protection.

 

[DustyC]

sorry - but V&B policies are "claims made" policies. other providers (maybe yours) may be different...

from V&B:
I won’t be teaching again until after the first of the year, why must I renew my insurance?

By not renewing, you will have a gap or lapse in your insurance and will not have coverage for any "prior acts". This means if a student makes a claim against you for a wrongful act that occurred prior to your gap or lapse in coverage, then you would not be covered for this student's claim. This would be a "prior act".

In addition, the insurance you are purchasing is a "claims made" policy, requiring you to have insurance at the time of the claim. For example, you certified a student in 2004 and your insurance expired in June 2005. You obtain insurance again in January 2006, however, your student has an incident in October 2005 and files a claim against you. You will not have coverage for this claim because you did not have insurance at the time of the incident and since you had a "gap" in coverage, you will not be covered for any acts prior to January 2006.


It is important to maintain continuous coverage even if you won't be actively teaching for a while. We strongly recommend you purchase the non-teaching or retired protection.

Sounds like a lie to get people to purchase insurance. I've been testifying in court on insurance cases for close to 20 years. Never have I seen a case end up that way. Nor have any of the agents or adjustors I asked.

 

[TMHeimer]

Interesting info. on lawsuits that come from the past. I'm figuring not to worry about my 4 years DMing. Nothing bad happened then. The only thing I could think of that would in any way affect me is if someone now has an incident and claims it was something I said or did years ago that led to it. Has anyone ever heard of this occurring?

As for being insured while not paying agency membership fees, unless you are in fact in a gap of time between being active, I can't think of a reason to do that. If you are just starting out as a DM (or Instr.) and want to be insured while not a paid up agency member, what would you be doing? I guess you would be covered if you were out teaching on your own, but unless you formed your own agency, you couldn't certify anyone--thus your graduates couldn't have a card to get air fills. Where would you teach, get materials, etc.? Every dive op that I know of is affiliated with one agency or another.
So what would the reasoning be?