Yes, it was an example to demonstrate that when you calculate "risk/reward," as somebody suggested, you attach probabilities to each event. In this case, the certainty of spending $70 versus the miniscule chance of having to spend $100k, $200k, or $250k, for example.
That is a good reason for buying it. I also have the DAN preferred plan, because some liveaboards require their customers to have insurance, because I wouldn't want my evacuation to be held up while somebody waited for VISA in Papua New Guinea, say, to approve the charge, etc.
I don't know, that was an example. My point was, DAN's actuaries have calculated the probability of a payout and multiplied it by the size of the likely payout, and it is a figure less than $70, and therefore one could reasonably posit that it is not "foolish" to skip buying it. Rather, it could be a more rational decision.
Lottery tickets are cheap too. Is it foolish not to buy them, or is it a dollar mostly wasted because you are overestimating the likelihood of a very low probability event? That is my only point. Everybody here thinks it is "foolish" not to buy dive insurance because they are overestimating the likelihood of needing it. I don't know what the likelihood is, but I know that DAN turns a profit each year. So, yes, buy dive insurance--I have--but realize that it could be perfectly rational to not buy it.