How it works from an insurance perspective while diving abroad and why an additional insurance covering diving is important.
Scuba diving is a very safe activity, but there is always a risk factor.
Therefore, a proper travel and/or health insurance which covers diving in Thailand is really important.
The reason is that the local medical services in Thailand always send tourists to a private, instead of a standard Thai hospital.
Treatment in such hospitals entails higher costs, which are not always reimbursed by the cooperative I.D.D or Thai diving school insurance.
Because, even though you have dived, it does not immediately mean that it is diving related. That is why our diving school insurance policies are secondary: they reimburse your insurance, ad they do not pay the local Thai medical services.
So ensure that if you travel to Thailand with the intention of going diving, you are insured for scuba diving through your health and/or travel insurance.
We will give you a very specific and clear explanation about the unlikely risks during diving activities, how to prevent them and which steps to follow if necessary.
All our executives are emergency first response, oxygen & AED instructors, with extensive knowledge about correctly assessing (emergency) situations.
However, legally we are not allowed to ignore any medical advice.
Safety first
Diving staff may at any time refuse your participation in a diving activity if they assess that you are not Fit-to-Dive at that time.
Choice of diving location
We never take unnecessary risks, such as going to places where there are too many waves and/or night diving in bad weather conditions.
Changing a chosen dive site can be decided at the very last minute, or even on board, and our captain always has the final decision.
During a training course you are insured under certain conditions for diving-related accidents, which are specific:
Points of attention
You are no longer insured through this insurance if:
I.D.D courses
If you choose an I.D.D training, you are secondary insured during the diving course through a cooperative insurance from I.D.D Netherlands for the above-mentioned diving-related accidents up to a maximum coverage of 50,000 Euro.
Claims
Medical expenses will firstly have be covered by your own travel insurance; or your mandatory national hospitalization insurance.
Therefore, ensure that your travel – or national health insurance covers scuba diving in Thailand and that you have the policy details with you
PADI courses
PADI does not offer any form of an insurance during a their training courses, but in this case you will benefit secondary insure cover for diving-related accidents through our Thai diving school insurance.
The Ocean Medical clinic Mae Haad works together with the staff of the Subaqautic Safety Service on Koh Koh Tao.
This is the only Koh Tao clinic where our secondary I.D.D or Thai shop insurance will apply.
With all other Koh Tao clinics our insurance conditions are not appliacable, nor are re-compression chamber staff members allowed for assistance, with the following disadvantages:
Visit doctor for statement Fit-to-Dive is possible from 09:00 and an Impian executive will assist you with this. Do keep in mind boat departure time for afternoon dive.
Cost: 300 Thai baht
Should you seek a little more coverage for a non I.D.D training, click on the logo below, for dive insurance, with an Impian’s discount code.
Please email us if interested in dive insurance through DAN Asia Pacific for a shorter period of time.
Just like at home, you can get health problems abroad. You can get sick, sometimes seriously ill that you need to be hospitalized. If you are involved in an accident, you often need emergency care. There are costs associated with medical care or hospitalization. Those costs can be high.
Everyone is entitled to benefit health care throughout the world under your mandatory national health insurance coverage.
You should keep in mind that the cost of care in another country may be much higher than at home.
In Thailand, tourists are mostly taken to private clinics instead of hospitals. Treatment at a private clinic involves higher costs which are not always reimbursed by the cooperative secondary insurance of I.D.D or our secondary Thai dive shop insurance.
Reimbursement of expenses incurred is often subject to restrictions. A health insurance company may have included in its policy conditions that medical expenses will not be reimbursed if the expenses were caused by you playing an extreme sport.
Extreme sports refers to sports that are dangerous and involve a greater risk of accidents. The following sports, among others, are considered extreme sports:
Your mandatory national health insurance policy terms and conditions will tell you to which benefits you are entitled when you are abroad.
To avoid having to pay the bill for incurred medical expenses yourself, it is advisable to purchase additional insurance from your health insurance company that will cover diving-related medical expenses.
Consult the policy conditions of your supplementary insurance and travel insurance to find out the amount and conditions under which you are entitled to reimbursement of medical expenses.
All this can quickly lead to dehydration symptoms when being in tropical locations, something which does not go well with scuba diving.
Should you not feel well during the diving course you can always wait a day. However, before you can restart the course you will again need a Fit-to-Dive statement from a local doctor.
We recommend eating something salty regularly, which will automatically make you drink more water. Not only during diving but also during your travel, and your stay in the tropics.
For the following medical indications will not get you a Fit-to-Dive certificate on Koh Tao.
For this, in fact, you need an examination by a sports doctor, something better arrange in advance before booking a diving course anywhere.
12 hours after 1 dive, and 32 hours after multiple dives made do not fly. However Impian Divers advises:
This advice comes from Dive Accident Statistics Analysis Netherlands(DOSA) in close cooperation with KLM and Divers Alert Network Europe.
Fit-to-Dive before start of diving activity.
Yes, because if you do not follow one of our conditions, and/or as a result do something wrong during your diving course/activity you are no longer insured through our diving school.
Impian Divers
6/5 Moo2, old town Mae Haad
84360 Surat Thani, Thailand
TAT tourist licensie: 34/01190
Thai business licensie: 08 4555 100 1493
