Make Sure You’re Covered By Scuba Diving Travel Insurance
Scuba diving accidents are very rare but getting adequate scuba diving travel insurance is a prudent decision. We’ll run you through your options below and explain why you should get your own. You’re covered as a student with us through our insurance and all of our instructors have personal student insurance. Certified divers are also covered but there are limitations. We highly recommend that you get specialist scuba diving travel insurance.
The Potential Risk
As mentioned previously, scuba diving is a very safe sport. However accidents can happen even if you’re a conservative diver. Evacuation is efficient and cheap but once you reach the hyperbaric chamber the costs sky rocket. A standard treatment can cost US$3,000 and you will probably need more than one session. We have three chambers on Phuket. Getting in isn’t a problem but they will need proof of scuba diving travel insurance before treatment begins.
For this reason we highly recommend that you have your own cover. Your name on a valid insurance document will expedite the process. Getting verification from a general cover policy like ours will take longer. It’s essential to get treatment for decompression illness as quickly as possible.
Standard Travel Insurance
Many standard travel insurances will cover you for scuba diving but be very careful. Make sure you read the policy thoroughly. The policy will probably cover for training under a professional dive association like PADI to which we’re affiliated. Certified divers will probably find that there’s plenty of restrictions such as:
- Limited to 30m or sometimes less
- Diving only with professionals
- No wreck or cave diving
- Search and recovery expenses
- Where your scuba diving licence was issued
All insurance companies will try to avoid a pay out if they can so make sure you’re covered. If you dive to depths or environments you’re not certified for then they won’t pay out. Experienced open water divers should consider upgrading their certification level for this reason.
Specialist Scuba Diving Travel Insurance
Definitely the way to go. Specialist scuba diving travel insurance such as DAN will be very clear with what’s covered. They’re all divers and have a team of diving doctors. Their advice is top notch and they know how to get everything arranged quickly and efficiently wherever you are. After consulting with DAN’s specialists they will guarantee payment to the hospital so you can begin treatment. In Phuket you must go to Bangkok International Hospital which is widely regarded as the best on the island.
Annual insurance with DAN is great value for money. They can also supply excellent short term coverage from 1 – 30 days from US$10 per day, US$40 per week or US$50 for 30 days. We’re a DAN partner so happy to arrange this for you.
What We Cover
All professional dive centre’s have to be registered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. As standard we insure every diver but it’s only up to US$16,000. In all honesty that should cover most diving accidents but it certainly won’t cover repatriation or any other costs incurred. Insurance in Thailand has a general policy of the claimant paying first and then claiming back from the insurance company. Ours is no different. I’m sure you can see a huge potential problem here.
The message we’re trying to get across here is check carefully. Policies vary from company to company. Find out if you’re covered before your scuba diving trip not when you’re in hospital. Of course you could always start a go fund me page…
Contact Local Dive Thailand for the safest and most fun diving experience in Phuket!
By Justin Hartrey
Posted in Scuba Diving Health on .
