SHIRLEY, Solihull, West Midlands, UK (1 Sep 2005) -- A UK diver has returned home from scuba diving holiday in Egypt with a $37,000 souvenir. That's the medical bill Anthony Allen must pay after getting bent on a dive to 49.5 meters. Allen's insurance company, Lloyds TSB, told CDNN it would not pay the bill because he went below the maximum 30-meter depth specified by his policy. Despite a clear violation of the terms of the insurance agreement, Allen's sons, who are both non-divers, pressed Lloyds TSB to pay by claiming that it was dehydration, not depth that bent their father. They also enlisted local newspapers and Solihull Lib-Dem politican Lorely Burt to endorse a campaign to portray Lloyds TSB as a big unsympathetic company that had deceived a customer by hiding details of the policy in "fine print". "The underwriters assured me they would give sympathetic consideration to Ar Allen's case but they have decided they will not pay up on the medical bills which could reach as much as £40,000," said Mrs Burt. "I am deeply disappointed they have decided to stick to the wording of the small print to justify not helping this family." | | Despite Mrs Burt's spin on the incident, CDNN found no evidence Lloyds TSB attempted to hide the terms of its policy in the "fine print". In fact, 30 meters is the standard depth limit in the UK on most general low-cost travel insurance policies that are not aimed specifically at scuba divers. For most divers, the depth limit would be the first thing they would check when purchasing travel insurance. An online search for UK diver insurance found more than a dozen companies offering general travel insurance policies that all stated up-front their coverage for scuba diving activities would be limited to dives no deeper than 30 meters. At ScubaPoll.com, the world's largest survey of dive consumer opinions, divers voted 25 to 1 that Allen should pay the bill and that the cost of his treatment should not be passed on to other divers in the form of higher insurance premiums. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
