Can't find travel insurance that will cover me while getting certified!

[dez_may]

Looked into DAN a little bit more and something like this looks like it would fit my needs for the trip https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/trip/ Going to do a little more research but thanks for the tips guys!

 

[chillyinCanada]

In light of damselfish's post, point of clarification on my coverage. I don't buy travel insurance. I have medical insurance above and beyond my DAN coverage. If I break a leg tripping over a cobblestone or have a heart attack and end up in hospital, my DAN does not cover such (unless I was on the dive boat at the time, and even then I'm not completely clear on how DAN handles this). In any event, my TRAVEL medical insurance is what will pay the hospital bills, the doctor bills, that will see me transferred home perhaps with an attendant, etc. etc. Straight Travel Insurance only covers the costs you paid for your trip, should something befall you that keeps you from going that also falls within the limits of their allowable excuses to miss a trip.

A couple of my credit cards, cover me for Travel Insurance AND travel medical.

 

[TMHeimer]

When we snowbird to Florida we have Medavie Blue Cross (Nova Scotia--other provinces maybe?). We have this coverage for prescription medicine and other stuff that may not be covered by NS. For outside the country you get one month coverage and can pay to have it extended. It covers you for "emergency medical treatment" and we have successfully used it. To be honest, I don't know for sure if it covers scuba related stuff, but I would think it does. At any rate, if it were ME (I'm not advising YOU) I wouldn't worry a whole lot about coverage during the course, as you will always be with an instructor and you only do 4-5 dives usually in pretty shallow water. But that's me--a bit of a risk taker with that sort of thing. Others I'm sure will not agree. If you happen to be someone who has not spent a lot of time in the ocean or perhaps are nervous about the idea of diving, then I would say try to get such coverage.

 

[TMHeimer]

I checked with our Medavie Blue Cross and they said there is no exceptions (such as scuba, parachuting, etc.) to our out of Canada emergency medical coverage policy, other than not covering trip cancellation. They didn't say that being certified or not made any difference.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Your choice of course, but if I'm understanding correctly, you will initially be on the hook for all expenses and billings in the event of a medical emergency. Then apply afterwards to your Blue cross to reimburse you. The coverages we are discussing will pay your bills for you upfront.

 

[TMHeimer]

Your choice of course, but if I'm understanding correctly, you will initially be on the hook for all expenses and billings in the event of a medical emergency. Then apply afterwards to your Blue cross to reimburse you. The coverages we are discussing will pay your bills for you upfront.

Nope. Over $6,000 last year never paid a dime. But there were problems as Blue Cross and Mississippi (unlike Florida) don't have a way of doing it any other way than snail mail (???!!!). Then again, any medical problems you have in the U.S. creates a big mess whether you are covered or not. I can attest to that all too often. This time my claim form was lost TWICE in the cross border mail and two collection agencies came a callin'. Once I finally got the correct parties in contact with each other things began to move. It only took 7 months to finish the deal. This is not at all unusual, at least with my experiences.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Let me see if I understand this. You have a medical issue when you are down south. The medical facility accepts your insurance and you don't have to pay. Then for various mail related reasons your blue cross doesn't pay but you have always been able to get it straightened out eventually, even though there's a little heartburn caused along the way. Is that right?

 

[flots am]

Hey all,

In a couple of weeks I'm finally getting my PADI open water certification in Mexico and couldn't be more excited!! I have one slight problem though, I am unable to find any travel insurance that will cover me while scuba diving as I am getting certified while on the trip. All of the policies I can find will only cover me if I am certified before going on the trip. Unfortunately due to time constraints this isn't really an option for me anymore, plus I'd much rather get my certification in Mexico as the water is a little warmer over there I live in BC Canada, does anybody have any suggestions for a policy that will at least cover me for the rest of the trip once I'm certified? I'm planning on doing one or two more dives once I complete the course...

Thanks in advance!

Dez

You can get free DAN Insurance that covers you while you're in class.

Once you're certified you can sign up for permanent insurance.

I would like to mention that even though Canadian Health-care might cover you for treatment, you still need insurance for any dives outside of Canada, and I'd recommend it for any dives, anywehre. There's a huge difference between a company that will eventually pay for trreatment, and a company that will actually arrange it. I won't dive without DAN insurance because the cost of "being wrong" can be fatal or push you into bankruptcy.

flots.

---------- Post added April 15th, 2013 at 10:15 PM ----------

Your choice of course, but if I'm understanding correctly, you will initially be on the hook for all expenses and billings in the event of a medical emergency. .

Sort of. You won't be "on the hook for expenses" because there won't be any without cash up front.

Most tropical locations think "Billing" is a city in Montana. If you aren't traveling with a fat wad of cash or a credit card with a lot of money available, you simply won't get treatment. This is what DAN is for.

Besides handling the money, DAN will evacuate you if necessary.

 

[TMHeimer]

Let me see if I understand this. You have a medical issue when you are down south. The medical facility accepts your insurance and you don't have to pay. Then for various mail related reasons your blue cross doesn't pay but you have always been able to get it straightened out eventually, even though there's a little heartburn caused along the way. Is that right?

Yes, in this particular case. But it wasn't that Blue Cross "Doesn't pay"--it didn't pay ASAP because the claim forms they sent by snail mail were lost twice. The hospital and ambulance (a company out of Atlanta though the emergency happened in Mississippi) accepted the fact that we had insurance, gave my wife 5 hours treatment in the hospital (thus the ambulance & 5 hours= $6K), and they both got in a snit when Blue Cross didn't pay fast enough because of the lost claim forms... 1990: Credit card coverage for a $10K operation I needed in NY. Insurance on the card accepted by the hospital. Operation took place and a week in the hospital. Since everything in the U.S. is billed separately (ie, hospital room, Dr., anesthatist,etc.) AND that my Teachers blue Cross covered $25%, Manitoba Health covered 25% and the credit card insurance the rest, it took over a year for this to finish up. Also because every little bill had to be divided up with those %s and paid within a certain order. Now, My mother and 3 uncles all got ill and died in NY (one in FL) between 1996 and 2000. My brother took care of all that, but I saw those messes. Can't begin to describe it (though they were US citizens with the whole medicare thing going, so they had to pay out of pocket bits here & there).

But I have used out of Canada coverage in the U.S. a few times in total and have yet to pay anything out of my own pocket up front. Just the headaches.

 

[Quero]

To the OP--check out a company called DiveMaster Insurance. They offer short-term insurance coverage with daily rates for scuba diving, and they also offer travel/trip insurance (if your thread title is what you really meant).