Cost of becoming a dive master

[Jim Lapenta]

I cant write off any gear i purchased before i receive a DM rating right?

Ask your accountant. A real one. Not H&R Block.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[USdiver1]

Help, somebody please use a BFK on this Zombie thread. It's from 2003 and it just won't die.

P.s. I'm sorry I made fun of those who carry big knives on cattle boats, please just save us from these Zombie threads.

 

[Mustard Dave]

As an instructor it is recommended you stay covered until at least 7 years after you stop teaching.
ScubaRon

Why?

The OP is from Singapore according to her profile and I'm not familiar with the legal system there. In the UK, if you pay your insurance premium, you are covered for the agreed term of the policy, irrespective of when a claim is submitted. If you are not working as a DM, you can cancel your insurance immediately. I'd be surprised if the law differs elsewhere.

 

[RJP]

I'd be surprised if the law differs elsewhere.

PS - what you're referencing is less about "the law" as it is "the terms of the policy purchased." Professional policies (in US anyway) are either "claims based" or "occurrence based"

- Claims based: you must be insured at the time the claim is filed
- Occurrence based: you must be insured at the time the incident occurs

For example, imagine the following:

An instructor teaches a class and certifies some divers on December 30th, 2012. On December 31st, this instructor retires from teaching scuba and does not renew hsi insurance for 2013.

On Jan 1st, one of his students dies on their first dive after certification. On January 2nd, the diver's spouse sues the instructor for negligence during the training. Is the instructor covered by insurance? It depends...

If the instructor's insurance policy was "occurrence based" they would be covered, because the subject matter of the suit was negligence during training, which occurred during the time the instructor was insured.

If the instructor's insurance policy was "claims based" they would NOT be covered, because at the time the claim was filed the instructor was not insured.

Law has nothing to do with this. Simply a matter of the terms of the insurance policy the instructor purchased.

 

[Mustard Dave]

So the simple solution is to get adequate cover rather than keep paying for an expensive policy you do not need.

 

[RJP]

So the simple solution is to get adequate cover rather than keep paying for an expensive policy you do not need.

Adequate is in the eye of the (policy) beholder.

 

[Mustard Dave]

Adequacy of insurance cover is often determined by people other than the policyholder. Most countries require motorists to have minimum levels of motor insurance and businesses require contractors to have agreed minimum values of public liability insurance. The policyholder has to decide what level of cover he needs and if he chooses a policy that requires him to keep renewing, even when he is no longer trading, is his business. The advice you need insurance for seven years have to ceasing teaching is simply not true - you need a policy that adequately covers the risks you are exposed to.