Rebreather World - View Single Post - shh-DAN-agins

onetime · 12th March 2006, 14:26

Quote: (Originally Posted by Genesis)

DAN can post anything they want, but they haven't managed to settle the underlying issue, and now I have a trip planned within the next three weeks (over "spring break" time) to Belize where this expansion of hostilities threatens to impact me.

In fact, their last communication on this (DAN's) from January said that there were only three chambers affected. Now suddenly its the entire network and most importantly, the ones in the area I intend to visit on my vacation have decided they will not accept anything DAN-USA related - not even a DAN credit card! DAN's "press release" says there are nine "PRO-DAN" chambers in the network - apparently that's no longer true!

In the (admittedly unlikely) event that I require the services of a chamber while in Belize, this would mean that I would have to figure out how to pay for it out of pocket and then be reimbursed - at whatever level DAN decides is "reasonable and customary", which may not be the amount I have already paid! There is no effective means for me to sue a non-US firm from the United States (post-incident) and DAN has their insurance company (which is a for-profit subsidiary) based in the Caymans - where I also can't conveniently go after them. As a consequence there would be no way for me to recover the money they've already received!

The result of this is that I've been quite-effectively placed on notice that I have no coverage during this trip. If this can't be resolved prior to my departing the US, I believe it is only prudent that I secure alternative coverage which is acceptable - and once I've done that, I may as well dump DAN entirely, because there's no point in paying for something twice.

Something on the web is not enough.

I have tried to call DAN - and got voicemail. We'll see how long it takes them to return my call.....

IMHO its time for divers to take their business elsewhere. I have been bothered by the "offshore" election for this insurance firm's base and allegations of improprieties regarding the former Bennett's actions with regards to the insurance subsidiary, but have up until now been swayed to remain with DAN due to the work they do in hyperbaric research.

At the point that it appears that I may have purchased a worthless insurance policy, however, its time to say "enough is enough", and perhaps to write some letters to a few regulators too.

Health insurance providers in Florida, for example, must be licensed here and meet standards here. Same with life insurance companies, etc. Perhaps its time for some state AGs to start looking into these policies and see if the state standards are met for offering these alleged services to residents of this state. I think its time for a quick letter to the Florida AG, as this is a regulated line of business in Florida.

You seem to be implying that DAN lied about how many chambers this affects when in fact, per the date of the SSS announcement, it's a new development. Feel free to take your business elsewhere. I suspect that SSS will not be content to take on DAN and, if they're successful in this war of press releases, will move on to the other insurance agencies. If you think that it's fraud because there's a dispute over payments, then you better look much more closely at your health insurance companies as there are plenty of things it doesn't cover and the coverages change continually even while your policy is in effect. DAN has served the industry extremely well for decades, one dispute with one chamber operator hardly begs the question of whether they're mismanaged or have done anything remotely warranting AG intervention.

12th March 2006, 14:26	#10 (permalink)
onetime Classic KISSer #138 Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: US, NJ Posts: 673	Re: shh-DAN-agins Quote: (Originally Posted by Genesis) DAN can post anything they want, but they haven't managed to settle the underlying issue, and now I have a trip planned within the next three weeks (over "spring break" time) to Belize where this expansion of hostilities threatens to impact me. In fact, their last communication on this (DAN's) from January said that there were only three chambers affected. Now suddenly its the entire network and most importantly, the ones in the area I intend to visit on my vacation have decided they will not accept anything DAN-USA related - not even a DAN credit card! DAN's "press release" says there are nine "PRO-DAN" chambers in the network - apparently that's no longer true! In the (admittedly unlikely) event that I require the services of a chamber while in Belize, this would mean that I would have to figure out how to pay for it out of pocket and then be reimbursed - at whatever level DAN decides is "reasonable and customary", which may not be the amount I have already paid! There is no effective means for me to sue a non-US firm from the United States (post-incident) and DAN has their insurance company (which is a for-profit subsidiary) based in the Caymans - where I also can't conveniently go after them. As a consequence there would be no way for me to recover the money they've already received! The result of this is that I've been quite-effectively placed on notice that I have no coverage during this trip. If this can't be resolved prior to my departing the US, I believe it is only prudent that I secure alternative coverage which is acceptable - and once I've done that, I may as well dump DAN entirely, because there's no point in paying for something twice. Something on the web is not enough. I have tried to call DAN - and got voicemail. We'll see how long it takes them to return my call..... IMHO its time for divers to take their business elsewhere. I have been bothered by the "offshore" election for this insurance firm's base and allegations of improprieties regarding the former Bennett's actions with regards to the insurance subsidiary, but have up until now been swayed to remain with DAN due to the work they do in hyperbaric research. At the point that it appears that I may have purchased a worthless insurance policy, however, its time to say "enough is enough", and perhaps to write some letters to a few regulators too. Health insurance providers in Florida, for example, must be licensed here and meet standards here. Same with life insurance companies, etc. Perhaps its time for some state AGs to start looking into these policies and see if the state standards are met for offering these alleged services to residents of this state. I think its time for a quick letter to the Florida AG, as this is a regulated line of business in Florida. You seem to be implying that DAN lied about how many chambers this affects when in fact, per the date of the SSS announcement, it's a new development. Feel free to take your business elsewhere. I suspect that SSS will not be content to take on DAN and, if they're successful in this war of press releases, will move on to the other insurance agencies. If you think that it's fraud because there's a dispute over payments, then you better look much more closely at your health insurance companies as there are plenty of things it doesn't cover and the coverages change continually even while your policy is in effect. DAN has served the industry extremely well for decades, one dispute with one chamber operator hardly begs the question of whether they're mismanaged or have done anything remotely warranting AG intervention.
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