DAN Insurance: Age is no Barrier

There was a bit of a kerfuffle on social media when Burt Jones noted that small print in DAN's accident policy seems to say divers older than 70 are excluded. The words are there, but it's unenforced, he discovered.

DAN has been trying to get the insurance carrier to change that age limit for some time, but in the meantime, as the policy provides, DAN issues a waiver letter for people over 70. President Bill Ziefle says no one has ever had a claim refused because of age.

As we reported in our November issue, DAN was refusing new or renewal policies for some divers older than 80, which we learned from complaints from readers. We attempted to sign up online for a policy for an 82-year-old diver, and the application was rejected. We wrote DAN about the problem, and several days later, talked with Ziefle, who told us they had found and corrected a computer glitch.

Age does not affect whether DAN offers coverage.