As a rule, recreational divers are meticulous when it comes to planning a dive: they spend hours evaluating the pros and cons of alternative living creatures, dive resorts or operators. They will drive all the latest gear and gismos, from custom wetsuits to computers to cameras. This is a significant investment of time and money, so it is perhaps surprising that the major diver leaves home without adequate travel insurance.
Travel Insurance Specialists, World Nomads, recently commissioned research on the travel of divers, agitation of representatives of dive shops, tour operators, accreditation bodies and dive media. According to Ian Jackson, a study leader for peaceful nomads, “we were really surprised by the unanimous opinion that most divers were insured for their dives, especially for equipment and emergency evacuation.”
As a rule, if they take on insurance, divers choose either a policy with an emergency evacuation provider, or rely on “correct” travel insurance.
“The problem with this,” says Jackson, “is that any option covers everything. Many travel insurance policies do not provide for evacuation to remote areas or hyperbaric chambers. Hands, emergency evacuation providers do a great job of saving you from a terrible situation, but do not cover additional medical expenses or for lost or stolen equipment. ”
Jackson gives an example of a person who suffered internal organ failure, which was directly related to the diving that he did. His evacuation insurance brought him to the hospital, but did not cover the cost of the additional necessary treatment or his repatriation home. “The bill has reached $ 200,000,” he says.
Some of the best diving sites are located in the most remote corners of the world, and just getting there can be an adventure - one that can damage the delicate camera equipment and other bulky diving equipment. And as soon as you are there, even if you do not recognize it out loud, there is such a dark hollow of your brain that gets around sharks, complaining, rogues, sinking boats, bends and every submarine of danger.
It will not make all the terrible things go (and what pleasure will there be in this, anyway?), But knowing that you have enough insurance to relieve you of troubles, you can calm down to enjoy the pleasure of a diving trip.
