Travel and diving insurance for seniors

[Ghost95]

This was the first I had heard of this, so as I am pushing 70 myself, I had to look into this. Now, my info is for US divers only, but with that caveat in mind, here is what I found. I called DAN direct (which was fun, as their non-emergency number was very crowded with a long wait on hold-"You are number 8 in the line!"- but eventually I got through) and here is what they said. It appears that they use multiple insurance carriers depending on your state of residence, and the policies can vary slightly as a result. (If you have ever searched DAN online to see what it costs, you will be asked for your state of residence before they will give you a price, and now you know why) Almost all the policies make no mention of any age restriction, but there are still a couple of states which have that annoying age limit. Dan is working hard to replace those with non-restricted policies, and hopes to have the changeover done soon. As I hail from Minnesota, I am lucky as my state is one who never had any age restriction, so I am good to go. They didn't tell me who the restricted states are, but if you are curious, I encourage you to call them (at 1-800-446-2671) and find out for yourself where you stand. One less worry, although the Coronavirus cloud is still hanging over us...

Thanks for your time and research into that. I'm still a ways from 70 but my dad is past that. We'll see what they say.

As for the Corona virus, it reads like a zombie novel. Just waiting for the reanimation and flesh eating to begin.

Take two limes and call the doctor in the morning.

 

[rongoodman]

Is DAN's insurance cutoff still 70 for diving?

It appears to depend on the plan and state. I'm 73 in New York and have had no issues yet.

 

[KathyV]

It appears to depend on the plan and state. I'm 73 in New York and have had no issues yet.

Which DAN plan do you have? It varies not only by state but by plan. DAN has at least 3 dive insurance plans but they are not all available in each state. If the Guardian Plan is the only option in your state and you are over 70 you may not be able to get any DAN diving insurance. In a different state you might be able to buy one of the lower plans if it is available to you.

 

[rongoodman]

I have the Master plan.

 

[KathyV]

I have the Master plan.

See the screenshots below of the DAN dive insurance plans available to you in NY and to me in IL. The Preferred is the highest-level plan that you are able to access.

In Illinois, I can purchase their top plan - the Guardian Plan - until after I turn 70; then it will no longer be available to me.

In some states, like WA, the Guardian plan is the only available option and so there are no other DAN choices after a diver approaches/reaches the age of 71 in those states.

Even when other plans are available, some divers prefer the Guardian Plan and are disappointed not to have it available due to age.

BTW, for only $35/year you could significantly increase your coverage by upgrading to the Preferred plan.

DAN New York

DAN Illinois

 

[tursiops]

Found a little time on my hands....went to DAN website and extracted costs for all states, for both accident insurance and for annual travel insurance; the latter was done for both 50 years of age and 75 years of age, assuming Jan 1 1970 and 1945 birth-dates, respectively.
Attached spreadsheet (xlsx so you can play with it, pdf so you can just read it) has the results.
Notes:
1. Kansas did not return a travel insurance cost; website malfunction.
2. FL, MT, and NY do not offer annual travel insurance.
3. There are four different accident plans: Guardian, Preferred, Master, and Standard. No state offers all four. Some offer only one or two.
4. Blue cells are the most common costs for each category (accident, travel(50), and travel(70).
5. Green cells are anomalously low costs; there are no green cells for accident insurance!
6. Red cells are anomalously high costs.
7. Grey cells means not available.
Conclusions:
1. If you are older and want the top-end plan -- at a good price -- in each category, move to Washington.
2. If you want accident insurance and live in CT or ID or UT, you are screwed.
3. If you are older and want annual travel insurance and live in VA (I do) or PA, you are screwed big-time.

 

[KathyV]

...Conclusions:
1. If you are older and want the top-end plan -- at a good price -- in each category, move to Washington...

The top-level DAN dive insurance Guardian Plan is not currently available to divers over 70 in the state of Washington.

There are no other DAN dive insurance plans available in Washington, so do NOT move to Washington if you are older and want to keep diving and have DAN accident insurance.

 

[tursiops]

The top-level DAN dive insurance Guardian Plan is not available to divers over 70 in the state of Washington.

There are no other DAN dive insurance plans available in Washington, so do NOT move to Washington if you are older and want to keep diving and have DAN accident insurance.

The full quote from DAN:

 

[KathyV]

The full quote from DAN:
View attachment 569261

Let's hope that it really happens - and that it also happens in IL for our sakes! I'm not worried about the Trip and Travel insurance, we have several options for that type of coverage - it's the dive insurance that concerns me.

The DAN Guardian Accident Plan book for IL currently says that the Reasons for Termination of Insurance include:

"...the premium due date coinciding with or next following the date the Insured attains age 70, unless the Policyholder has granted the Insured a written exemption which allows them to be an Insured after age 70..."

So IL is not one of the states that offers the Guardian Plan to cover divers over 70 at this time.

When the new DAN plans are approved, I wonder if they will be considerably more expensive for older divers?

We are currently investigating Medicare Supplemental health insurance options and the policies vary by state and the prices vary significantly.

 

[tursiops]

I'm not worried about the Trip and Travel insurance, we have several options for that type of coverage

What are those other options? Everything I can find either excludes my age or excludes scuba diving.