Best Scuba Diving Insurance: My Top Three Picks

Scuba diving insurance can oftentimes be confusing.

Is it covered by travel insurance? Do I even need scuba diving insurance? Surely the dive center is liable?

If you've found yourself asking these types of questions, I'm here to clarify everything and recommend a few dive-specific insurance companies that are great to work with.

Let's get straight into it.

Do you need Scuba Diving Insurance?

The decision to get scuba diving insurance is entirely personal, but it does depend a lot on the type of diving that you're going to be doing and how much coverage you want for your equipment and health.

Many people don't get scuba diving insurance even when their travel insurance doesn't cover it (more on this shortly), and they have no problem assuming nothing goes wrong during the trip.

My wife ruptured her right eardrum during our last trip. Ear problems are the most common dive injuries

As we all know, many things can go wrong with scuba diving, including minor things like missed days due to bad weather conditions to major things like health problems as a result of equipment failure or something else.

If something does go wrong and you aren't covered, you can find yourself in a tough situation where you will be unable to claim any losses or get the help you need quickly.

This can be a huge problem if you take expensive photography gear or other diving equipment with you.

Recompression Chamber (Hyperbaric Chamber Treatment)

Scuba divers are at a unique risk of decompression sickness (DCS) or generalized barotrauma, known simply in the diving community as 'the bends.'

This happens when excess nitrogen expands rapidly and tries to escape through the shortest route possible. The shortest route is the tissue, and this leads to severe joint and bone pains caused by nitrogen bubbles.

If you want the details, I recommend reading up about it here, but for the purpose of insurance, you just need to know that it can be very expensive to treat as it requires a recompression chamber (hyperbaric oxygen chamber).

This treatment reverses the pressure changes that allowed the bubbles to form, converting the nitrogen back into its liquid form.

This treatment can cost over $1,000 per hour, depending on where you are in the world, and while the DCS is incredibly rare for divers, it can happen even if you are following all the correct protocols.

You also have to keep in mind how difficult it is to find a recompression chamber in certain places in the world.

Doesn't Travel Insurance Cover Scuba Diving?

Many travel insurance policies do cover scuba diving to some extent.

The key word here is some: if you're looking to do particularly deep dives or specialized dives or want coverage for your own equipment (as well as several other factors), relying on travel insurance is not a good idea, as it will usually only cover dives up to 30 meters.

Specialized scuba diving insurance companies offer a much more robust coverage that accounts for things like damage to equipment, missed days due to illness, and much more.

They'll also cover expensive treatments like hyperbaric chamber treatment, should you need them if something goes wrong, with much higher coverage than a regular travel insurance policy.

Many things can go wrong during a dive trip - it’s best to be insured by a reputable insurance company

Top 3 Scuba Diving Insurance Companies

As I take you through my top 3 picks for scuba diving insurance, you'll get a better idea of why it's something you should consider if you're looking to do some serious diving.

1. DiveAssure

DiveAssure has over 235,000 members and offers several different types of insurance, from single-trip to multi-trip and even liveaboard.

You only have to look at a few of the features of this insurance to see why its one of the best options available to serious divers:

• Primary - DiveAssure programs are primary, which means they can pay directly and in real-time without having to wait for other companies to pay first, allowing you to get access to the support you need as soon as possible.

• Medical Expenses - Up to $750,000 per occurrence.

• Emergency Medical Evacuations - Cover up to $250,000 with $500,000 additional.

• Hyperbaric Treatment - Quick access to hyperbaric treatment worldwide.

• Liveaboard - Liveaboard trip coverage can be added to the deluxe or elite plan.

• Medical Hotline - DiveAssure membership offers a 24/7 medical hotline that can give non-emergency advice and arrange emergency visits when needed.

DiveAssure has been my most recommended insurance provider for a while now, and I recommend it to anybody looking for some peace of mind when diving.

2. Divers Alert Network (DAN) US

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is one of the most recognizable dive insurance companies, and they're recognized by PADI as the leader specifically for dive accident insurance.

DAN offers several types of diving insurance, from accident insurance to travel and liability, and these all work through their membership scheme, similar to Dive Assure.

• Pays 100% of eligible accident medical expenses up to $500,000

• Covers divers aged 70 and over in the U.S. and Canada

• Membership scheme recognized worldwide.

You can learn more about the coverage provided by DAN here, but they're definitely one of the top options for diving insurance out there.

3. World Nomads

World Nomads offers several types of travel insurance, but they are not your average travel insurance provider, as their plans offer much better coverage than normal for diving specifically.

Their two main insurance plans - standard and explorer - can offer several options for divers specifically:

• Qualified divers up to 50m depth

• Shark cage diving

• Snorkeling, live-aboard trips, island escapes

It's worth mentioning that terms and conditions really do apply here; for example, if you were planning on diving with sharks in South Africa, you'd need to let them know beforehand and it would lead to a premium charge.

Important Things To Know About Scuba Diving Insurance Coverage

Here are a few of the things I wish I had known about diving insurance before I got started.

Scuba Diving Insurance vs Travel Insurance

As I mentioned briefly, some travel insurance policies insure against several watersports and activities, with scuba diving often included.

This insurance is very limited, though, and usually only covers basic dives and up to 30 meters in depth.

You should always read the details carefully, of course, but don't be surprised if your travel insurance offers very limited to no coverage for scuba diving.

Scuba diving insurance, or simply diving insurance, offers much more comprehensive coverage for all of your diving needs, and you can tailor the insurance plan to cover everything that you need.

It’s recommended to add travel insurance on top of your dive insurance

Types of Scuba Diving Insurance

Having a grasp on the different types of diving insurance is vital in making sure you choose the right policy.

Luckily, it’s quite straightforward.

Single-Trip & Multi Trip

If you're only planning to go on one diving trip the whole year, it makes sense just to take out insurance to cover the one trip rather than getting coverage for an extended period of time.

Dive insurance companies offer plans to suit both needs, typically called either single or short-term, or multi-trip and annual.

Single-trip, or short-term insurance, is perfect for one-off scuba diving trips. Multi-trip or annual insurance is best if you have lots of trips planned throughout the year.

Liveaboard

Liveaboard insurance is quite unique, and not every dive insurance provider caters to this type of diving.

If you haven’t heard of liveaboard before, it’s simply when you live on a boat that is designed for people to live aboard it and use it as a diving support vessel.

These trips cater specifically to divers and are becoming increasingly popular, with hundreds of liveaboards and even thousands of cruise options available.

Liveaboards are very expensive - it’s worth having your trip insured

Liability

Liability insurance isn't something that most recreational divers need to worry about.

It's insurance taken out by dive operators or professionals that provides coverage typically over $1,000,000 in value, including things like equipment liability and cylinder inspection instruction.

If you're going for a dive trip with a dive center and using their equipment, they'll have you covered under their insurance.