What's the scoop on DAN accident insurance?

[Germie]

It all depends on your health assurance and where you live. If you dive in the Netherlands, the normal health insurance is enough as it is my own country. If you go abroad it depends on the travelinsurance (the normal costs as in my country are covered in the healthinsurance, so for some countries no extra insurance needed, and transportation is not covered in the healtinsurance, then you need the travelinsurance). Mines covers all diving, no depthlimit and no certification need (so as open water diver you are covered to use a rebreather and go to 100m/330ft). BUT, it doesn't cover cavediving. A friend has an insurance that covers all diving as long as it is during a course. So no fundiving. So read carefully what is covered and what not. It depends per country.

AND read carefully the rules. Some say not insured deeper as 40m, others state only within your certification level (so problems if you go to 41m on a deep diver or aow cert?). And what if you go to 400ft as there are no courses for such depths? Or take 5 cylinders and go to 400 ft in a cave with scooters. No course covers this combinations. And then you want to have coverage too.
Another tricky one in my country is: good maintained equipment. Yes of course is my equipment well maintained, but I do servicing myself. I cannot proof it is done by a technician. By law you are allowed to do it yourself and dive without any cert.

I have a DAN insurance as well.

 

[divinh]

I'm a bit confused now...

DAN individual membership is $35/year. On top of that, you would buy either Single Trip or Annual Insurance, correct? For a trip from July 1, 2018 to July 19, 2018... $5500 trip, total (transit, accommodations, food, basically everything).

DAN Single Trip, coverage Basic $344, Premium $366 and Elite $408 (Cost seems dependent of trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $250k/$500k/$1 mil
Medical $50k/$100k/$250k
Trip Cancellation $5.5k
Trip Interruption $5.5k/$8.25k/$8.25k
Trip Delay $1k
Baggage $1k/$2.5k/$5k
Baggage Delay none/$500/$1k

DAN Annual, coverage Traveler $264, Explorer $319, Voyager $644 (No dependency on trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $250k/$500k/$1 mil
Medical $50k/$100k/$250k
Trip Cancellation $2.5k/$3k/$5k
Trip Interruption $2.5k/$3k/$5k
Trip Delay $750/$1k/$2k
Baggage $1k/$2.5k/$5k
Baggage Delay $500/$500/$1k

Coverage is through Travel Guard, which used to be what World Nomads used.

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World Nomads, coverage Standard $94, Explorer $139 (No dependency on trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $300k/$500k
Medical $100k
Trip Cancellation $2.5k/$10k
Trip Interruption $2.5k/$10k
Trip Delay $500/$1.5k
Baggage $1k/$3k
Baggage Delay $750

Coverage is through Nationwide.

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Am I missing something? Is there a $35/year membership fee plus $125 dive only insurance that covers unlimited diving depth?

 

[Dogbowl]

I'm a bit confused now...

DAN individual membership is $35/year. On top of that, you would buy either Single Trip or Annual Insurance, correct? For a trip from July 1, 2018 to July 19, 2018... $5500 trip, total (transit, accommodations, food, basically everything).

DAN Single Trip, coverage Basic $344, Premium $366 and Elite $408 (Cost seems dependent of trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $250k/$500k/$1 mil
Medical $50k/$100k/$250k
Trip Cancellation $5.5k
Trip Interruption $5.5k/$8.25k/$8.25k
Trip Delay $1k
Baggage $1k/$2.5k/$5k
Baggage Delay none/$500/$1k

DAN Annual, coverage Traveler $264, Explorer $319, Voyager $644 (No dependency on trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $250k/$500k/$1 mil
Medical $50k/$100k/$250k
Trip Cancellation $2.5k/$3k/$5k
Trip Interruption $2.5k/$3k/$5k
Trip Delay $750/$1k/$2k
Baggage $1k/$2.5k/$5k
Baggage Delay $500/$500/$1k

Coverage is through Travel Guard, which used to be what World Nomads used.

-----

World Nomads, coverage Standard $94, Explorer $139 (No dependency on trip cost.)

Emergency Evacuation $300k/$500k
Medical $100k
Trip Cancellation $2.5k/$10k
Trip Interruption $2.5k/$10k
Trip Delay $500/$1.5k
Baggage $1k/$3k
Baggage Delay $750

Coverage is through Nationwide.

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Am I missing something? Is there a $35/year membership fee plus $125 dive only insurance that covers unlimited diving depth?

I think you are mixing up DAN dive accident insurance and DAN travel insurance.

 

[outofofficebrb]

@divinh

When you become a member of DAN, you get basic member benefits which includes TravelAssist and a few other things. Being a member allows you to do a few things, such as buy their travel insurance products and their dive accident insurance products.

Their trip insurance product pricing will vary depending on how long your trip is for, what the cost of coverage you are looking for is (trip price) and levels of coverage, and probably your age, etc.

Their dive accident product pricing is fixed. There are 3 tiers, $40 (master), $75 (preferred), $125 (guardian). The mastertier is a lifetime maximum limited product while preferred and guardian are per occurrence with the exception of the preferred plan's non-dive medical coverage limit which is lifetime.

The costs for trip insurance and dive accident insurance are in addition to your membership. I suggest carrying an annual dive accident policy to cover all diving whether you are traveling or diving locally at home and then supplementing with a travel insurance policy when you travel somewhere that you are spending a lot of money on and/or there are a lot of non-refundable, sunk costs with the travel providers. e.g., a liveaboard, or a pre-paid resort or dive operation that does not refund you for weather, disasters, etc. I do suggest that you purchase the DAN accident insurance but then go to Dive Assure for your dive travel insurance. It covers more for the same price or lower, plus they offer liveaboard riders which DAN travel insurance does not offer. Lastly, if you choose not to (preference) or do not need to (don't dive locally) carry an annual dive accident policy, the Dive Assure trip insurance policies comes with dive accident insurance OR you can opt to purchase it without it by calling. Dive Assure allows you to also pick primary and secondary insurance coverage in addition to their tiers of coverage for travel insurance.

Lastly, I would also suggest a travel medical plan that covers pre-existing conditions. Mexico for about 9-10 days when I was just shy of 30 was only $33 or something for $1M coverage and $0 deductible. A lot of the coverage overlapped with the dive travel insurance and dive accident product but it offered a lot more and also extra peace of mind. There is a nice app that is a good resource for local issues, provider information, etc. GeoBlue - I think a Blue Shield/Blue Shield company.

Let me know if you have specific questions. I have many threads where I've gone into detail about the differences between the two travel insurance products. If you do a search you should be able to find it but if you have trouble, let me know and I can try to link you.

 

[divinh]

I think you are mixing up DAN dive accident insurance and DAN travel insurance.

Hah... yeah... after doing the comparison post, I found the DAN dive accident insurance, which has Guardian $125, Preferred $75 and Master $40. So, it's $35/year + one of these plans, which is secondary coverage. I wonder how this would work with World Nomads, which also covers diving but seems to be cheaper for single trip general travel insurance. Say an accident were to happen, would you just say you have DAN dive accident insurance and get covered... then let DAN and World Nomads sort it out who is supposed to ultimately pay?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hah... yeah... after doing the comparison post, I found the DAN dive accident insurance, which has Guardian $125, Preferred $75 and Master $40. So, it's $35/year + one of these plans, which is secondary coverage. I wonder how this would work with World Nomads, which also covers diving but seems to be cheaper for single trip general travel insurance. Say an accident were to happen, would you just say you have DAN dive accident insurance and get covered... then let DAN and World Nomads sort it out who is supposed to ultimately pay?

Secondary just means they will kick in once your primary (probably your normal health insurance) does what they can. They will probably go back and forth between who will pay if there are two overlapping secondary providers. Dive Assure allows you to pick primary or secondary coverage for their travel product which includes accident coverage or you can opt out. I'm not sure about just their dive accident product, though.

Double check World Nomads and their limits, fine print, etc. Depth limits, certification limits, location (how far or close to home), etc. Also, I have a much stronger preference for DAN given how recognizable they are in the industry and in the medical field for dive issues. I don't have anecdotal evidence to support my feelings but others who have had the unfortunate opportunity to use their DAN accident policies have said good things.

 

[divinh]

Secondary just means they will kick in once your primary (probably your normal health insurance) does what they can. They will probably go back and forth between who will pay if there are two overlapping secondary providers. Dive Assure allows you to pick primary or secondary coverage for their travel product which includes accident coverage or you can opt out. I'm not sure about just their dive accident product, though.

Double check World Nomads and their limits, fine print, etc. Depth limits, certification limits, location (how far or close to home), etc. Also, I have a much stronger preference for DAN given how recognizable they are in the industry and in the medical field for dive issues. I don't have anecdotal evidence to support my feelings but others who have had the unfortunate opportunity to use their DAN accident policies have said good things.

Thanks. Your previous post was so detailed it took two reads to ingest it. Thanks for taking the time! I think I have a better understanding now. At least for me, it seems...

DAN membership + Guardian for best dive accident coverage

Trip insurance as a separate policy. Look into Dive Assure for dive related travel trips.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Thanks. Your previous post was so detailed it took two reads to ingest it. Thanks for taking the time! I think I have a better understanding now. At least for me, it seems...

DAN membership + Guardian for best dive accident coverage

Trip insurance as a separate policy. Look into Dive Assure for dive related travel trips.

@divinh @hammet Here are some helpful links where I have posted very detailed responses that you might find helpful:

Dan Travel Insurance failed us again are there any better alternatives
Annual Diver Insurance
DAN Insurance: Guardian or Preferred

 

[flyboy08]

I'm a Dan member...today, I added their insurance...not travel, but their insurance plan for me and the wife. $40.00 pro rated each till our DAN membership renewal date of August. I have a Cadillac plan through work, but for $40.00....who am I fooling....

In NY, $40 buys you the Master Plan which actually is the middle of the three plans.

Sometimes I do purchase trip coverage, but I'm less apt to do so for CZM....

 

[outofofficebrb]

I'm a Dan member...today, I added their insurance...not travel, but their insurance plan for me and the wife. $40.00 pro rated each till our DAN membership renewal date of August. I have a Cadillac plan through work, but for $40.00....who am I fooling....

In NY, $40 buys you the Master Plan which actually is the middle of the three plans.

Sometimes I do purchase trip coverage, but I'm less apt to do so for CZM....

A good buy! I always wondered what was different about living in the states that they ask you about. Are you able to share with us the options?

When I went to CZM, I did not purchase trip insurance. If I missed a flight, I was not missing a liveaboard and could catch the next one flight out. My credit card coverage (Chase Sapphire Reserve) provided enough coverage for my purposes. Any potential loss in money was negligible, maybe 1 night's hotel room which is less than what the trip insurance would have cost. Additionally, I did not pre-pay any packages for diving that were non-refundable so I really did not have very many sunk costs. That is what I use to determine whether I want to buy it or not. I always at the least buy travel medical if I am going out of the country, though.