Is DAN membership worthless?

[apenland01]

That's a real good idea!

Yeah, for $1.97 you can't beat it. Even if it only lasts for a short time before it gets accidentally torn off or sun faded, it's easy and cheap enough to replace...

 

[NAM001]

My Dan number is on all my tanks and log book

 

[rmssetc]

Yeah, for $1.97 you can't beat it. Even if it only lasts for a short time before it gets accidentally torn off or sun faded, it's easy and cheap enough to replace...

I did basically the same thing -- I made a "business card" -- one side has bold black-and-yellow diagonal stripes and the text "In Case Of Emergency". The other side lists emergency contacts, blood type, allergy status, DAN membership. Laminated & zip-tied to my BCD. It hasn't fallen off or gotten water damage in ~100 dives. The same kind of card is zip-tied to the outside of my Aerostich (motorcycle gear) and similar on my climbing harness.

 

[Wingy]

Just remembered another DAN benefit ive recieved with zero charge. Last LOB I did was maumere - komodo - bali on Pindito who have insurance as mandatory...ive never not had DAN so no problems until I had a three week time frame between spotting the trip had one vacancy - the day I was having another surgery on my hand (synovial sarcoma). I asked my surgeon how long before the stitches would be out because I wanted to go to Komodo, ten days so going on past surgeries I was pretty sure I would have regained enough feeling and movement to dive so I booked and grabbed my DAN policy to fill in the number and discovered it had expired by a month and thought perhaps I should mention the previous days surgery for full disclosure reasons and also to see if DAN felt diving was a good idea. At zero cost DAN got in immediate contact with me and with my medical records, photographs of how the wound was going and were totally transparent about why they would not insure me until the stitches were out and I had enough movement and assistance if needed. Kudos also to Edi Fromweiller for putting up with a rapidly counting down clock and a diver who may or may not be able to be cleared to go and understanding why DAN were hedging and organising what help I might need gearing up if any.

This is why DAN charges membership fees - that advice and assistance included in a decade plus of paying fees worked out to ballpark $3.00 and im OK with that.

 

[fisheater]

I added my DAN # to the information on my CrashTag. I wear it during my dives (local and otherwise) and all the time when on vacation.

It's a titanium ID tag, primarily marketed to cyclists. It has your ID, contact person info and medical info on it. And, in the highly likely case that you're not found unconscious in your adventures, IT'S A BOTTLE OPENER!

www.crashtag.me

 

[ls1dreams]

Dan is a non-profit and the insurance is really cheap for a year of diving. I already had one chamber ride and that $120 membership or whatever already saved me $2000+. (My medical insurance kicked in, but I had a $2k deductible).

Even if you never use it for diving, the $10k accident insurance for travel is nearly worth it alone.

The magazine is also a nice touch.

 

[RX8Bob]

If I'm floating on top of the water and someone helps me, how would they ever know I had DAN membership and how would they know who to call

A rescue squad I volunteered with and still occasionally assist with has dive emergency procedures pretty well covered, granted they have a dive team for SAR... At least for our squad, the Divers hold training with the EMTs to cover dive related emergencies and what to do outside of the immediate medical needs. The EMTs are instructed to take the divers gear with the patient to the hospital or at least any computer and to document the divers profiles and relevant info in the PADI accident worksheet for the hospital. We also provide the hospital with the DAN emergency number regardless whether the individual has DAN or not. DAN has always helped the hospital staff with the appropriate treatment plan, regardless of membership status. While DAN might not pay, they still assist, and for that reason alone the preferred plan will always be my choice so long as I can afford it. DAN provides an invaluable service to all divers.

Our experience with the local hospitals has been that the doctors usually don't have a sense of urgency with dive related incidents until they speak with DAN. I would make the broad assumption that most doctors will never treat a patient who had been exposed to higher than ambient pressures while breathing compressed air and potentially get hurt because of it.

On a side note, I routinely dive with my Mares ICON and have customized a screen which includes my member number, Dan's emergency phone number, allergies and blood type

 

[Kenderson]

I did basically the same thing -- I made a "business card" -- one side has bold black-and-yellow diagonal stripes and the text "In Case Of Emergency". The other side lists emergency contacts, blood type, allergy status, DAN membership. Laminated & zip-tied to my BCD. It hasn't fallen off or gotten water damage in ~100 dives. The same kind of card is zip-tied to the outside of my Aerostich (motorcycle gear) and similar on my climbing harness.

Where do you attach it to your Stitch? I don't think I'd want something flapping around in the wind for hours at a time.

I'm a new diver, I took a look at DAN's insurance and got it right away. I didn't go for the highest tier, but it seems well worth it, even if I never have to use it. It costs less than one boat dive for a year. I can't imagine why one wouldn't want the insurance.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

I am a little mystified by why DAN membership doesn't include a tank sticker; that's good, inexpensive advertising for them. (Yes, I know you can order one from DAN for a small amount, if you're also willing to pay several dollars in shipping for something that costs fifty five cents to mail.)

Call me cynical, but it looks like you answered your own question.

 

[ATJ]

The EMTs are instructed to take the divers gear with the patient to the hospital or at least any computer and to document the divers profiles and relevant info in the PADI accident worksheet for the hospital.

Something I have often wondered....

While I see the value in having access to the dive computer to check the diver's profile, would there be anyone at the hospital that would know how to look it up on the computer?

I certainly know how to do it on my computers and could probably do it on other computers of the same brand but I'd have trouble with other brands - and I'm a diver. How would non-divers go?

Or is this something DAN would help with?