DAN for me too.
DAN for me too.
Littlelleemur sent me this link:
http://www.scuba diving.com/training/basicskills/TN_basic_consumers_guide_to_dive_insurance
Take away the space between scuba and diving
No rate increases due to filing a claim, I pay the same as everyone else for the coverage I currently carry. Like any insurance, they do keep records of what has been paid out, so yes the claim did affect the lifetime maximum (if it did not affect the limit, then what would be the purpose of having the limit in the first place?).
It's funny, but I never really thought much about those lifetime maximums that all policies carry (who could ever go through a million dollars worth of medical treatment over the span of their lifetime?) until I saw the first hospital bill from my big accident of 10 years ago; at the two month mark of my hospitalization (spent 4 months in traction) the bill was already beyond the $300K mark. Since that time, I now look a bit closer at the maximum lifetime payouts.
Well, how does that maximum work in this example:
You have the lower level of insurance with a maximum lifetime amount.
Then you have an incident
After your incident, you figure maybe I should upgrade to the top of the line policy that does not have any lifetime maximum.
Would you then have no maximum as if the first incident never happened?
Acelockco:
I think the prior accident is considered a pre-existing condition and so even if you choose to upgrade, there will be parts where the upgrade will not be applied. & depending on what categories you used, it may not be worth upgrading for the remaining ones.
BamaCaveDiver:
It's great that you pay the same. Many companies increase what you pay after an incident. I was just wondering how the lifetime maximum would be applied by DAN as an injury or accident would qualify for many categories. So yes, that makes sense
As far as I can tell ace, you are only limited by the policy that you currently have in effect. So if you upgraded and started paying the higher premiums each year you would not be bound by previous limits. DAN is not attempting to turn huge profits as most insurance companies do (DAN is not the insurance carrier, they are a central group paying for a group policy for their membership; yes, you have to be a member of DAN to purchase insurance through them.)
Littlelemur, I have seen a few rate increases over the years that I have carried DAN, but as any good group policy should be handled, everyone in the group pays a little rather than those who have filed claims having to pay a lot to make up for losses due to payouts. From an actuarial standpoint, this type of insurance is really fun to crunch the numbers on since you have to work with contrived averages (how many divers do you know that dive every single day of the year?) This is what allows them to offer what seems like really decent rates (and why so many of the policies are sold as secondary, rather than primary, policies.)
Just about all the policies are handled in the same manner, so the most important point is to just make sure that you have some sort of coverage.
I think I am leaning toward a DAN policy. They seem to be the most common and known world wide. Anyone have any reason I should use another insurance carrier, let me know.
The primary reason I have stayed with DAN over the years ace is that their policy does not include the exclusions on depths or gas choices. Other carriers have some really good offerings, but if you read the fine print closely you will see that a lot do include such exclusions, so read the fine print prior to making your final choice. If you have no interest in going beyond rec limits (either intentionally or accidentally) or ever adding helium to the mix, then just about all of the policies are a good buy.
At this point helium is not even a thought.
The depth however is. There are definately times when wrecks we visit are below the rec. limit.
Do the DAN preferred.
It is accepted everywhere in the world. Period.
A diver I know got bent last year while doing a liveaboard. DAN got him and his wife to shore, him in the can and her in a hotel within hours. There was paperwork involved (it is insurance, after all) but in the end every penny of their expenses was covered. It could have run them close to a hundred grand.
Use it once in your life and it will have paid for itself many times over. Never use it, and count your blessings.
Mountain Dog
It's not the destination, it's the journey.