Info Is DAN Insurance worthwhile?

[Baker_Dive]

An hour and a half of my life that I'll never get back, but I made it through the video. Probably biased, but I think it is extremely difficult to call DAN insurance worthless in this case, or any other. It seems that they:

- Communicated and provided a treatment option.
- Reimbursed / will reimburse him for out of pocket expenses and treatment he arranged on his own, which is exactly what is expected of a supplementary insurance policy.
- Have followed up with him to sort out what could have been done differently and appear to be doing so with full transparency.

Maybe things didn't happen as immediate as they should, but really, what more can he ask for??

I can't remember off the top of my head what DAN membership and insurance costs each year, but I have to imagine that this guy has probably eaten a more expensive steak at some point in his life.

FWIW I had an incident last year that required I contact DAN for advice, to arrange a recompression treatment, and use their insurance. Fortunately I was very local, but without DAN I would literally and financially be very broke right now. The services they provide are worth it a thousand times over.

I disagree. It’s normal to come out of pocket for a medical emergency requiring prompt treatment? Woody shelled out 28k or he would have had to wait an additional 24 hours to start treatment. This is unacceptable. Not many have that type of liquidity at that time of night.

This is the Bahamas, Abaco is a one hour flight from Miami. Yet, DAN told him they can’t find him a flight. So woody used google and found a flight and had one within an hour picking him up.

DAN failed.

 

[ScubaSamScubaStevesFather]

The Bahamas may not be everyone's favorite place, but it is very, very close to Florida - only 30-40 minutes in a helicopter that should be able to evac to US in an emergency.

One of the things that DAN has marketed is the critical need to secure reliable and rapid international evac for treatment. Most people have regular insurance which will eventually cover reasonable medical costs. DAN is supposed to be the experts on this and secure transportation when you really need it and make sure you are routed to a hyperbaric chamber that is staffed and ready to roll.

If this story is even remotely factual, I'm not really seeing a value in renewal of my DAN and I have paid thousands in renewal fees for myself and family members over the years.

Read the other thread as well. This is key. Two guys with a high enough credit limit were able to get medevac’d, but DAN couldn’t get anything figured out in a reasonable amount of time with all their resources. **** company management; probably best to get insurance elsewhere and ensure you have a high credit limit

 

[Baker_Dive]

Perhaps, but he made the most convincing case I have ever seen for AMEX. I am probably going to get one, after seeing this. When I go to the Bahamas I carry only a few to several hundred dollars. I had always assumed DAN would send a helo from Ft. Lauderdale, If I really needed it.

Never leave home without it Lol

 

[L13]

well, that is a good question.

yeah, to a degree their youtube persona amplifies their persona.

I suspected.

I would let either Woody or Gus teach my teen aged kid any recreational dive course with confidence.

That is impactful. Maybe I misjudge them.

 

[Boarderguy]

Gus is a member on this board. He chipped in when we went over his incident last year. I just don't remember his @ for here.

 

[L13]

I think they have been pretty open on their journey that they are learning as well, and have the courage to put out in public some of the "learning experiences" along the way that many have but wouldn't be so willing. From a "Just Culture" POV, that's a good thing.

You are right about that. Maybe I'm overreacting more to the the "YouTube Clickbait/Instagram influencer" feel than than the actual content. Maybe I'm showing my age. You are right about the importance of a "Just Culture."

But the title of this thread isn't very "Just Culture" either. In fact it was the beginning of the clickbait reaction.

 

[Baker_Dive]

Gus is a member on this board. He chipped in when we went over his incident last year. I just don't remember his @ for here.

I wish Gus would come here, but it’d end like the last one. Where he is attacked and the whole topic is confrontational.

 

[Bigbella]

The only thing missing from this story is Shemp.

I finally got to hear that entire account and was surprised as hell about the laissez faire attitude the divers had toward someone already exhibiting classic DCS symptoms from the get-go, upon barely boarding a boat, with breathing difficulties, after an arduous, lengthy decompression cave dive -- so too, the behavior of the dive master / captain(?) who apparently had "some" experience in the NAVY operating decompression chambers, and who immediately suspected DCS II?

I don't know how long it was between that group arriving back at a dive shop after a boat ride, with the affected diver on oxygen the entire way and their discussion whether to cook up a bunch of steaks rather than go out to dinner(!), instead of seeking immediate medical help of some sort, for someone who was obviously ill for hours(?) -- and only sought further treatment after they suspected that the diver could be stroking out, as an eyelid began drooping and he was no longer talking?

Why these obviously well-traveled (heeled?) guys with their CCRs (I don't know who they are or give one whit) didn't carry dedicated travel medical insurance for the sticks -- and Great Abaco (regardless of colorful travel ads with women in thongs, and its mean distance to the US) is the sticks, is also beyond me. I never leave the States without either riders on my existing policies (if possible) or dedicated travel medical. I have lived and worked abroad long enough, not to cheap-out on insurance coverage.

Also, the Gringo Tax is alive as well the world over, and many travel destinations in the stickier parts of the world, would like nothing more than for a sap [American] tourist, to have to pay out of pocket, in some crap clinic.

Beyond that, they were all taken aback that it would take real time for DAN to arrange air evacuation from Abaco after their own initial commercial flight from the States had been turned back from the Bahamas to Miami and Atlanta, after being unable to land -- for whatever oddball reason -- under instrumentation?

There seems to be a good deal of lost time; dropped balls; a barely eaten steak, and missing specifics to the current account -- and I still can't get the image of that guy all-but tonguing his AMEX card, out of my aching head . . .

 

[Baker_Dive]

The only thing missing from the account is Shemp.

I finally got to hear that entire account and was surprised as hell about the laissez faire attitude the divers had about someone already exhibiting classic DCS symptoms from the get-go, upon boarding the boat after the arduous, lengthy decompression cave dive -- and about the dive master / captain(?) who apparently had some experience in the NAVY operating decompression chambers, who already suspected possible DCS II?

I don't know how long it was between them arriving back at a dive shop after a boat ride, with the affected diver on oxygen the entire way and their discussing whether to cook up a bunch of steaks rather than going out to dinner (!), rather than seeking immediate medical help of any sort, for someone who was obviously ill -- and only sought further treatment after they suspected that the diver could be stroking out?

Why these obviously well-traveled guys don't carry dedicated travel medical insurance for the sticks -- and Great Abaco (regardless of travel magazines) is the sticks, is also beyond me. I never leave the States without either riders on my existing policies (if possible) or dedicated travel medical. I have lived and worked abroad long enough overseas, not to cheap-out on insurance coverage.

Also, the Gringo Tax is alive as well the world over, and many travel destinations in the sticky parts of the world, would like nothing more for a sap tourist, to have to pay out of pocket, in some crap clinic.

Beyond that, they were surprised that it would take real time for DAN to arrange air evacuation from Abaco when their own initial commercial flight was turned back from the Bahamas to Miami and Atlanta.

There seems to be a good deal of lost time in the current account . . .

We agree on the DCS symptoms being casually overlooked while cooking steaks. I’m guessing they get back, Woody claimed he’s feeling better just wants to relax. No one wants to admit they are sick and put into motion a chamber ride, which would ruin Gus trip and let down Brian, I think that’s just human psychology. It’s happened to me where I didn’t want to let others down and dove when I shouldn’t have and also have ignored DCS symptoms in the past hoping it just go away.

We disagree on the DAN timeline and what DAN could do. The only reason Woody made it of Abaco and to a chamber was because he paid out of pocket 28k. DAN told woody it’d be 24 hours minimum. Woody is in and out of consciousness and realizes he’s on his own to get to a chamber. As we all know, it’s prudent to get into a chamber ASAP or risk permanent damage. Woody arranged a flight in an hour by using google. In a true emergency seems DAN is pretty useless

 

[Underwater Tourist]

@cerich it is probably a difficult ask, but do you think you could try asking Gus and Woody to chime in to end speculation / answer some questions in this or the other thread?