Question regarding DAN insurance...

[dallaskincaid]

I apologize in advance if there was a better forum for this question.

I've had DAN insurance for the last couple of years and yesterday I was talking with some other divers about it when I was told something that made me think.

I do not have AOW, but I routinely dive below 60'.....actually, I do lots of dives to recreational limits of 130'. My question is this: "If I were to have a dive accident at 120' would DAN still cover the incident even though I was open an Open Water diver?"

I can't really think of any good reason to do AOW through Padi, but if this would be a reason for DAN not to cover an accident, that might push me to do it.

I appreciate any insight you great people might have!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

You need to actually read the policy. Some people will chime in and tell you what they think DAN should cover, what PADI says or what they covered for a friend of a friend a couple of years ago. What matters though is what the policy actually states in writing. It's frightening the number of people who sign contracts and fail to read them first, relying on the "good will" of the company to do the right thing.

 

[Allan C Smith]

I would think that that is a Certification limitation and not a policy. But you should call Dan to find out. They are really Friendly folks. For the sake of argument lets say you experienced a problem on a wall dive at 60' and fell down to 130'. If you ended up getting hurt you should still be covered even though you were't planing a dive to 130'.

Ether way you should do the AOW and Deep course. There a lot of fun!

 

[dallaskincaid]

You need to actually read the policy. Some people will chime in and tell you what they think DAN should cover, what PADI says or what they covered for a friend of a friend a couple of years ago. What matters though is what the policy actually states in writing. It's frightening the number of people who sign contracts and fail to read them first, relying on the "good will" of the company to do the right thing.

I actually DID read the policy, looked at the FAQ's etc. and could find nothing related to diving outside of training. I guess I need to call DAN tomorrow and ask the question.

 

[theduckguru]

Under SSI, you can obtain an Advanced card with 4 specialties and 24 dives. So you could take Nitrox, Night, Equipment, and Navigation and never completed a deep dive.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have had DAN coverage now for 9 years. Never needed to file a claim. But I have used them for myself and others. If you look at the coverage levels there is no depth limit on the preferred plan. What I've always had.

You also need to remember that the depth limits from your OW course are recommended limits and limits during training. They are certainly not followed by numerous ops all over the world. They are not laws and there are no scuba police. Although there should be at times.

Under our agency SEI divers are certified to 100 feet out of the Open Water class. It is strongly recommended that they don't go there without either working up to that over time or by getting additional training if they want to take a faster approach.


Side note: If you're interested in getting an Advanced cert that gives you more that what the standard course offers shoot me a message.

 

[DandyDon]

You need to actually read the policy. Some people will chime in and tell you what they think DAN should cover, what PADI says or what they covered for a friend of a friend a couple of years ago. What matters though is what the policy actually states in writing. It's frightening the number of people who sign contracts and fail to read them first, relying on the "good will" of the company to do the right thing.

Yepper. But this brochure will answer your question: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/membership/handbook.pdf

Planned Max. Depth Covered: For the Preferred & Master plans - no limit. For the Standard plan - 130ft/40m

Now the Standard plan really sucks for the price, while the Master plan is far superior for only $10/year more. I once had the pleasure of speaking with DAN President Dan Orr and I asked him why they didn't discontinue that one. His answer is many members only want that one. Well, it is a membership organization, so as long as it sells - I guess they will keep it. Still, if you dive plan is to 129 ft but you end up at 150 ft for whatever reason, still covered.

Additional training is always a good idea, but paying for the AOW card is optional - and of little benefit. Some charters do require it for some dive sites tho, so you'd probably be better off if you got it - but it won't affect your DAN dive insurance.

 

[D_B]

I strongly endorse getting the Preferred Plan .... at only $6.25 per month (US) ... for the price of one fast food meal a month it's hard to justify getting a lessor plan .... DAN | Dive Accident Insurance Plans

this does not include the $35 dollar a year DAN Membership, but I think all divers should be a member just because of all the work that DAN does in research and information on keeping divers safe

 

[Hawkwood]

You folks may want to have a look at DAN's Insurance Plans. They have changed:

Master Plan; Preferred Plan; Guardian Plan

The Preferred Plan is no longer the top tier plan. There are some changes, but not significant. The Guardian Plan has virtually double the coverage in all categories of the Preferred Plan.

As to the question about depth, this is the definition of "covered diving accident":

"COVERED DIVING ACCIDENT means an Accident, DCI, or any Injury that results from a Covered Dive, regardless of the depth."


edit: as knotical pointed out below, DAN's insurance options are now different between Canada and the US. The quote on "Covered Diving Accident" came from DAN's Handbook for Canadians, which was published in January 2013.

 

[knotical]

Note that the Guardian plan is available only in Canada. The Standard plan is available only in the US.

See: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/insurance/dive/
Click on “View Plans”, then select country.

DAN Europe is another kettle of fish, entirely; as is DAN Asia-Pacific.
See:http://www.daneurope.org/web/guest/membership
or: http://www.danasiapacific.org/main/membership/insurancecountrylink.php

edit: just realized there are seven DAN affiliates worldwide !
see: https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/contact/international.asp