Depending on your level of training, you might be interrested in:

Insurance considerations for beginner divers
Insurance considerations for experienced divers
Insurance considerations for dive professionals

Insurance considerations for beginner divers

Dearest Diver,

Congratulations on becoming an Open Water Diver, and a warm welcome to the underwater world! Hopefully you had a fun and enjoyable course in which your instructor taught you how to become a safe and responsible diver. Before you dive off into your new adventure though, have you considered who’s going to pay if something goes wrong?

Unfortunately (diving) accidents do happen. In your course you learned the basics about Decompression Illness (DCI). During your new life as a diver you will come across some myths regarding this disease, such as: DCI only happens to ‘bad’ divers; when you dive shallow you cannot get DCI; as long as you follow the tables/computer/dive master you are safe from DCI, etc. If these were true, there wouldn’t be recompression chambers, and this page would have no reasons to exist.

There are some precautions you can take to minimize the chance of getting DCI (drink plenty of non-carbonated, non-caffeinated beverages, get enough sleep, don’t indulge in alcohol/recreational drugs prior to diving) but the risk will always be present.

This is why you are advised to get diving insurance. Perhaps you already have travel insurance, but does it cover you for diving accidents? It is definitely worth checking this out before you go diving again! If you don’t have any diving insurance yet, I recommend you to purchase the DAN (Divers Alert Network) diving insurance. You can insure yourself for as little as 68 Euros / 48 GBP per year which also entitles you to the DAN Travel assist plan.
To some people, this might seem like a lot of money to pay again to be able to dive with no worry but consider this; only one hour of treatment in a recompression chamber ranges from 600 to 1,100 US$ depending where you are in the world. And on top of that, as you can see on the page dedicated to hyperbaric treatments on this site, an initial treatment for DCI is a minimum of five (5) hours! Diving insurance is very cheap when you see the sums it covers.
You can check out the DAN Europe website* for more details.

If you are in Thailand (Phuket) go to visit the HST recompression chamber in Patong Beach between 9:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday. They will be happy to give you more information.
They will also give you the opportunity to have a free chamber tour! You’ll have a look inside the multi place chamber and see how it all works. A great opportunity to see a recompression facility specialized in diving injuries.

Dive safely!

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Insurance considerations for experienced divers

Dearest Diver,

You are about to start your Advanced or Rescue Diver course. They are both a lot of fun and you will learn a lot more about diving as well as safety procedures.

In your open water course you learned the basics about Decompression Illness (DCI). You have probably been on different diving boats, met other divers and possibly discussed the dreaded “bends”. Perhaps you came across some myths such as: DCI only happens to ‘bad’ divers; when you dive shallow you cannot get DCI; as long as you follow the tables/computer/dive master you are safe from DCI, etc. If these were true, there wouldn’t be recompression chambers, and we wouldn’t be writing this letter.

So what causes people to get DCI? Well, there are a number of causes, the main ones being dehydration and pre-existing medical conditions (such as a PFO a.k.a. the ‘hole in the heart’ present in 30% of the population). While you are diving you dehydrate: for every dive you make your body loses roughly 600 ml. of water. Add to that sweating while you are gearing up, sunbathing on the way back and you’ve dehydrated a fair bit.

There are some precautions you can take to minimize the chance of getting DCI. Hydration is the easiest one to take care of: drink plenty of non-carbonated, non-caffeinated beverages. For example, if you’ll be doing three dives, you should at least drink an extra 1.8 liters of fluid (water, fruit juice, fruit shakes) in addition to the 3 liters required per day to cope with the heat of the tropics. Other precautions include getting enough sleep and refraining from alcohol/recreational drugs prior to diving.

However the risk of getting DCI will always be present.

So before you dive off into your new adventure, have you considered who’s going to pay if something goes wrong? Perhaps you already have travel insurance, but does it cover you for diving accidents? It is definitely worth checking this out before you go and start this course. If you don’t have any diving insurance yet, you can still purchase the DAN (Divers Alert Network) diving insurance. You can insure yourself for as little as 68 Euros / 48 GBP per year which also entitles you to the DAN Travel assist plan, which can be booked online.You can check out the DAN Europe website* for more details.

If you are in Thailand (Phuket) go to visit the HST recompression chamber in Patong Beach between 9:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday. They will be happy to give you more information.
They will also give you the opportunity to have a free chamber tour! You’ll have a look inside the multi place chamber and see how it all works. A great opportunity to see a recompression facility specialized in diving injuries.

Dive safely!

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Insurance considerations for dive professionals

Dearest Dive Pro,

In your previous courses you learned about Decompression Illness (DCI). You have been on different diving boats, probably dived in different countries, met other divers and possibly discussed the dreaded “bends”. Undoubtedly you have come across some myths such as: DCI only happens to ‘bad’ divers; when you dive shallow you cannot get DCI; as long as you follow the tables/computer/dive master you are safe from DCI, etc. If these were true, this article would have no reasons to exist.

Having completed the courses to become a dive pro, you should know what causes people to get DCI. The main contributing factors are dehydration and pre-existing medical conditions (such as a PFO a.k.a. the ‘hole in the heart’ present in 30% of the population). While you are diving you dehydrate: for every dive you make your body loses roughly 600 ml. of water. Add to that sweating while you are helping your customers/students to gear up, debriefing on the sundeck on the way back and you’ve dehydrated a fair bit.

The risk for you to get DCI becomes somewhat higher than the “fun diver” once you start to work as a DM or instructor. Primarily because you will be diving a lot and secondly your dive profiles won’t be as healthy as you would like them to be.
This is why we think you should be aware of some precautions you can take to minimize the chance of getting DCI.

Hydration is the easiest one to take care of: drink plenty of non-carbonated, non-caffeinated beverages. For example, if you’ll be doing three dives that day, you should at least drink an extra 1.8 liters of fluid (water, fruit juice, fruit shakes) in addition to the 3 liters required per day to cope with the heat of the tropics. Other precautions include getting enough sleep and refraining from alcohol/recreational drugs prior to diving.

However the risk of getting DCI will always be present.

Amongst the professionals treated for DCI symptoms we often hear comments like: “But I’m a DM/Instructor”; “But I only went to 12 meters with a DSD”; “But I dived within the limits of the RDP/computer”, etc. It’s important to know that none of these facts excludes you (or your customers) from getting DCI. You don’t have to do anything “wrong” - people even get DCI on completely normal Open Water training dives. If you ever think you or your customer might have signs/symptoms of DCI, be a responsible and caring professional and immediately give a call to the local multi-place recompression chamber. You will first receive advice over the phone, followed by assistance for evacuation. But in any case remember; going to the chamber for an examination doesn’t mean that you will get treated. In fact, it shows that someone or yourself cares enough about your health and your future well being.

Before you dive into the world of ‘Diving Pros’ if you are not one yet, have you considered who’s going to pay if something goes wrong? Perhaps you already have travel insurance, but does it cover you for diving accidents? Does it cover you as a professional who is responsible for other divers? If you don’t have any diving insurance yet, I recommend you to purchase the DAN (Divers Alert Network) professional diving insurance. You can insure yourself for as little as 135 Euros / 96 GBP per year which also entitles you to the DAN Travel assist plan, which can be done online. You can check out the DAN Europe website* for more details.

If you are in Thailand (Phuket) go to visit the HST recompression chamber in Patong Beach between 9:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday. They will be happy to give you more information.
They will also give you the opportunity to have a free chamber tour! You’ll have a look inside the multi place chamber and see how it all works. A great opportunity to see a recompression facility specialized in diving injuries.

Enjoy your life as a dive pro and dive safely!