World Nomads - Avoid for Dive Insurance

[zaphod9]

If you are considering getting World Nomads so that you are covered in the event of a scuba accident, you might want to reconsider. I recently made the mistake of purchasing a policy from them, and am now told that "hyperbaric chamber treatment is not covered. This is not covered under the policy as it is not medically necessary." Not medically necessary??? Lol! Also, when I asked if nitrox is covered, they responded with: "Mixed gas diving is not covered under the policy".

In actual fact, the policy does not contain the words hyperbaric or "mixed gas". Their marketing material does make it sound like they provide comprehensive scuba insurance: Am I covered by travel insurance if I'm scuba diving?.

Luckily I found this out before needing to make a claim--hopefully I never do, but that's why you get insurance, right? So I'm only out money for the policy--which they refuse to refund. Planning on getting DAN.

Has anyone had a diving accident and had World Nomads coverage? Would like to hear how it turned out. I had searched Scubaboard prior to buying and didn't see anything of concern.

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

Thank you, their advertising would have definitely made me believe diving up to 165 feet deep would be covered (except what really jumped out to me was the wording, "World Nomads may cover..." as opposed to shall cover). Many insurance companies are great about paying claims in the normal course of business, but there are also unfortunately insurance companies (like this company or State Farm's boat insurance) that regularly deny legitimate claims and/or tweak with the verbiage their policies with an intent to deceive consumers...
Their "may" vs "shall" verbiage really riles me up and raises red flags, but purely to play devil's advocate, is it possible you spoke with someone at World Nomads that simply misunderstood your question? The reason I ask is hyperbaric treatments have been tried in a number of purely experimental (and also simply wishful thinking) applications... Outside of the niche of diving (or high altitude climbing) hyperbaric treatments which are both medically necessary and which qualify as an emergency are basically unheard of, but some companies have put plenty of marketing into selling hyperbaric/oxygen treatments as a cure-all on par with the fountain of youth...

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

Your description is a little confusing as it does not make sense. Maybe you need to dig deeper and get more clarification?

How did you learn about this new information? Have you read the policy? It will define your benefits. A marketing website full of vague information is not what you bought.

I would not be worried about absence of hyperbaric chamber - it is a treatment, not a condition. The policy most likely is worried about conditions and causes as opposed to treatments. Insurance is worried about what you got and how you got it. Not how to fix it. The "how to fix" is left up to the medical people. Insurance will generally only limit treatments based upon a $$$ figure. You have a Max $ benefit, they do not generally care how the medical people spend it.

How (and why) did nitrox come into the discussion?

 

[zaphod9]

@GiraffeMarineSalvage @ThatDogDontHunt Regarding whether World Nomads simply misunderstood the question, I wondered the same thing. And for context, the reason I thought to ask the question was that I had sent a question to World Nomads, I think asking about the difference between primary and secondary coverage (they provide secondary). Buried in the bottom of the response they sent to that question was this poorly worded sentence that seemed not to have anything to do with the rest of the letter: "Hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered also both policies are designed to provide coverage for your trip."

I then called and spoke to a customer service rep, who repeated that hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered. I then sent another email stating that they must be mistaken and please escalate it, as I would need to take action if that was the case. They came back and again said that hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered. So based on multiple email correspondence, as well as a verbal conversation, I expect they would deny a hyperbaric chamber treatment claim.

Regarding the policy itself, upon closer reading I think I see the loophole they left themselves. They exclude: "Participation in Bodily Contact Sports, Extreme Sports or Mountaineering;". While the website explicitly says scuba is included, the policy doesn't contain the word scuba. And the policy explicitly excludes Extreme Sports.

As to how nitrox came into the conversation, I am meeting a friend in Bonaire, where we will be diving mostly on nitrox. Since World Nomads seemed to have a generous scuba policy, and there was no mention of any exclusion for nitrox or anything else, it didn't cross my mind that it might not be covered. But my friend had read on a review website that World Nomads didn't cover mixed gas, so I went back and asked World Nomads if nitrox is covered. They came back and said mixed gas is not covered.

At this point I feel pretty scammed and have purchased DAN insurance. I'm just grateful that I figured it out before the trip. Yes, if something happens on the trip I will still go after them to cover it, since they won't refund the policy. But I'm curious if anyone has actually tried to submit a claim and how that went.

 

[tursiops]

As to how nitrox came into the conversation, I am meeting a friend in Bonaire, where we will be diving mostly on nitrox. Since World Nomads seemed to have a generous scuba policy, and there was no mention of any exclusion for nitrox or anything else, it didn't cross my mind that it might not be covered. But my friend had read on a review website that World Nomads didn't cover mixed gas, so I went back and asked World Nomads if nitrox is covered. They came back and said mixed gas is not covered.

i doubt that it will make any difference, but perhaps you should point out to them that the Nitrox you are using in Bonaire is not mixed; it is made by filtering air through a membrane. If they want to get technical with their exclusions, then their exclusion technically does not include the gas you are using in Bonaire.

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

Zaphod9,
According to your profile you live in Connecticut and if so I would encourage you to look up what the state may be able to do to help you get your money back:

The Market Conduct Unit

portal.ct.gov

I'm not sure if travel insurance is included in the insurance they oversee but worth looking at because the overpromise/underdeliver mantra of insurance companies like world nomad or state farm really hurts people at the worst possible times...

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Found this thread while looking into World Nomads for travel and dive insurance. I did see another site that indicates World Nomads does provide hyperbaric chamber:

The best scuba diving insurances | Scuba Diving Maps

Although scuba diving is considered safe to do, there are some risk. We have outlined the reasons why you should have a scuba diving insurance, including a comparison of the different insurance providers.

www.scubadivingmaps.com

I am still hesitant to use them because of potential for my liveaboard cancellation with only the option of credit toward a future booking.

 

[krdavies]

@GiraffeMarineSalvage @ThatDogDontHunt Regarding whether World Nomads simply misunderstood the question, I wondered the same thing. And for context, the reason I thought to ask the question was that I had sent a question to World Nomads, I think asking about the difference between primary and secondary coverage (they provide secondary). Buried in the bottom of the response they sent to that question was this poorly worded sentence that seemed not to have anything to do with the rest of the letter: "Hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered also both policies are designed to provide coverage for your trip."

I then called and spoke to a customer service rep, who repeated that hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered. I then sent another email stating that they must be mistaken and please escalate it, as I would need to take action if that was the case. They came back and again said that hyperbaric chamber treatments are not covered. So based on multiple email correspondence, as well as a verbal conversation, I expect they would deny a hyperbaric chamber treatment claim.

Regarding the policy itself, upon closer reading I think I see the loophole they left themselves. They exclude: "Participation in Bodily Contact Sports, Extreme Sports or Mountaineering;". While the website explicitly says scuba is included, the policy doesn't contain the word scuba. And the policy explicitly excludes Extreme Sports.

As to how nitrox came into the conversation, I am meeting a friend in Bonaire, where we will be diving mostly on nitrox. Since World Nomads seemed to have a generous scuba policy, and there was no mention of any exclusion for nitrox or anything else, it didn't cross my mind that it might not be covered. But my friend had read on a review website that World Nomads didn't cover mixed gas, so I went back and asked World Nomads if nitrox is covered. They came back and said mixed gas is not covered.

At this point I feel pretty scammed and have purchased DAN insurance. I'm just grateful that I figured it out before the trip. Yes, if something happens on the trip I will still go after them to cover it, since they won't refund the policy. But I'm curious if anyone has actually tried to submit a claim and how that went.

Having purchased World Nomads for many dive trips and luckily, never needing to make a claim. I followed up with them after reading this. This is the answer I received from them, "The statements by the Scuba Boards are not entirely true as this coverage applies per incident. We see that there is coverage for hyperbaric chamber treatments only if it is medically necessary or required as a result of a non pre-existing medical incident. Keep in mind this is covered as long as it's a medically imposed treatment option if it is advised by the attending physician." Similar to what another what another poster assumed.
I dove Nitrox whenever possible, "This means that Nitrox use is allowed and would not impact coverage as long as it is permitted by local club or association rules and regulations. If they do not allow the use of Nitrox, we would not cover any dives where it is utilized." As with all Insurance policies, there always an exception for know/underlying conditions. My guess is they have updated their response documents to provide clear guidance.