Dive Insurance in Cuba.

As we all know, the US has an economic embargo on Cuba. Which BTW ONLY applies to Americans. However, what many Canadians don't know or realize is that any current dive insurance that they may have through DAN Americas/PADI/other insurance companies may not be honoured when diving in Cuba.

The main problem with this is:
1) The dive insurance is advertised to all diving Canadians and often specifically to Canadians planning diving trips to Cuba.
2) Other insurance companies may not honour any claims from incidents in Cuba because they have a large American interest.
3) The rumour that Canadians can call DAN/PADI Europe for insurance help while in Cuba is false. (You need to be a member of DAN/PADI Europe).

The safest bet is to not only read the fine print, but to buy separate insurance for Cuban diving with Cuba written specifically into the policy. Or if you have multiple residency, buy DAN/PADI outside of DAN Americas /PADI Americas.

On another note, will DAN leave Canadians completely stranded and helpless in Cuba? Financially yes, but since DAN is also a non-profit, research and educational institution, the *Economic* embargo does not apply to them (only to their insurance). They CAN be called for emergency medical advice, but keep your fingers crossed for a level headed operator & shift supervisor.

We just got off the phone with DAN and they verified LittleLemur is correct.

They did say they would evacuate a covered member, they just would use a non-American company to do the evacuation to the U.S. but they could not pay out any claims to a Cuban entity.

Well, they couldn't do the evacuation to the U.S. because they would be denied entry.

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Originally Posted by The Publisher

We just got off the phone with DAN and they verified LittleLemur is correct.

They did say they would evacuate a covered member, they just would use a non-American company to do the evacuation to the U.S. but they could not pay out any claims to a Cuban entity.

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Thanks for clarifying! :D

I guess it sucks to be Canadian, better be safe atleast you can go there.

That is an excellent point! I wonder would DAN give you temporary insurance for a fee to cover you while in Cuba?

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Originally Posted by seasnake

I wonder would DAN give you temporary insurance for a fee to cover you while in Cuba?

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Professional DAN & PADI insurance exists in Cuba, but is provided by their other Int'l Offices (DAN/PADI Europe/Mexico) & is underwritten by their respective independent underwriters.

So in an event of an emergency, as The Publisher noted, the DM will most likely call DAN for advice. However, you may have to pay out of pocket first before submitting an itemized invoice for reimbursement once you get home. The "3rd party", will depend on who and where. Mexico is very far in an emergency.

You can also get travel health insurance, but be sure to read the fine print, as scuba, water skiing and even a banana boat can be interpreted as "dangerous activities". Also make sure you get an *accurate* hard copy of the specific insurance purchased; there has been incidents over the past few years, where the customer paid for but never was "applied for" insurance. Obviously they didn't find out, until they needed it....

Also, it is better to dive with the government run dive shops which are bare bones but have good access to government health facilities (i.e. chamber). The independent ones seem to come and go as often as the wind changes direction, plus we have no reliable info on their operating standards or their insurance.