Membership & Insurance FAQs – Australia

DAN World membership includes emergency medical evacuation assistance through DAN TravelAssist, it also provides exclusive access to DAN’s dive accident insurance products, Alert Diver Monthly, and more. Your dues also support ongoing dive safety research, the development of diving health and safety resources and a 24/7 emergency medical assistance for scuba divers across the world. DAN World Membership does not cover associated treatment costs, these are included within our Dive Accident Insurance.

At the time of becoming a DAN Member you can add a Dive Injury (Treatment) Insurance Plan, at an additional cost. These plans provide coverage for treatment and certain other costs associated with a covered diving accident as per terms and conditions of the policy. DAN World exclusively offers Members access to these dive injury insurance plans only at the time of joining or renewing their Membership.

Yes

It is the responsibility of the Member to inquire as to whether a country/region is “open” for assistance prior to his/her departure. Please contact DAN World to confirm which countries are excluded for your expected dates of travel, send an email to .

As a DAN Member, you receive DAN Travel Assist and emergency medical evacuation coverage. These benefits help for both diving and nondiving medical emergencies while you are on a trip. Your emergency medical evacuation coverage assists you when you travel at least 80 km or more from home. To use this member benefit you MUST first contact DAN TravelAssist through the DAN Emergency Hotline (+1-919-684-9111) BEFORE making any evacuation arrangements.

Members should call DAN’s 24/7 Emergency Hotline to arrange assistance: 1800 088 200 (Within Australia) or +1 919 684 9111 (Internationally).

DAN TravelAssist will not pay to transport you or a covered family member to your place of residence after a covered medical emergency if there are closer suitable medical facilities that can provide appropriate care for your medical condition.

Since any emergency medical evacuation must be authorised by and coordinated through DAN TravelAssist in order to be covered, there are no out of pocket costs, so reimbursement is not necessary.

No, you must contact DAN TravelAssist first before an evacuation or you may be left responsible to handle the costs, which can easily exceed US$50,000. All emergency medical evacuation arrangements must be handled by DAN TravelAssist.

Please contact DAN World’s Membership Team by calling 03 9886 9166 or email .

Once you become a DAN Member you will be able to download your digital member card through your Member Portal.

DAN membership is one low annual fee that provides benefits for an entire year.

Divers can become a DAN World member for an annual fee of only $82.50. DAN’s Dive Accident Insurance Plans are offered at an additional cost.

No, Emergency Evacuation does not include efforts to locate a person (injured or un-injured) whose location is unknown, or efforts to rescue such persons from a dangerous situation or location.

Regarding evacuations, transportation arrangements and other TravelAssist benefits that are a part of every DAN Membership, DAN’s Assistance company will make every effort to evacuate or assist an injured member as long as it is deemed safe to do so at the time the Member requires it. Delays however may occur when locations are experiencing civil unrest or infrastructure facilities are impaired by natural disasters, war or other violence or catastrophes. Periodic, government or international agency travel warnings alone would not negate an appropriate attempt to provide an emergency medical evacuation or repatriation. For example, if a travel warning was issued and the nearest airport was closed due to war, terrorism, violence, riots, natural disasters, etc., preventing a Members evacuation, DAN TravelAssist would attempt to provide assistance via other locations or other means or at the next earliest available time, subject to TravelAssist standard provisions.

If you intend to reside in Australia for more than 3 months you can join DAN World as a Member. However, to add a dive accident insurance plan you will need to be intending to reside in Australia for a period of 6 months or more.

At the time of becoming a DAN Member you can add a Dive Accident Insurance Plan. These plans provide coverage for treatment and certain other costs associated with a covered diving accident as per terms and conditions of the policy. DAN World exclusively offers Members access to these dive accident insurance plans only at the time of joining or renewing their Membership.

DAN Membership is required before dive accident insurance can be purchased. Dive accident insurance cannot be purchased alone.

Any recreational diver or snorkeller, including instructors and divemasters supervising recreational diving activities, who is a Member of DAN World and is between the ages of 12 and 80. It’s also available to certain research divers & underwater photographers. Coverage is not available for commercial diving other than those activities specified.

12-Months.

Treatment for injuries resulting from recreational snorkelling, freediving and spearfishing is covered as per terms and conditions of the policy, this excludes any competition-related activity.

The cost of hyperbaric chamber treatments vary, however, the cost could range from USD$330-$1000 per hour plus the costs of medication and physician fees. Costs depend on how many treatments are required, the location of the dive accident and the hyperbaric chamber facility.

No. As a diver residing within Australia, your Dive Accident Insurance benefits apply to accidents that occur outside the Commonwealth of Australia.

No. DAN World in the Asia-Pacific region does NOT offer liability insurance or any sort of indemnity insurance. 

If, after reading the Terms, you are not satisfied with the cover, you may cancel the cover within 21 days of purchasing your cover and obtain a full refund less any non-refundable government charges and taxes that we have paid. You may notify DAN in writing or electronically by sending an email to with your request to cancel the cover.

If you make a claim for any incident within the 21-day period, no cooling off period is permitted.

If the cover is for an event that will finish within the 21 days cooling off period, you can only exercise your right to cancel before the event starts.

If you intend to reside in Australia for more than 3 months you can join DAN World as a Member. However, to add a dive accident insurance plan you will need to be intending to reside in Australia for a period of 6 months or more.

Commercial diving is not covered. DAN World offers dive accident insurance for recreational divers. 

Yes. DAN always encourages divers to take out travel insurance in addition to their DAN coverage when they travel. Travel Insurance offers coverage for things that are not covered by DAN Membership or Insurance, such as lost/stolen luggage.

With the Preferred Plan it is stated that a person is covered for a Diving Accident sustained on a dive to any depth provided that the Insured was experienced, held appropriate certification for the dive, and was using appropriate breathing gas mixes and equipment during the dive or Repetitive Dive Series. The Preferred Plan is partly designed to provide higher coverage limits for those who desire these. It is also designed to provide coverage for a ‘technical’ diver who has the required training and/or experience to dive in reasonable safety beyond 50m, as long as they are doing so using appropriate equipment and breathing gas. This limitation was introduced to encourage divers to think carefully and be appropriately prepared before they undertake very deep dives. In the event of a claim for a dive beyond 50m, the appropriateness of a particular dive may be assessed by suitable diving medical and/or technical experts looking at the divers training and certification, as well as their experience at or around the depth of the dive where the accident occurred, to determine if the dive plan was reasonable for that diver. Please refer to the Policy Wording for full details.

DAN’s dive accident insurance is valid for dive medical treatment expenses that occur as a result of a covered diving accident. If a travel advisory were issued for a country or area and the Member was treated at a medical facility during the period that the travel advisory was in effect, the Member would still be able to file a claim with their DAN insurance upon returning home (up to 1 year following the accident).

Call the DAN Emergency Hotline:

• Within Australia, 1800 088 200
• International: +1 919 684 9111

Send an email to (or call 03 9886 9166) for instructions about submitting your claim.

It is important that you notify the DAN team of any significant injury or medical condition you have suffered or are currently suffering from, as well as regular medications you are taking. This requirement is not onerous and is there to help guide our members to discuss any potential problems with a diving doctor, if appropriate.

No benefit will be paid under any plan for charges in connection with any injury or illness arising directly or indirectly from any Predisposing or Pre-existing Condition – the only exception to this is a previous case of Decompression Illness (DCI) that has been declared to DAN and accepted by the insurers.

Whenever you move from the address of residence used when you enrolled as a DAN World Member, you must inform DAN World of your new address: phone 03-9886-9166 or email . This is important for insurance regulation purposes and to make sure you receive all the important Member notices and safety information benefits you are entitled to. If you will be moving out of the country of your DAN Registration, or away for an extended period (3 months or more), it is important that you notify the DAN team in order to ensure a claim is approved in the event of an accident, and, that you have the appropriate cover for your new country of residence (or where you will be travelling most of the time).

DAN coverage is based on where you are physically living the majority of the time. Contact the DAN Office to discuss your personal situation:  or call 03-9886-9166.

If you live in another country (other than from where you joined DAN) for an extended period of time you might fall under the insurance laws set out by that country which could be different in some ways to those on which your policy is structured. As such, it is essential that you inform DAN World when you are planning move to another country for a period or three or more months as some of your benefits may be impacted.