DAN Travel Insurance Claim

[Jazz]

Has anyone actually called for Evacuation? Are they really that reliable? Is the 24hrs Hotline for real?

I just purchased a year subscribtion on the 14th Nov and my dive trip is on the 26th Nov. Well not that I am hoping to use it but I do hope I'd be covered by then.

A skeptic

[Drew Sailbum]

DAN really does maintain a 24 hour hotline.

I've never need to be evacuated, but it happens. Evacuation from a remote island can be ridiculously expensive. Much better to have the insurance.

Coverage is typically in force when they receive your payment for the insurance and accept the risk.

[DandyDon]

If you signed up and paid online, it should be in force already, and you should be able to confirm it easily. If you mailed it, dealys or even failures could happen, and I wouldn't want to dive without it.

Insurance coverage is not required to call for medical consultation, and the problem doesn't have to be life threatening in your mind. If you have a concern, call them, and let them decide. I have, a few times. That's why they are there, and that's why many of us support them.

Membership and coverage both are required for full benefit, though. You might also consider a DAN Id tag for your BC - $10.

have fun on your trip,

don

[Tim Ingersoll]

You just spent the smartest money of your vacation and maybe your life. I have heard stories of pilots who won't even crank the engine for evac until they see either a DAN card or a credit card.

[wandernsoul]

I was working with a dive research group in the Perhentians this spring and had to go with one of the volunteers (I was the medical person on the project) from Pulau Besar to Jerteh and then all the way to Lumut by ambulance for treatment in the Navy recompression chamber. Took nearly 7 hours to get there!! I can only imagine how much all of that would have cost him had he not had DAN insurance. He ended up having to pay about $150 and that included spending a night in the hospital and two treatments in the chamber. By the way, the dive physician could never determine why this guy got decompression illness. It does happen, and it could happen to you, or me. The small amount you pay for the yearly insurance, IMHO, is money Very Well Spent.

Enjoy your trip!
Beck

[Jazz]

I am located in Asia and we sign up with DAN on an Australian website. I signed up on the 14th but was not sure if I'd be covered from that date onwards or only when my card arrives. I have actually emailed them the day I stared the post but there is still no respond ;-( I sent another email today to check. Maybe I will try calling them on Monday.

Jazz


P/S Wandersoul, Beck,

your deco guy must have not calculated correctly his dive time. Was he wearing a dive com? If so which one??:boom: Not very reliable is it?? Which com do u use?

[wandernsoul]

Hey Jazz,

We could find no reason whatsoever for this guy's DCI hit. This was a Very Very conservative dive, just 11 minutes in duration, at 13m. No rapid ascent, he did a safety stop, nothing out of the ordinary at all. He was a new diver, did his OW and AOW there on the project, but caught on to diving quickly and was very safety oriented. The dive physician in Lumut, who I thought was excellent, recommended that he have a complete physical when he returned home to rule out any underlying problem that might predispose him to DCI. He did return to the project after his sessions in the chamber, but he didn't dive again. The dive physician in Lumut recommended a month off diving at the least.
He was using a dive computer, though I don't remember the brand, but with his incredibly conservative profile it didn't matter anyway.
Sometimes the odds are against you.

Be safe out there.
Beck
PS. I had to deal with the Australian folks at DAN and found them to be very helpful. Keep at it!

[SCUBAMedicBill]

Jazz,

You should have been able to download and print a card when you signed up on the web. That's what I did, and my actual card showed up in about two weeks.

Bill

[DocVikingo]

Yes, DAN USA offers that feature but I wasn't aware that DAN S.E. Asia-Pacific (original poster is from Singapore & therefore signs up thru DAN SEAP hqs in Australia) yet had this ability.

Could you please direct me to it?

Thanks,

DocVikingo

[wandernsoul]

Hey Jazz,

I'm sure that you'll get the info you need when you call. I had to call about two of the volunteers, and one we signed up over the phone and got an ID# immediately. We tried doing it online but found it much easier to pick up the phone and call.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
Beck