Do I need DAN?

[Diving Dubai]

I'll always take DAN for my divign insurance (with other medical being completely different)

I witnessed someone have an incident requiring a chamber ride who had other insurance once. it wasn't good.

First they had to pass over their credit card, because they couldn't get instant authorisation

Secondly in the very small print the there was a limitation to 18 meters (regardless of cert) Unfortunately the diver had gone to 22m and thus got hit by a $20,000 for the chamber ride and overnight services

DAN is there 24/7 anywhere in the world. I've seen them in action, they're 100% reliable and have immediate access to experts, where as other insurance company's might not.

For me that $100 per year charge is a no brainier for additional piece of mind

 

[Centrals]

Many years ago I was diving on a liveaboard in Maldives and my room mate complained about joint pain so he was taken on a speed boat to the nearest chamber(long journey). The local authority would not recognize his travel insurance unless it was DAN so at the end he had to take out his plastic. Luckily he had good allowance (US$5,000.00) otherwise.... He did menage to get his money back from his insurance company after returning to HK.
It was after this incidence then I realized that all travel insurance is NOT the same especially regarding scuba diving.

 

[NAM001]

Dan covers a lot of things and on the other hand they don't cover a lot. IE If you go to the gulf to dive and you have a problem it depends if it is covered as to whether you left for the golf from the US or Mexico. They determine if you are in country or out of country based on your departure location. You should call them and ask the questions. Its things like lost gear , canceled trips, passage back to CONUS, ect.

For me 100.00 a year is worth having even with the risk of not being covered on some of the luxary coverages. If you need a chamber you got one and the trip to it no matter what.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Far from it. Dan isn't an insurance company. Dan is an underwriter and they sell other people's product for a cut. I hope you really didn't sign up with DAN thinking they were an insurance company, because that tells me you didn't even read what you signed.

You don't have "DAN insurance". What you have is accident insurance with The United States Life Insurance Company of New York. US Life is a subsidiary of AIG. You've seen the AIG commercial with Fred Thompson on TV telling seniors they are about to die and they can get $10,000 worth of insurance "for pennies a day" with no health questions and no physical and it doesn't matter if you have pre-existing conditions. Because if you die without AIG your kids and grandkids are gonna hate you forever! Call today! Operators are standing by.

I'm well aware of what DAN is. Being a reseller of insurance is common, and does not necessarily mean they're a scummy TV insurance company. If you think DAN is anything like that, then you know nothing of DAN and their work.

 

[IBjones]

Oh no, I didn't mean to imply that at all. Just noting that DAN doesn't sell insurance, so once you sign the form and DAN gets their cut, you are a customer of AIG, not a customer of DAN.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Oh no, I didn't mean to imply that at all. Just noting that DAN doesn't sell insurance, so once you sign the form and DAN gets their cut, you are a customer of AIG, not a customer of DAN.

That may be true by the letter of the contract, but when you get bent or otherwise use the product, you deal with DAN and only DAN. You will never speak to AIG.

 

[TMHeimer]

I would imagine if I were to take a dive vacation to an exotic and possibly somewhat remote location I would seriously look into DAN. Depends on what you do and where you go. My usual most exotic vacation is snowbirding here on the panhandle with chambers nearby, which I doubt I'll ever need due to most of my dives being real shallow shore. There's always a lot of discussion when the "DAN?" thread reappears. I would figure that DAN is like other insurance companies (or agencies, organisations, whatever) in that it covers a lot of things but probably not everything. From what I read on SB I doubt there is anything that is really any better than DAN. But I don't know. I do know that regular drug and dental insurance companies within Canada vary considerably on what they cover--and there is a lot of "fine print". That seems to be the nature of these organisations. Dive coverage I'm sure varies similarly.

 

[Laurie S.]

We have the Guardian plan and we travel quite a bit. My husband lives fulltime in Mexico and I'm there as much as I can be. We feel a lot safer having DAN and that plan. Especially when we're on a cruise and it can potentially cost $100K for emergency evacuation.

 

[covediver]

I have had DAN medical insurance for years. never used it. hopefully will never have to.
The chamber in Alaska closed two years ago. Nearest chamber is now in Seattle, a fact that I am constantly reminded of in post-dive briefings. Even if you have a great medical plan, the cost of the ride alone would put you into the poor house.
I also buy travel insurance through DAN. Needed to use it last year. No problems whatsoever.

 

[pnwbred]

Do I need DAN? That is a question each person has to answers and weigh the pros and cons.

For me, YES. I'm a new diver and having the Guardian plan with all the coverage options just makes me feel safer if I ever need it. I'd rather be covered and not need it, than not covered and REALLY need it.