My wife and I will be traveling to Belize in April ’15. In the past I have booked most of my major travel/dive trips through a travel agent. This actually saves a lot of time, not to mention the amount of money saved as well. If you consider your time is money, then hiring a travel agent to do all the leg work is worth it. With the all the conflicts around the world, you could have the wrong butterfly flutter it’s wings in the wrong rain-forest, and the catastrophic ripple effect throughout the global economics could affect my travels in a foreign country. The only item missing is travel insurance. I have always gone with travel insurance for my travels from the travel agent. However, I didn't use a travel agent for this trip. This trip was very last minute, and was all laid out in an easy game plan. Does anyone have experience with, or recommend a standalone Travel Insurance provider?
First of all, I totally agree with you about the value of a good travel agent! We have been working with the same agent for years and not only does she save us time; she has helped me avoid a number of potential problems over the years. I feel more confident about our trip when she has booked it.
I recently attended a conference and one of the speakers was talking about "innovation" and she made some derogatory comments about travel agents and smirked "Does anybody actually use a travel agent any more?!" and I thought - "you are an idiot, wait until you make a stupid mistake and ruin an expensive vacation that could have been avoided with the help of a professional travel agent."
I have DAN preferred insurance and I buy TravelGuard (recommended by Travel Agent) trip insurance. I am not sure of the name of the plan that I usually get but it includes "trip cancellation for any reason" in the coverage.
A couple of years ago I was doing some comparison shopping about travel insurance and I reached out to some fellow SB Board members and I have copied their comments are below for your information.
I may spend too much on insurance but I am glad to have that security. If you are unsure about the value of insurance I advise you to check out a current thread on Scuba Board titled "Accident in Belize". An experienced diver with many years of DAN insurance let his coverage lapse just when he really needed it. We have all made mistakes and I am praying for his recovery.
Good luck with your travel plans!
Azscubadude Oct 2, 2013
I use the Travel Guard "My Travel Guard" policy because you can pick and choose your coverage you want AND can make the coverage (at a small extra expense) the primary coverage for medical and luggage so you don't have to hassle with your homeowners or health insurance later). Also, you can add coverage so the Medi-vac just doesn't dump you at the first available hospital, you can upgrade to "the hospital of your choice". In other words.. take me to the best hospital that is the closest to my home !!
I go this route so I can increase the medical and evac to the max since I only have insurance thru the VA and Medicare, neither of which cover anything outside the USA boundary. I'm sure you are okay with the Gold Plan you purchased given your other forms of coverage.
As to the DAN insurance question, I would always get some Dan coverage. I always pick the highest plan only because of the added insurance coverage (although some of it is redundant) and it covers you for evac if you are in an accident (non-diving, like car or sports) if you are 100 miles from home. This coverage lasts for the whole year thru DAN where the trip insurance only covers you while on that specific trip.
I would always have DAN coverage as they are the GOLD standard. I have never heard of anyone having a problem collecting their coverage thru DAN like you might thru the hassles of some Trip plans. Trip plans usually cover you IF you keep detailed accounts of what happened, if not it gives them a back door to wiggle on the coverage).
I have only ever used my Trip Ins. once for a ruined piece of luggage to buy a new one at the mall. I had to leave the old bag behind (I discovered it on a layover in Houston) so I took pictures and asked the desk clerk if she would write me a little note stating she saw the damage. They did try to wiggle but I had my backup and they paid right up so if you have a problem.. keep notes and pictures and receipts (very important).
The other major thing about DAN insurance is (VERY Important). Most dive location clinics, hospitals and chambers accept DAN coverage without any up front payment whereas if you have Travel or Personal insurance they make you pay up front and then you argue with the company for reimbursement. This means that if there is an accident you have to have a credit card or cash for thousands of dollars up front.. or NO treatment. This is almost the standard in third world countries. It isn't like in our country where you can just show your insurance card and you are good, they don't take insurance cards. I have heard horror stories from people on the forums that tell of "no coverage" until you pay up front.. period !!! And this is because they didn't have DAN coverage.
I am older too (66) and as we age we are more susceptible to nitrogen absorption, etc., so I want to be covered for immediate help and also to get me the heck back to the states where I can get proper care. Dan does not hassle you, they give the best help with one phone call and they know what to do !!!
Most (and I'm sure DAN is one of them) get the coverage you buy through one of the big Travel Ins. companies but the dive portion is NOT covered by any Travel Ins. company like DAN covers you.
I would never go diving without DAN coverage. It is easy to look back after the trip is over and you didn't need the coverage and question yourself or the cost, but if I was going diving and had a choice between travel insurance and DAN insurance I would pick DAN first. If you don't want the DAN Preferred Plan at $75.00 I would at least get the Master Plan as it covers just about everything that could go wrong on your whole dive trip where the Standard Plan just covers medical at almost triple the amount the Standard Plan gives you.
One thing about travel insurance. Travel Guard does not consider Scuba Diving as an adventure sport like other companies do so you don't have to buy that coverage. I have double and triple checked this. Adventure Sports like bungie diving, hang gliding, etc are considered Adventure Sports so you need the extra coverage but Travel Guard doesn't require this if you ever use the "My Travel Guard" plan which is one of the only "ala-cart (sp) plans I have ever seen.
Even the Standard Plan covers you so at a minimum if you know you have excellent coverage on all your other plans.. you would be covered for a chamber ride with it.
I don't like buying insurance but have seen what can happen outside our country in emergencies. My thought is.. if I do have an accident I want the best coverage I can get and the fastest trip back to US soil I can possibly get.
Hope this helps !!
DocVikingo Oct 1, 2013
You do need to be aware that your personal health & property insurance well may not cover medical or property expenses incurred in a foreign venue. Some do but most don't. Even if your poilicy covers medical emergencies in a foreign country, it may not cover chamber expenses. Again, some do but most don't. If you decide to rely solely on them, get the facts in writing.
I personally have a DAN Preferred Plan and think it is the best insurance coverage I have. It's a real bargain & your dues support a very worthy organization. Check out DAN's offerings at -->
Scuba Diving Accident Insurance
