Looking at getting some equipment for DM & redundancy

[emttim]

As a candidate you are covered by his as long as you are under direct supervision. You can't do squat if he is not there. Also as a candidate you are not a DM yet technically speaking. So the question is are you loaning as a DM or letting a buddy use extra stuff you have? And are you willing to take a chance? I loaned my bc and reg to my nephew for his checkouts. I'm an authorized tech for the brand so I know it's good. I also know his parents would not sue me if he died or got hurt. They'd just kill me outright. Even though he is 24. As far as spares for my self I usually carry a full set of gear. BC regs, fins, mask, tanks etc. I own enough though to outfit at least 4 divers. For recreational stuff minus exposure suits of course unless they are mediums and would dive 3 mil in 53 degree quarries.

Ok, then I don't have to worry about insurance at this point in time. I see what you're saying...kind of a grey area as far as equipment goes. I think I would be willing to give out tank O-rings or lend weight to a student, since it's not like weight can "fail" and O-rings break anyway, but after reading this thread I'm not going to do anything else. I'd prefer not getting sued.

 

[philmayer]

Yeah, one of the basic tenets of the PADI system is that if you follow the standards, PADI will stand by you if you get sued. And a lot of the standards are geared towards keeping you out of trouble to begin with.

No, you do not need insurance until finish your DM cert. Until you finish, you're not a professional so your instructor is liable for anybody you kill, not you.

After you earn your DM cert, you will need to get insurance before you assist anybody with classes, lead dives, etc. The shop I DM for covers me under their policy. They have one policy that covers the whole shop, all of the instructors, and any DMs. All of the instructors split the cost of the policy, since they get paid. For those of us who are slaves, free insurance is one of the few perks we get.