Concluding his two-part feature, Michael Menduno discusses putting DAN Europe’s ‘Pro’ Liability Insurance to work for you
DAN Europe’s Pro policies also enable instructors to extend their diving accident coverage to a specific number of ‘first level’ students, so that they may enjoy accident insurance during the course. Typical courses covered include Discover Scuba Diving (DSD), Try Scuba, Open Water, 1° Degree, 1 Star CMAS, REC 1 and GUE fundamentals to name a few. Freediving classes like 1° degree, spearfishing 1° level, 1 Star CMAS, AIDA 1, and SSI Free Diving Basic and Apnea level 1 are also covered. This ability to provide insurance to new students can also be a selling tool for your business.
The coverage limit is €15,000 per student for worldwide emergency treatment including €2,500 for search and rescue, however the three plans allow varying numbers of students as follows Pro Bronze: 15 students, Pro Silver: 40 students, Pro Gold: 70 students. Note that the instructor must list the students on MYDAN page for them to be covered. In addition, professionals can purchase insurance for a cost of €8 per student, in the event their initial coverage expires.
DAN Europe’s Pro insurance also includes three optional benefits that can be added to your plan. First, the payout in the event of death as a result of a diving accident can be extended to either €25,000 or €50,000, however that excludes technical diving. The normal payout is €6,000 for Pro Bronze and Pro Silver and €25,000 for Pro Gold, however under this plan, death as a result of a technical diving accident only pays €6,000.
In addition, professionals can elect to extend the duration of their coverage to non-diving emergencies abroad to the whole subscription year i.e., 365 days under the Pro Silver and Pro Gold plans. Otherwise the number of days covered are from Bronze to Gold respectively: 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, similar to the DAN Europe Sport plans. Finally, professionals can include nuclear family members (partner and or children) under their non-diving emergency (travel) coverage.
Let’s go clubbing
DAN Europe's IDA subsidiary also offers two liability insurance plans for dive clubs, centres, stores, schools and associations: Club Member and Club Member Plus.
Club Member coverage provides for the dive centre and ten instructors/guides, and diving accident insurance for 15 entry-level students, while Club Member Plus covers an unlimited number of instructors/guides and up to 40 entry-level students. Similar to DAN Europe’s Pro Plans, student names must be entered in MYDAN prior to coverage.
Note that neither plan provides individual diving accident and travel insurance to the professionals involved; coverage must be obtained individually. Both plans cover tank maintenance and filling by trained personnel, which is excluded in individual Pro plans. Third Party Liability, including legal defense totals €1,500,000 for the Club Member policy and an additional €25,000 for legal expenses related to dive services and not necessarily a liability claim, for example, a dispute with a client or service provider, or other legal work in conjunction with the club or centre.
Club Member Plus offers €4,000,000 for Third Party Liability including legal defense, and €35,000 for diving service-related legal expenses. For a comparison of plans in your country see: Club Member Comparisons. Club members can also purchase student insurance for First level, Advanced, Specialty and Freediving Stage. For a detailed description of options see Student Insurance.
DAN Europe’s Club insurance also provides several important optional coverages. First, clubs and centres can add ‘Try Dive’ insurance which covers medical expenses and hyperbaric treatments up to €15,000 for incidents involving a maximum depth allowed by the relevant teaching organisation but not to exceed 15m. The number of insured, Try Dive clients is unlimited, and they do not need to provide their names to DAN Europe.
Second, clubs can add DAN Europe’s Premises Liability insurance, which protects your organisation for injuries suffered by individuals present on the club’s premises, for up to a maximum of €50,000.
DAN Europe is here for you
Unlike most general insurers, DAN Europe, which was created for divers, by divers, does a lot more than simply providing you with needed professional liability coverage. Similar to the extensive international DAN network of 180-plus diving doctors, diving professionals have access to the DAN Europe Legal Network, staffed by diving attorneys who speak your language, are there to support you in the event of a diving accident, and provide legal expertise every step of the way. You don’t have to face the situation alone.
What’s more, in contrast to some diving federations and general insurers, DAN Europe’s Pro Liability plans provided by IDA, cover more challenging forms of diving instruction such as cave, technical, rebreather and advanced freediving. As British Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) cave and technical instructor John Kendall, who is longtime DAN Pro member, put it, “It can be hard to get good coverage for tech and cave diving. Fortunately, DAN Europe actually understands what I am doing.”
In addition, a portion of the monies that DAN Europe collects for accident and liability insurance goes to fund advancements in diving medical research, which serve as an important benchmark for the global scientific and diving communities. DAN Europe also develops and promotes safety campaigns which focus on increasing diving safety. These aspects are not true of other insurers, and are additional reasons why you should consider DAN Europe’s professional liability insurance.
Hopefully, you will now have a better understanding of DAN Europe’s plans for diving professionals, and dive clubs, centres, stores, schools and associations, so you can get the coverage that’s right for you, your clients, and your business.
Safe diving! Safe teaching!
