Diving medical and insurance U.K.

[Steve A]

Hi, my wife and I are PADI ADOW and done around 45 dives each. We have been diving around 3 years. We are 46 and 48 yrs old and are both UK citizens.
We download the RSTC Medical statement and take it to our normal G.P. (doctor) who reads through the guidelines and signs it. (We do this as my wife is a smoker (gp carries out a peak flow test), I pulled my back about 3 years ago (no ongoing treatment) our age and just to cover ourselves really).
We take out annual holiday insurance with the post office which covers scuba diving to 30 metres.
This year I looked at DAN insurance but they said while the rstc was o.k. DAN wouldn't recognise it unless signed by a doctor trained in dive medicine.
I also found that the U.K..D.T.C. also require a 'dive doctor' to sign it a different form?
Shall I just continue with my normal protocol as my forms from our gp are in date and re-insure with the post office (there medical questionnaire is quite basic for the insurance.)
There seems a lot of conflicting advice about who requires what and just trying to cover myself really as in the unlikely event something goes wrong I don't want to be hit with 'well you should have done this'.
Some of the confusion may be we do all our diving in Egypt and different countries and organisations require different things.
We practice in a swimming pool with a Padi affiliated club in the u.k. before we go and they seem to have conflicting views with many older members not even having a medical check up?
We go away in a weeks time again diving and just want to cover all bases.
Any U.K. divers or any other nationalities wish to answer or add anything? Thanks Steve

 

[victor]

Must admit to be considerably older than you and I never bother with a medical. UK based.

If we went to Maldives I believe a medical may be required but I cannot think I have read of it being required anywhere else.
I have DAN (memo to self, remind me I need to renew) and normally use Nationwide Travel Insurance.

 

[Steve A]

Must admit to be considerably older than you and I never bother with a medical. UK based.

If we went to Maldives I believe a medical may be required but I cannot think I have read of it being required anywhere else.
I have DAN (memo to self, remind me I need to renew) and normally use Nationwide Travel Insurance.

We have been asked for it in Egypt. most older divers I have spoken to don't bother with a medical even though some are smokers. If everything goes fine then all is good but in the event of a problem questions may be asked? Most people I have spoken to just tick no to everything on the form and don't declare anything. When we went to Egypt in March the dive op scribbled out the yes on my wifes form and said you must put no or you would need a medical. I pointed out that we had it signed by our doctor and she replied I will ask? she came back and said o.k. that is fine. The alarming bit was she was quite willing to change the answer on our form?

 

[pdhenry]

Most people I have spoken to just tick no to everything on the form and don't declare anything.

I've often wondered whether doing this would affect DAN insurance coverage in the event of a diving mishap.

 

[Mustard Dave]

Hi, my wife and I are PADI ADOW and done around 45 dives each. We have been diving around 3 years. We are 46 and 48 yrs old and are both UK citizens.
We download the RSTC Medical statement and take it to our normal G.P. (doctor) who reads through the guidelines and signs it. (We do this as my wife is a smoker (gp carries out a peak flow test), I pulled my back about 3 years ago (no ongoing treatment) our age and just to cover ourselves really).
We take out annual holiday insurance with the post office which covers scuba diving to 30 metres.
This year I looked at DAN insurance but they said while the rstc was o.k. DAN wouldn't recognise it unless signed by a doctor trained in dive medicine.
I also found that the U.K..D.T.C. also require a 'dive doctor' to sign it a different form?
Shall I just continue with my normal protocol as my forms from our gp are in date and re-insure with the post office (there medical questionnaire is quite basic for the insurance.)
There seems a lot of conflicting advice about who requires what and just trying to cover myself really as in the unlikely event something goes wrong I don't want to be hit with 'well you should have done this'.
Some of the confusion may be we do all our diving in Egypt and different countries and organisations require different things.
We practice in a swimming pool with a Padi affiliated club in the u.k. before we go and they seem to have conflicting views with many older members not even having a medical check up?
We go away in a weeks time again diving and just want to cover all bases.
Any U.K. divers or any other nationalities wish to answer or add anything? Thanks Steve

Many people I dive with use the Post Office travel policy. I have an annual policy from my bank which also covers me for diving up to 30m, which I feel gives me the cover I need for most of my holiday diving. I have had a quick glimpse at the Post Office policy and it seems to provide sufficient cover for the sort of diving you describe. I cannot see anything in the policy requiring a medical for diving and the medical declaration appears straightforward, but as with any insurance policy, I strongly recommend you go through it in detail.

There is no requirement with PADI to have an annual medical, so as long as you have the card, you are qualified and therefore complying with the policy. You may find some dive centres require you to fill in the standard medical questionnaire you fill out when you enrol on a PADI course, and they may require a medical if your wife answers 'yes' to being a smoker.

We have been asked for it in Egypt. most older divers I have spoken to don't bother with a medical even though some are smokers. If everything goes fine then all is good but in the event of a problem questions may be asked? Most people I have spoken to just tick no to everything on the form and don't declare anything. When we went to Egypt in March the dive op scribbled out the yes on my wifes form and said you must put no or you would need a medical. I pointed out that we had it signed by our doctor and she replied I will ask? she came back and said o.k. that is fine. The alarming bit was she was quite willing to change the answer on our form?

My club runs an annual trip to Malta, which I've been on the last four years. The dive centre we use (PADI affiliated) makes us complete a medical questionnaire, which is identical to the standard PADI form but with their letterhead. One year, the owner called one of our group over. He's a doctor and had ticked 'yes' to a question about high blood pressure. Against it he wrote a note in medical jargon describing his condition and how it was being treated. The owner told him he'd have to go for a medical and he told him it was okay as he was a doctor. The owner said it didn't matter - he still had to have a medical. He then asked, 'Do you want another form? (wink, wink)". He filled out the form and ticked 'no' to everything.

Another year, I organised the trip. The medical questionnaire has caused minor problems almost every year. One old b*****d is BSAC trained and always moans about PADI. When he was given the form, he refused to fill it in on the grounds he wasn't a PADI diver. The owner pointed out they were a PADI dive centre and they have to comply with their standards, adding that divers from any recognised agency were welcome, but they had to do the paperwork. With this in mind, I sent an email to the group reminding them what the medical questionnaire involved and that everybody had to fill it in.

Day one, we arrive around midday. We say hello at the dive centre and take the paperwork to the bar. Fill in the paperwork, send somebody to drop it off and we're ready for diving the following day. One of the staff comes to see us at the bar as there is a problem with somebody's form. The lad in question goes back to sort it. When he returned, he was moaning they had pulled him for ticking 'yes' to having diabetes. Somebody asks whether they gave him another form and he replied "No - I have to go for a medical at the clinic up the road at three o'clock". I was a little surprised, but I know he can sulk a bit when he doesn't get his own way and I can see the owner just deciding not to put up with his crap. He went to the doctors, answered about five really basic questions, handed over 20 Euros and got the form stamped.

I've often wondered whether doing this would affect DAN insurance coverage in the event of a diving mishap.

I cannot speak for DAN, but in the case of my policy, lying to the insurer would, but lying to the dive centre wouldn't. If the policy is taken out in the UK, the Consumer Insurance Act applies. Under the act, insurers who provide retail insurance have to state clearly what is covered and what is excluded. Unless you have made a false declaration or not complied with the terms of the policy, you are covered. I doubt DAN have a specific clause about lying to the dive centre, but there may be a clause requiring you to comply with any rules set by a dive operator, which is another reason to always read your policy documents.

 

[Edward3c]

Hi, my wife and I are PADI ADOW and done around 45 dives each. We have been diving around 3 years. We are 46 and 48 yrs old and are both UK citizens.
We download the RSTC Medical statement and take it to our normal G.P. (doctor) who reads through the guidelines and signs it. (We do this as my wife is a smoker (gp carries out a peak flow test), I pulled my back about 3 years ago (no ongoing treatment) our age and just to cover ourselves really).
We take out annual holiday insurance with the post office which covers scuba diving to 30 metres.
This year I looked at DAN insurance but they said while the rstc was o.k. DAN wouldn't recognise it unless signed by a doctor trained in dive medicine.
I also found that the U.K..D.T.C. also require a 'dive doctor' to sign it a different form?
Shall I just continue with my normal protocol as my forms from our gp are in date and re-insure with the post office (there medical questionnaire is quite basic for the insurance.)
There seems a lot of conflicting advice about who requires what and just trying to cover myself really as in the unlikely event something goes wrong I don't want to be hit with 'well you should have done this'.
Some of the confusion may be we do all our diving in Egypt and different countries and organisations require different things.
We practice in a swimming pool with a Padi affiliated club in the u.k. before we go and they seem to have conflicting views with many older members not even having a medical check up?
We go away in a weeks time again diving and just want to cover all bases.
Any U.K. divers or any other nationalities wish to answer or add anything? Thanks Steve

Before BSAC went over to a self-deceleration form we used to get our GPs to sign the medical form. The reason we stopped was that GPs are not trained in diving related issues and evidence found that people were being passed as fit when they were not, and the other way round.