Insurance DAN vs. PADI?

[RonFrank]

Hi all,

I'm going to purchase insurance before my AOW dives at the end of the month.

It seems that DAN is the defacto choice by many. I was surprised that DAN covered the PADI OW dives as kinda a promo.

I noticed that PADI also offers insurance.

So any thoughts on which is better and why?

Also any recommendations on what level of insurance to opt in at.

One specific question I have is IF you get hit, and say have a low level of insurance, are you then able to upgrade? I'm guessing no...

ANY insite especially from those who have first hand, or second hand experience (like Dive Professionals) is VERY appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[tel-scuba]

Don't know much about PADI insurance, but the insurance offered by DAN is, in my opinion, the best you never hope to use. On the DAN website is a comparison of the different packages they offer. Myself, I use the highest level package because of the type of diving and frequency of diving I do; others could certainly do with less. I'm pretty sure that you can't "upgrade on the spot" if you get a hit (I don't think that's financially advantageous for DAN), but I wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend any of their insurance packages.

 

[mossym]

you can updrade to a higher package on a pro rated basis, at least i've heard of people doing it, of course i don't think they'll allow it if you're on your way to the deco chamber when you call them

 

[pilot fish]

Hi all,

I'm going to purchase insurance before my AOW dives at the end of the month.

It seems that DAN is the defacto choice by many. I was surprised that DAN covered the PADI OW dives as kinda a promo.

I noticed that PADI also offers insurance.

So any thoughts on which is better and why?

Also any recommendations on what level of insurance to opt in at.

One specific question I have is IF you get hit, and say have a low level of insurance, are you then able to upgrade? I'm guessing no...

ANY insite especially from those who have first hand, or second hand experience (like Dive Professionals) is VERY appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

I have PADI since I got certified. I got the Silver my first year, then upgraded to Gold, which is the level I would recommend, if you are a sport diver doing less than 50 dives a year. I saw the comparison in, I think, Rodales, between DAN & PADI and thought the Gold PADI was better coverage, at same levels. Whichever one you chose, get dive coverage before you dive again. You cannot upgrade "after" a hit.

 

[mavjax]

We went for the top level of DAN even for the ekids. Even though the kids could easily have used a lower level, when we talked with DAN about it we were told that the limits placed on the lower levels are lifetime max's, and even if you try to upgrade after a hit you will still be subjected to the max at the time of your hit. Just didn't seem to make sense to go at the lower level.

 

[StSomewhere]

Is one dive insurance better than another based on where you would be diving? 95% of my dives right are either in Fla or "local" (i.e. day trip) quarries. The coverage all seems OK within the US, but what about elsewhere?

I've read in various places than DAN coverage is now next to worthless in Mexico, and that chambers in other countries make you pay the full bill up front leaving you to hope to get reimbursed later by your insurance. For Bahamas/Caymans/Mexico/Roatan trips, would one be better than another? Do I need really need a line of credit in addition to dive insurance?

FWIW, an LDS does trips once or twice a year to Roatan, apparently all dive ops there collect a fee that fully funds the chamber there. Would that, plus "normal" dive insurance, be a good hedge against taking a second mortgage on your house to pay for up-front treatments?

 

[Aquawookie]

Hi all,

I'm going to purchase insurance before my AOW dives at the end of the month.
It seems that DAN is the defacto choice by many. I was surprised that DAN covered the PADI OW dives as kinda a promo.
I noticed that PADI also offers insurance.
So any thoughts on which is better and why?
Also any recommendations on what level of insurance to opt in at.
One specific question I have is IF you get hit, and say have a low level of insurance, are you then able to upgrade? I'm guessing no...
ANY insite especially from those who have first hand, or second hand experience (like Dive Professionals) is VERY appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

I get this question all the time and this is what I say.

Coverage.
Get the maximum available. The cost of the premium plans is arount the $100 mark from both PADI and DAN. This covers your gear, person, other divers, everything. And for my money my piece of mind is worth a hundred bucks.

Upgrades/
What the ?#*@@. Why bother, just get the premium plan and forget about it. If you can't afford a hundred bucks to protect your hyde for the next year you must be working in the industry. In which case you should know better and have a premium plan anyway.

Differences between PADI and DAN insurance.
The PADI plan is offered by Vicencia & Bucklyey. They are a good insurer but they are a company who are in business to make money. Any profits are used to pay shareholders. DAN is a not for profit, research orginisation who fund research into diving medicine. Any profits they make are used to fund this research.

PADI is an insurance plan, they pay for treatment once you obtain it and have paid for it. DAN is a insurance plan too. But if you call DAN they will advise you how to locate medical services to treat you, connect you with a doctor who specalises in diving medicine, co-ordinate medical services for your treatment and advise EMT's on what chambers are available at that time for treatment, call the chamber to allert them you are on the way. Need I go on?

Thats why I have DAN insurance and thats why the vast majority of dive professionals have DAN insurance too.

Hope this helps.

Dive safe,
Paul.

 

[pilot fish]

Hi all,

I'm going to purchase insurance before my AOW dives at the end of the month.

It seems that DAN is the defacto choice by many. I was surprised that DAN covered the PADI OW dives as kinda a promo.

I noticed that PADI also offers insurance.

So any thoughts on which is better and why?

Also any recommendations on what level of insurance to opt in at.

One specific question I have is IF you get hit, and say have a low level of insurance, are you then able to upgrade? I'm guessing no...

ANY insite especially from those who have first hand, or second hand experience (like Dive Professionals) is VERY appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

This is PADI dive insurance. Compare it with DAn and make your choice

http://www.diveinsurance.com/dp/DP-index.htm

 

[FatCat]

I'm on my way to bed, so I'll make this a fast post. I've had DAN insurance from the day I got certified as a diver.

One time, after a diving holiday in Jamaica, I got a serious case of vertigo just before getting on the plane, probably because of the extreme difference in temperature between the transit zone and the gate. My wife and I were sent off the plane and I had to get medical clearance to get on a later flight.

We went to the nearest hospital, where a resident misdiagnosed me with asymptomatic DCI. I requested assistance from DAN headquarters in Italy, who transferred my case to DAN Americas.

Two hours after my admittance I got a call from one of the stand-by doctors of DAN Americas, who took my anamnesis by phone and conferred with the treating physician. The final conclusion was that I probably didn't have DCI, so DAN could get the chamber in Ocho Rios off standby. It turns out that before DAN made the call to the hospital, they had alerted the chamber personnel and had already put the medevac helicopter on standby to transport me to the chamber in case of necessity. They still advised me to spend the night on oxygen at the hospital just to be on the safe side.

How's that for service?

 

[Mako Mark]

Both are better than none, and the highest coverage you can afford is best, the premiums are pennys on the dollar compared to the expenses of treatment and evacuation.

My only comment is that the DAN insurance in Mexico has a cap of $3000 USD due to the less than honest dealings of one particular chamber operator. This cap was based on the average treatment costs of a "normal" hit..

Since then, I personally and the shop I work for have changed to the V&B through PADI, but only for this reason.