NASSAU, Bahamas (25 Jan 2006) -- The Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre, Ltd has announced that it will no longer accept Divers Alert Network (DAN) insurance for payment of fees related to medical treatment for diver related injuries. The decision stems from DAN's attempt to fix prices charged by hyperbaric chamber facilities and its failure to settle claims for diving injuries treated at the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre Ltd. According to the Nassau-based facility, DAN is the only diver insurance company involved in the price-fixing scheme. All other diver insurance carriers including PADI, NAUI, Dive Assure, Diver's Security Agency (DSI), DiveSafe and major medical health plans in the US and Europe have settled claims for hyperbaric medical treatment at the Bahamas Hyperbaric Centre Ltd. Divers insured by DAN who are planning to dive in the Bahamas and other destinations (go to Insured by DAN? Sorry, you're not covered) where DAN insurance is no longer accepted are urged to immediately cancel their DAN policies and reinsure with another diver insurance company. In recent years, DAN has been plagued by a series of scandals related to its commercial spin-offs, price-fixing, tax evasion schemes and corporate financial shenanigans, which led to the ousting of DAN CEO Peter Bennett in 2001. The North Carolina based "non-profit", which operates an off-shore multi-million dollar tax-free insurance business based in the Cayman Islands, has been widely criticized throughout the global scuba diving community for profit-oriented deals that compromise diver safety. | | DAN's failure to settle claims has provoked recompression chambers to reject divers insured by DAN. DAN corporate executives dismiss the criticisms as insignificant because "divers are still buying DAN insurance." © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKCDNN RELATED NEWS Insured by DAN? Sorry, you're not coveredSCUBA FORUM How does pissing off chamber operators enhance diver safety? |
