What level of DAN insurance to you carry?

Which DAN insurance plan did you chose?

  • Standard ($30)

    Votes: 6 4.7%
  • Master ($40)

    Votes: 45 35.4%
  • Preferred ($75)

    Votes: 76 59.8%

  • Total voters
    127

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rye_a

Contributor
Messages
339
Reaction score
60
Location
Colorado
# of dives
200 - 499
It is time for me to renew my DAN insurance, and I am leaning towards the $40 primarily because it includes $2,500 in lost equipment replacement. What level of DAN insurance do you carry, and why did you select it?
 
You may need a button that says - I dont carry insurance and why...
 
Guardian Level. It's $100 I think.
 
Not enough choices. For me it's none. My medical insurance is better than DAN and doesn't have all the "Oh sorry, you didn't follow our exact procedure" rules & limitations (weasel out's).
 
Kharon: I write health insurance for every major company in the U.S. I'd be interested in knowing which company you deal with and what deductible/co-pays you have if any. Because, I've yet to find one that covers all the gaps in coverage that DAN pays.

The cave community has had more than its share of bent divers this past year. I've been there for a few of the issues. Here's what I know first hand as a dive buddy of a bent diver, and as one of the brokers for the largest insurance company in the state:

My two buddies and I were eating dinner at the diner in Cave Country back in December. We had just ordered our food (about an hour after surfacing) when my buddy said, "Guys, I don't feel well..." Not a minute later he was babbling like an idiot and couldn't walk. We hopped in the car and headed to Orlando. I called DAN and told them about our dive. DAN gave us the address and phone number of the hospital. I asked DAN if we had to do anything else, or if DAN needed to call ahead. DAN said no, just hand the hospital your DAN card and major medical insurance card. The hospital knew what to do. I said, "that's it?" DAN said, "Yup, That's It".

We arrived at the hospital, handed the intake nurse the cards, and the hospital took over from there. 3 hours later (now after midnight) DAN called my cellphone (I hadn't given my number to them). It was the same guy who answered the phone when I called 6 hours earlier. He called to ask how my buddy was, did we make it to the hospital and was there any questions he could answer. I told him no, my buddy was in the chamber for the next 5 hours and we'd see how things were going then. The next morning, the gentleman called again, just to check on my buddy. Wow.

My friend got sent home after the first ride. The next day, he still wasn't feeling well, so he called DAN back. DAN sent him back to the hospital for 3 more treatments.

Fast forward 3 weeks. The hospital's charges arrived in the mail. All told $30,000. My buddies Blue Cross and Blue Shield covered the first $25,000. FYI, his first treatment happened in 2014. His last treatment happened in 2015. New calendar year, new $2500 co-payment. Guess who covered the $5000? You got it. DAN.

DAN isn't intended to replace health insurance. But in the absence of health insurance, and in the presence of gaps in coverage, DAN's $100 per year is worth every penny.

And if you're taking a class from me, or involved with any kind of project dive requiring a state permit, DAN is required.
 
I voted preferred because it may be the highest one available in your state, but I have Guardian for $125/year. DAN is also required for most classes that I'm involved with, but even for the cheap plan its worth every penny, but I pay for the big one just to have all my bases covered. $125 a year is nothing, and while I haven't had to use it, I've been around plenty of guys that have had to and their experience is very similar to the one above. Hell I had a buddy come up and had a pinched nerve that made half his face look like he had a stroke. Called DAN and while we elected for IWR instead of the 2 hour drive to a chamber, I had a call back about 6 hours and 24 hours later to make sure he was still doing alright, and this was from one of their physicians on staff so just to have a doctor who is familiar with all this stuff on the other end of the horn was worth the money.
 
the best choice? the one that fits your needs...... my choice is preferred (or above - don't recall which I have, but it was off the "top tier of the list"). I hope to never use it......
 
Master. I was not even aware of prefered or gaurdian until now.

---------- Post added January 14th, 2015 at 06:07 PM ----------

Master. DAN locally only have standard, plus and master.
 

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