I'm involved in technical + rebreather SCUBA and high power rocketry. Both sports have arguably high risk profiles, but the insurance costs are vastly different.
Recreational high power rocketry polices itself effectively with nationwide training standards (NAR National Association of Rocketry and Tripoli Rocketry) that follow Federal NFPA and CFR standards, but are internally policed and individuals certified. They aren't managed or overseen by a government agency. Amateurs are launching rockets to 150,000' (with FAA waivers) and college kids are building amazing projects. For a rabbit hole look for Youtube videos on Black Rock + high power rocketry. Accidents are rare, people are distant from the source of danger and this is done in remote areas.
SCUBA on the other hand has innumerable certifying agencies (PADI, NAUI, SDI, TDI. IANTD, SSI, etc, etc) who establish training standards and manage the certifications centrally. I don't know how much policing they do of the individual shops/ instructors certifiers. It seems anyone can create their own certification agency and certify people to whatever standard they feel is good. Acknowledging that this is likely to illicit some argument/turmoil, but hear me out.
There is an opportunity for a nationwide or global set of standards. The oxygen safety standards are an area that needs work both for blending stations and things like rebreathers that are designed to use 100% O2. The resistance to a set of national standards presumably is why there are so many different agencies (and so many models of rebreathers). It would do a lot to manage insurance.
In high-power rockery each prefecture (local club - think scuba shop) pays $10 per year for a $3 million dollar insurance policy with a $5k deductible. Member flyers (analogy divers) pay $75 per year to maintain membership annually. When they stop flying often they stop paying their dues and become inactive and aren't allowed to fly and not on the insurance. The clubs that provide the fields to fly rockets thus have generally active flyers (like divers with current experience). The insurance policy is held by Tripoli National Rocketry, and negotiated for the organization. The national organization may occasionally visit a local club/prefecture/shop to witness compliance with standards but may be once a year at most. This would be like SSI or PADI or whatever making insurance policies available to scuba shops as long as they comply with the national standards. Today scuba shops are paying $50,000-$100,000 per year for insurance each. It doesn't compute.
If the high power amateur rocketry (HPR) model were applied to scuba, a diver would pay $75 per year to maintain eligibility to dive. The scuba shop would pay $10/year to the HPR like organization for access to the nationally negotiated insurance policy. Some divers naturally wouldn't want to pay $75/ year to maintain their certification as they don't dive enough. They probably represent the higher end of the risk profile so self select out of the model. The individual SCUBA shops with national coverage would have a dramatically lower operating cost as a result of the insurance savings. Market forces would create a situation where the HPR model divers are diving for the cost of gas and time (roughly $100/ day as today). Scuba shops would be paying 10 instead 50-100,000 for insurance so immediately more profitable (or less unprofitable). Divers that don't pay the $75/ year to maintain their certification would either be prevented from diving or the dive shops may charge them a market appropriate rate for carrying the 100,000 insurance cost e.g. 400 or 500/day. Google says there are 2000 scuba shops just in the US, so $200 million in insurance savings annually if all those scuba shops were paying 100k/year and moved to the HPR model.
If one of the dozens of certifying agencies provided an actual 'value add' like a national or global insurance policy it would make it a lot more financially viable for scuba shops and perhaps consolidate what is way too many certifying agencies. I have no affiliation/ ownership of a scuba shop and no interest in a certifying agency. I will say some of the technical material in one of the certifying agencies I'm certified under is pretty atrocious - littered with technical errors.
Throwing this out there for discussion.
Recreational high power rocketry polices itself effectively with nationwide training standards (NAR National Association of Rocketry and Tripoli Rocketry) that follow Federal NFPA and CFR standards, but are internally policed and individuals certified. They aren't managed or overseen by a government agency. Amateurs are launching rockets to 150,000' (with FAA waivers) and college kids are building amazing projects. For a rabbit hole look for Youtube videos on Black Rock + high power rocketry. Accidents are rare, people are distant from the source of danger and this is done in remote areas.
SCUBA on the other hand has innumerable certifying agencies (PADI, NAUI, SDI, TDI. IANTD, SSI, etc, etc) who establish training standards and manage the certifications centrally. I don't know how much policing they do of the individual shops/ instructors certifiers. It seems anyone can create their own certification agency and certify people to whatever standard they feel is good. Acknowledging that this is likely to illicit some argument/turmoil, but hear me out.
There is an opportunity for a nationwide or global set of standards. The oxygen safety standards are an area that needs work both for blending stations and things like rebreathers that are designed to use 100% O2. The resistance to a set of national standards presumably is why there are so many different agencies (and so many models of rebreathers). It would do a lot to manage insurance.
In high-power rockery each prefecture (local club - think scuba shop) pays $10 per year for a $3 million dollar insurance policy with a $5k deductible. Member flyers (analogy divers) pay $75 per year to maintain membership annually. When they stop flying often they stop paying their dues and become inactive and aren't allowed to fly and not on the insurance. The clubs that provide the fields to fly rockets thus have generally active flyers (like divers with current experience). The insurance policy is held by Tripoli National Rocketry, and negotiated for the organization. The national organization may occasionally visit a local club/prefecture/shop to witness compliance with standards but may be once a year at most. This would be like SSI or PADI or whatever making insurance policies available to scuba shops as long as they comply with the national standards. Today scuba shops are paying $50,000-$100,000 per year for insurance each. It doesn't compute.
If the high power amateur rocketry (HPR) model were applied to scuba, a diver would pay $75 per year to maintain eligibility to dive. The scuba shop would pay $10/year to the HPR like organization for access to the nationally negotiated insurance policy. Some divers naturally wouldn't want to pay $75/ year to maintain their certification as they don't dive enough. They probably represent the higher end of the risk profile so self select out of the model. The individual SCUBA shops with national coverage would have a dramatically lower operating cost as a result of the insurance savings. Market forces would create a situation where the HPR model divers are diving for the cost of gas and time (roughly $100/ day as today). Scuba shops would be paying 10 instead 50-100,000 for insurance so immediately more profitable (or less unprofitable). Divers that don't pay the $75/ year to maintain their certification would either be prevented from diving or the dive shops may charge them a market appropriate rate for carrying the 100,000 insurance cost e.g. 400 or 500/day. Google says there are 2000 scuba shops just in the US, so $200 million in insurance savings annually if all those scuba shops were paying 100k/year and moved to the HPR model.
If one of the dozens of certifying agencies provided an actual 'value add' like a national or global insurance policy it would make it a lot more financially viable for scuba shops and perhaps consolidate what is way too many certifying agencies. I have no affiliation/ ownership of a scuba shop and no interest in a certifying agency. I will say some of the technical material in one of the certifying agencies I'm certified under is pretty atrocious - littered with technical errors.
Throwing this out there for discussion.
