Re: DAN Insurance??? Forget It!!!

[Gambitt]

Insured by DAN? Sorry, you're not covered
 Powered by CDNN - CYBER DIVER News Network
 by LAMAR BENNINGTON - CDNN Industry News Editor
 DURHAM, North Carolina (10 Jan 2006) -- The three-year dispute between SSS, the world's leading global hyperbaric chamber network, and DAN, a scandal-plagued scuba diver insurance group, has boiled over.  
 
 Sub-Aquatic Safety Services (SSS), which operates recompression chambers from America to Belize to Thailand has announced it will no longer accept scuba divers insured by Divers Alert Network (DAN) unless they pay out of their own pockets.
 
 DAN, which provoked the dispute by repeatedly harassing SSS over fair market pricing of hyperbaric chamber fees, has been widely criticized within the scuba diving industry for ignoring its stated diver safety mission, spinning off commerical offshore tax evasion schemes and colluding with ousted CEO Peter Bennett to cover up alleged financial improprieties.
 
 Despite DAN spin to the effect that its failure to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement with SSI does not compromise diver safety, clearly it does because SSS will no longer accept DAN insurance for any and all fees related to hyperbaric chamber and medical treatment.
 
 According to DAN's own promotion pushing dive consumers to spend more for diver insurance, fees related to evacuation, hyperbaric recompression,  and other medical treatment for divers involved in scuba diving accidents could reach $250,000.
   
   
 DAN's failure to settle claims has provoked recompression chambers to reject divers insured by DAN.
 
 Divers caught between DAN and SSS are urged to contact other dive insurance companies such as Dive Assure, PADI (Vicencia & Buckley), NAUI, Diver's Security Agency (DSI) and DiveSafe.

[JohnnyCastaway]

I've just sent an email to the Divers Alert Network asking for their side of this story (I included a link to the original).  It will be intertesting to see what they have to say.  
 
 Needless to say, it has me very concerned about paying for DAN insurance...
 
 I'll post their response, if I get one.

[JohnnyCastaway]

doing some more research, I found an article buried deep in the DAN site, why it's not up front, I'm not sure but have a read...
  DAN Responds to Press Release
 
  Important Public Statement from Divers Alert Network

[Gambitt]

Interesting...  like everything there is two sides.
 
 I guess we'll just have to wait and see, what comes up in court.
 
 One thing I did find, on my own, is that DAN does not cover diving in Cuba...

[JohnnyCastaway]

that's because of the fact it's a US insurance company that does the underwriting.
 
 however, I did see one article (Canadian) that mentioned EVAC from cuba costing as much as $16000, and that DAN would cover it, so is it or is it not covered?  I guess a call to DAN to verify is required.

[Gambitt]

That's how I found out that Cuba wasn't covered.
 
 I called them before our last trip.

[JohnnyCastaway]

I received an email today, from DAN, as a followup to my original query to them as to the status of the claims in the article.  
 
 http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/news/article.asp?newsid=757
 
 Looks like all is happy in the house of DAN now.
   :D

[Gambitt]

Okay.. so now all is good with the world.
 
 So John, what converage do you have with DAN, and what's the cost?   If we're going to be diving lots in Coz, I might look into it too.

[JohnnyCastaway]

I took out the deluxe package, covers just about everything.  Hopefully I'll never have to use it.

http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/040506decomp.shtml
 
 It looks like it has been sorted out now ?

Sorry guys, I have just read the posts above and realised that you already new this before I posted the link.
 
 Catch you soon!