Dan Insurance

[dougr52]

What would i need besides regular membership to have medical ins while in Coz.

 

[tursiops]

There are five different DAN plans, and some of the posts above have donfounded them.
1) DAN Membership. A must. Get the enhanced, because ti covers infectious diseases and quarantine.
2) DAN Dive Accident Insurance. A must. Thre is no 50 mile limit, or depth limit, so long as you are within your training limits.
3) DAN per-trip Travel Insurance.
4) DAN Annual Travel Insurance, is good if you do 2-3 trips a year or more.
5) DAN Professional Liability insurance, A must if you are pro; your liability insurance does not have to be from DAN but there are not a lot of choices, and DAN is the best price.

NOTE: there are no age limits for the DAN policies, unlike almost all others, notably DiveAssure.

 

[Gelirfella]

Physician here and former social worker. The DaN insurance and membership are absurdly low priced for what they offer. And especially given the level of service they reportedly provide. I have not personally experienced it but the message is clear and resounding.

No question that it is silly not to buy the high level membership and insurance. Maximum coverage for minimum cost. And with the high level insurance plan it’s basically just broad based good travel insurance. I realize prices vary by state. In NC I think I paid a total of like 200 bucks for both the top tier membership and top tier insurance as a family plan. No brainer. Not sure if they age adjust the pricing. And most health care policies will not cover you for “extreme sports” in general. Basically the message is with everything you will spend on diving this is a clear cut answer.

The pricing structure is clearly that of a true NPO. It is clearly designed for the good of the community and priced as such. And if you compare it to other travel insurance policies it blows them out of the water because those are per trip and usually about the same cost you’ll pay annually with DAN.

 

[tursiops]

Physician here and former social worker. The DaN insurance and membership are absurdly low priced for what they offer. And especially given the level of service they reportedly provide. I have not personally experienced it but the message is clear and resounding.

No question that it is silly not to buy the high level membership and insurance. Maximum coverage for minimum cost. And with the high level insurance plan it’s basically just broad based good travel insurance. I realize prices vary by state. In NC I think I paid a total of like 200 bucks for both the top tier membership and top tier insurance as a family plan. No brainer. Not sure if they age adjust the pricing. And most health care policies will not cover you for “extreme sports” in general. Basically the message is with everything you will spend on diving this is a clear cut answer.

The pricing structure is clearly that of a true NPO. It is clearly designed for the good of the community and priced as such. And if you compare it to other travel insurance policies it blows them out of the water because those are per trip and usually about the same cost you’ll pay annually with DAN.

It sounds like your $200 was for DAN membership and dive accident insurance. NOT for DAN travel insurance.

 

[Gelirfella]

It sounds like your $200 was for DAN membership and dive accident insurance. NOT for DAN travel insurance.

Bought both. Can’t remember total cost. But it was cheap. Just looked it up. The insurance doesn’t offer family. I bought two separate plans. And the family Dan membership is 100. So guess more than 200. But still cheap as far as these things go. Also, the guardian plan covers me for boating/skiing accidents at my family lake house which I thought was a plus.

 

[OrcasC205]

I bought DAN's trip insurance (in addition to being a member and having the dive-specific insurance) before my one and only trip to Cozumel and it was a good thing I did. The air ambulance alone back to Seattle would have been a financial disaster.

Divers seriously injured in car accident

One of our Pacific Northwest Diving couples were involved in a car accident in Cozumel, resulting in very serious injury to both of them. Evidently the car in which they were driving was T-boned by another vehicle who was later determined to be at fault. That driver is now in jail. Laurie broke...

scubaboard.com

 

[ggunn]

I bought DAN's trip insurance (in addition to being a member and having the dive-specific insurance) before my one and only trip to Cozumel and it was a good thing I did. The air ambulance alone back to Seattle would have been a financial disaster.

Divers seriously injured in car accident

One of our Pacific Northwest Diving couples were involved in a car accident in Cozumel, resulting in very serious injury to both of them. Evidently the car in which they were driving was T-boned by another vehicle who was later determined to be at fault. That driver is now in jail. Laurie broke...

scubaboard.com

Jeez, that sounds horrendous! Are you guys OK now?

 

[OrcasC205]

Jeez, that sounds horrendous! Are you guys OK now?

Yes and no. We're much better, but still have some ways to go -- Laurie is continuing to have intermittent nerve issues and I'm still not back to 100% strength in my left leg due to the muscle graft needed for my surgery. But we're both diving again and moving on with our lives. The best thing is that my head injury did not lead to any long-term disabilities.

 

[Kendall Raine]

No matter what insuance you get, read the policy carefully to see what is covered and when. Many policies have loopholes (ie preexisting conditions).

Exactly right. Read the definition of pre-existing conditions carefully.. Then read it carefully again. If there is any ambiguity/uncertainty about what consititutes an exclusionary pre-existing condition, call the underwriter then confirm the answer in a follow-up email. After the fact is not the time to find out/establish a paper trail. Insurance companies make money collecting/investing premiums, not paying claims.

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

Exactly right. Read the definition of pre-existing conditions carefully.. Then read it carefully again. If there is any ambiguity/uncertainty about what consititutes an exclusionary pre-existing condition, call the underwriter then confirm the answer in a follow-up email. After the fact is not the time to find out/establish a paper trail. Insurance companies make money collecting/investing premiums, not paying claims.

To be clear, a pre-existing condition is not a loop hole. It is a statement of fact. You are dying of cancer. So, now you want to buy life insurance. You know you will die of cancer. Real soon. The insurance company either excludes cancer or charges you extremely high premiums to cover their benefit costs (or simply denies to sell you product). Nothing nefarious. Just common sense.

Examples of Adverse Selection in the Insurance Industry

Find out what the term "adverse selection" refers to in the insurance industry, and learn how insurance companies protect themselves from adverse selection.

www.investopedia.com

 

[ccannon707]

Friend's DAN story: In 2019, (pre-Covid) I met up with 3 gal pals for 2 weeks of diving and fun in CZM. I had a little studio in town, they were staying at a time share. First dive of the trip I & my dear friend went with my long time DM Adrian. The other 2 (Jan & Joanne) went with another Op. Jan has a medical emergency in the water, was taken by ambulance to International Hospital and died. The eventual consensus was she had a heart attack under water and was already dead when she arrived at the Hospital. Really Sad Memories.

BUT, the upshot and point of this story is: she had DAN insurance - and they wouldn't pay the hospital bill. Friends pooled $$ and got her hospital bill paid. DAN did pay for the cremation. My dear friend is like a pit bull with a bone and kept at it after she got home. Turns out the hospital gave DAN the wrong info and once that was worked out they reimbursed the money. Also, the police were involved and confiscated her dive equipment "to test". Never saw that stuff again.