Liveaboard insurance for Australians diving domestically

[iancl]

Hi all,

We're going on our first liveaboard in QLD Australia, and we live in NSW. The operator strongly recommends diving-specific travel insurance and doesn't offer refunds in case of cancellation due to weather ot other things beyond their control. They recommended DiveAssure which looks great and covers, among other things: cancellation due to weather, missed diving days due to weather, missing the departure. These all seem great!

But when I enquired about problems I had getting quotes on the DiveAssure online tool, DiveAssure told me they don't cover diving trips in Australia for Australian residents! They cover diving accidents etc., but not Dive+Travel. Generic travel insurance won't cover liveaboard-specific things like missing a departure due to cancelled flights, or liveaboard cancellation due to weather.

Who else provides liveaboard-friendly insurance for Australians diving in Australia?

I have searched but it doesn't seem like DAN or Insure&Go do anything quite the same.

 

[iancl]

Hi all,

We're going on our first liveaboard in QLD Australia, and we live in NSW. The operator strongly recommends diving-specific travel insurance and doesn't offer refunds in case of cancellation due to weather ot other things beyond their control. They recommended DiveAssure which looks great and covers, among other things: cancellation due to weather, missed diving days due to weather, missing the departure. These all seem great!

But when I enquired about problems I had getting quotes on the DiveAssure online tool, DiveAssure told me they don't cover diving trips in Australia for Australian residents! They cover diving accidents etc., but not Dive+Travel. Generic travel insurance won't cover liveaboard-specific things like missing a departure due to cancelled flights, or liveaboard cancellation due to weather.

Who else provides liveaboard-friendly insurance for Australians diving in Australia?

I have searched but it doesn't seem like DAN or Insure&Go do anything quite the same.

I should add, we're thinking about getting a DAN membership which seems well-priced and covers medical (although I believe our normal private health insurance will also cover it - not sure) and emergency evacuation. So the main priority is travel insurance to cover major losses for things beyond our control.

 

[diver257a]

But when I enquired about problems I had getting quotes on the DiveAssure online tool, DiveAssure told me they don't cover diving trips in Australia for Australian residents! They cover diving accidents etc., but not Dive+Travel. Generic travel insurance won't cover liveaboard-specific things like missing a departure due to cancelled flights, or liveaboard cancellation due to weather.

Who else provides liveaboard-friendly insurance for Australians diving in Australia?

Hi iand,

I am interested in your query because I am thinking about a dive trip to QLD for mid-late 2025, and have been wondering about this class of insurance..

If you have paid for the trip using a credit card, the card may have 'complimentary insurance' which may cover the events like those mentioned above. I am currently looking at the policy document for my credit card - it does look like it may cover such events, but I will not know until I have read the entire document.

I should add, we're thinking about getting a DAN membership which seems well-priced and covers medical (although I believe our normal private health insurance will also cover it - not sure) and emergency evacuation. So the main priority is travel insurance to cover major losses for things beyond our control.

I was a DAN member but did not renew about 10 years ago - amongst other things, I found that the services offered re medical treatment and evaucation for injuries etc were only 'good value for money' for Australians when diving outside the country. With respect to medical treatment, If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident etc, you are entitled to treatment in a public hospital. For emergency evacuations, I reply on the subscription with my state's ambulance service which is valid Australia-wide. To get this, I paid an extra fee to get the national cover, I need to read the subscription to check the extent of the services available.

 

[iancl]

Thanks!

Let me know what you determine with your credit card insurance - it would be good to know for future reference. Unfortunately I didn't book everything with the same card this time - I had assumed we'd have dedicated insurance. I'm also sceptical of credit card insurance and I would guess it would be difficult to get them to cover a lot of instances. I also hate the idea of spending hours reading fine-print to know if you're covered, or if there are obscure exemptions which effectively make the insurance useless.

 

[diver257a]

Apologies for the delaying in responding.

My bank offers at least eight different credit cards which is divided in two groups - one with minimum insurance cover (i.e. Insurance for Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty) and one with comprehensive insurance cover (i.e. Insurance for International Travel, Domestic Travel, Rental Vehicle Excess in Australia, Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty). I downloaded the insurance booklets and read the relevant sections. The Insurer is Allianz.

I have the credit card that has the lowest annual fee and therefore has the minimum insurance cover. This does not cover any aspect of scuba holiday apart from, say, buying items such as a new mask. Therefore I will be looking elsewhere for the appropriate level of insurance cover.

The cards in the other group (described as Platinum/Black cards) have the comprehensive insurance which will cover from what I have read most aspects of a scuba holiday including cancellations.

Therefore, I would suggest that you check what insurance cover is available for your credit card.

 

[andriaia]

Hi iancl, I would be interested to know if you ever found an answer to this. I am in the exact same situation, and mainly looking for trip insurance that would cover missing the departure or cancellation due to weather.