Remember, It's Business

The Diver’s Alert Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to diver health. Its insurance business is for profit, and benefits DAN.

Many divers prefer a policy offered by a carrier other than DAN, but don’t want to give up access to the DAN hotline. The answer: buy the insurance policy that serves you and join DAN.

Under the Hippocratic oath, and by law in many places, medical facilities are duty-bound to help persons who can’t pay, aren’t insured, or aren’t members of an association — as long as it’s a bona fide emergency. They are not bound to treat conditions that are not life-threatening or do not pose grave risks to health. Most likely, they’ll make a referral to another facility.

Medical hotlines for organization members don’t provide hands-on medical care. While they probably are bound to help in a true emergency, hotline assistance for nonmembers would need to advise the stricken individual how to get in touch with the nearest ER or hyperbaric facility.

Many divers who aren’t DAN members have called them and gotten good advice or a referral. These weren’t emergencies and DAN wasn’t bound to help. Nonetheless, they did. If you want to use the hotline, but want a policy from another source, your membership in DAN would be welcome.