What is going on With Dive Insurance

[outofofficebrb]

Hi, there.

You can still try to use DAN's TravelAssist which includes medical evacuation. It does not need to be dive related, though it can be. I have a friend who had to use it and claim it while overseas in the Philippines and he was hospitalized. They paid for his business class ticket back home. He originally flew business and obviously missed his flight due to the hospitalization. When he was ready to go home, they probably would have flown him in economy but the doctors wrote a note saying that he needed to be able to lie down so there's that. I'm sure he could have contacted the airline and made other arrangements with a very valid reason for having missed his flight but this was available to him and it was easier. They made the arrangements and he said they pulled through. I am confident they will do a good job should it be something outside of commercial flight.

Here's the information below about TravelAssist. Every DAN member gets this. This applies for anything more than 50 miles from your permanent residence.

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DAN Membership
TRAVELASSIST

+1-919-684-9111
If outside the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, British or U.S. Virgin Islands, call +1-919-684-9111 collect.

When you join DAN, you are automatically enrolled in DAN's travel assistance plan and your family is covered with your family membership. If you travel at least 50 miles/80 km from your permanent residence, TravelAssist is there to help 24 hours a day. DAN TravelAssist arranges emergency medical evacuations for any medical emergency - and provides many more benefits - for you and your immediate family members.

IMPORTANT: DAN TravelAssist must arrange ALL evacuations. If you make your own emergency evacuation arrangements DAN TravelAssist will not reimburse the cost.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

• Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
  Covers up to a maximum of $100,000 per person (if a Family Membership) for an emergency evacuation, or medically necessary repatriation.
• Prescription Assistance
  Locates and arranges to send medication or eyeglasses when it's possible and legally acceptable.
• Medical Expense
  Advances up to $5,000 for hospital admittance or discharge deposits.
• Medical Monitoring
  Work with local medical providers and relay necessary information to the member and the member's family until the situation is resolved.
• 24-Hour Worldwide Medical Information and Assistance
  Provides 24-hour multilingual assistance and consultation along with non-diving related medical referrals to physicians, hospitals and specialists.

TRAVEL ASSISTANCE

• Visit of Family Member or Friend
  Arranges and pays for economy round-trip airfare for a visitor if you are traveling alone and require hospitalization for more than five consecutive days.
• Return of Dependent Children
  Arranges and pays for one-way economy airfare to return children home if you become ill or injured and cannot attend to their needs.
• Return of Traveling Companion
  Arranges and pays for one-way economy airfare for a traveling companion if the companion loses previously made travel arrangements because of the member's medical emergency.
• Pre-Trip Information
  Get visa, passport and inoculation requirements; cultural information; weather conditions; embassy and consular referrals; foreign exchange rates; and travel advisories through DAN TravelAssist.
• Repatriation of Remains
  If you or a covered family member dies while traveling, DAN TravelAssist will arrange and pay, up to the policy limit, for all costs associated with the return of your remains.
• Return of Vehicle
  Arranges to return your unattended vehicle to the rental agency or to the current principal residence in case of a medical emergency.

PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

• Emergency Message Transmission
  Receive and relay emergency messages to and from your family and/or employer.
• Emergency Cash Advances
  When possible, provides a cash advance of up to $250 in local monies for medical emergencies.
• Assistance With Recovering Lost or Stolen Items
  DAN TravelAssist will attempt to recover lost or stolen items by contacting the appropriate parties.
• Translator and Interpreter Referrals
• Insurance Claims Assistance
  Assists in obtaining information for insurance claims generated overseas for cases coordinated through DAN TravelAssist.

LEGAL ASSISTANCE

• Legal Referrals
  Referrals to local qualified attorneys. Telephone interpretation provided when necessary.
• Bail Advances
  Up to $5,000 in bail funds with an acceptable guarantee of reimbursement.
• Legal Assistance
  Advise the proper embassy or consulate of your incarceration.

For complete details on all TravelAssist Benefits, and exclusions to the policy, see the DAN Member Handbook.

 

[KeithG]

I am getting ready to move to Washington State and insurance options have changed there too. Only thing available is the top tier Guardian Plan.
And I just checked Dive Assure and their coverages don't include anything in the USa itself. Only when traveling abroad.

Have you considered looking at high(er) end travel insurance? There is nothing special about scuba diving in comparison to a heart attack. Helicopters are cheap compared to heart attack surgery stuff...

 

[Trailboss123]

Have you considered looking at high(er) end travel insurance? There is nothing special about scuba diving in comparison to a heart attack. Helicopters are cheap compared to heart attack surgery stuff...

I think $120 a year for the top end DAN insurance is still a great deal given all of the benefits + most Liveaboards require dive specific insurance and more and more dive resorts are starting to require it also. I do 4 international trips a year and about 200 dives annually; so in the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal- just finding it curious how things are changing recently based on which State you reside in.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Have you considered looking at high(er) end travel insurance? There is nothing special about scuba diving in comparison to a heart attack. Helicopters are cheap compared to heart attack surgery stuff...

In execution, the dollars that add up are probably same or lower than a heart attack but many insurance policies still categorize scuba diving activities as "high risk". *grumble* So, in their eyes, it's "special" which makes it annoying. I am lucky I live in a state that still has the original DAN plans!

 

[divinh]

For my upcoming trip... I have DAN Guardian for diving, Dive Assure from PADI Travel for booking a liveaboard over $1000 USD, and World Nomads for general travel. A concern of mine is between DAN and Dive Assure should something happen on the liveaboard. Which one should I depend upon first?

 

[WetRocks]

Have you considered looking at high(er) end travel insurance? There is nothing special about scuba diving in comparison to a heart attack. Helicopters are cheap compared to heart attack surgery stuff...

Personally, it has nothing to do with travel. Most of my diving is with the US and within 10 miles of home. I have DAN specifically for diving related incidents. Maybe it is redundant with my personal medical insurance, but I am a cave diver so believe in redundancy.

 

[outofofficebrb]

For my upcoming trip... I have DAN Guardian for diving, Dive Assure from PADI Travel for booking a liveaboard over $1000 USD, and World Nomads for general travel. A concern of mine is between DAN and Dive Assure should something happen on the liveaboard. Which one should I depend upon first?

It depends on which policy you have from Dive Assure. Ask PADI Travel to issue you your policy and find out if it is primary or secondary. If it is secondary, then it is the same as DAN. If it is primary, DAN will prefer that you have primary insurance kick in before they kick in as secondary but if you have nothing else as primary, DAN will slot in there. Worldwide, DAN is much more well known than Dive Assure. My guess is that most resorts and operators would call them first because that is a household name and they can all figure out the billing situation later. If I only have space for one insurance to mention, I always mention DAN.

 

[CWK]

From http://www.adelaar-cruises.com/general-information/dive-safety/

• Due to the remote location of Komodo, all divers are required to have medical evacuation insurance with either DAN or AQUAMED, as these are the only two that are accepted without a deposit, by the evac companies in Bali.

I thought the quote above from the Adelaar liveaboard website is quite interesting. I switched my insurance to DAN as a result. If I’m ever in need of medical evac, I wouldn’t want any delays.

Perhaps @Adelaar Cruises will elaborate.

 

[Adelaar Cruises]

From http://www.adelaar-cruises.com/general-information/dive-safety/

• Due to the remote location of Komodo, all divers are required to have medical evacuation insurance with either DAN or AQUAMED, as these are the only two that are accepted without a deposit, by the evac companies in Bali.

I thought the quote above from the Adelaar liveaboard website is quite interesting. I switched my insurance to DAN as a result. If I’m ever in need of medical evac, I wouldn’t want any delays.

Perhaps @Adelaar Cruises will elaborate.

Sorry but our knowledge about this stops at the Indonesian border!

 

[divinh]

It depends on which policy you have from Dive Assure. Ask PADI Travel to issue you your policy and find out if it is primary or secondary. If it is secondary, then it is the same as DAN. If it is primary, DAN will prefer that you have primary insurance kick in before they kick in as secondary but if you have nothing else as primary, DAN will slot in there. Worldwide, DAN is much more well known than Dive Assure. My guess is that most resorts and operators would call them first because that is a household name and they can all figure out the billing situation later. If I only have space for one insurance to mention, I always mention DAN.

I spoke to PADI Travel and asked them about the Dive Assure insurance they're offering along with liveaboards booked through them valuing over $1000 USD. They told me that it's a standard dive insurance plan, similar to DAN, without a liveaboard rider. They recommended that I /not/ add the Dive Assure and stick with only one insurance. However, should I change my mind, they can add it in about three minutes. At this point, I told them I'll just have DAN, as I do have the Guardian plan.