Scuba Diving Equipment and travel Insurance in Spain.

SCUBA DIVING INSURANCE SPAIN.

INSURANCE FOR SCUBA DIVERS IN SPAIN

Scuba Diving Insurance in Spain.

Spain is virtually an island surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean to the East and the Atlantic to the West and they meet in the south. This provides Scuba and Sports divers, snorkellers and boating people with an amazing selection of sites in which to explore caves, wrecks and enjoy the year-round sunshine.

Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, from the Costa Blanca to the Costa del Sol, has an average of over 300 days of sunshine a year and makes Spain one of the sunniest countries in Europe. That doesn’t mean to say that the water is always warm. Water temperature can drop quite dramatically after the summer months and from October to May it is advisable to wear a wetsuit.

Wearing a wetsuit, besides keeping you warm, will also help protect you from minor scuffs against coral and some sharp objects. Diving in strong currents can often have the diver being thrown around at the mercy of the tides and currents.

What is S.C.U.B.A. in Spain.

SCUBA stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. This is the equipment you will use to be able to breathe underwater. Spain has hundreds of diving schools along the coastline that cater to the casual diver on holiday, from the Costa Calida to the Costa Blanca.

Scuba Diving insurance – is it necessary in Spain?

If you are a tourist and just doing a few dives from a local diving school in Spain, whether a PADI diving school or a BSAC diving school or any other professional diving school in Spain, you would be well advised to check the insurance provided by the diving school.

If you are travelling from another country to do some Scuba Diving in Spain, then your travel insurance may have the option to include dangerous sports activities such as Scuba diving. As a novice, learning or trying out a dive for the first time, the travel insurance policy is adequate as the diving schools will. Or should have, personal liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, as well as the facility to sign you up to a daily dive insurance. This will all depend on what type of diver, and your qualifications and age.

Personal Accident and injury insurance for Scuba Diving in Spain.

In Spain, there are insurances that will offer insurance for Scuba divers down to a depth of 30 meters that are part of a personal accident and injury policy that covers all types of dangerous Sports. The Personal accident and injury policy, which is an annual policy and not just for traveling, means you can use this insurance all year.

It will also cover you for a series of other sports, so if you are a sporty person, then this is the policy to have. It also covers you for any accident or injury caused by any other means. So if you are injured at home, in the garden or at work, you are still covered. For less than € 80 a year it is affordable. It also covers: -

· – Death due to a road-traffic accident.

· – Accidental death of the insured and spouse.

· – Accidental permanent disability.

· – Accidental total permanent disability – monthly annuity.

· – Permanent disability due to a road-traffic accident.

· – Accidental major disability.

· – Accidental total permanent disability – reform expenses.

· – Death due to a heart attack.

· – Total permanent disability due to a heart attack.

· – Accidental temporary disability – daily indemnity.

· – Health care expenses arising from accidents.

· – Hospitalisation due to an accident – daily indemnity.

· – Assistance.

Spanish Scuba Diving Club Insurance.

They are required to have Scuba diving insurance by law to operate their business. This is their business insurance and may not afford the cover you think you are getting to be safe as a diver in their company.

Travel insurances will often cover you for Scuba diving trips, but they do have limitations and if you are a regular Scuba Diver, we would advise that you get your own annual Scuba Diving insurance policy in Spain or one that will cover you as a scuba diver anywhere in the world.

Scuba diving travel insurance in Spain.

Often called underwater activities travel insurance, as it provides some cover, but with limitations and covers the following: -

Snorkelling and Scuba Diving.

Underwater photography and Videography.

To a maximum depth of 30 meters.

This implies that the cover is rather limited and as an inclusion in a Travel insurance policy, is designed for the casual Scuba Diver or Snorkeller in Spain that might take a relatively shallow dive for the experience. So, this is not really suitable for the more professional sports diver in Spain.

This Scuba Diving travel insurance extension or add-on is designed to cover the insured person whilst engaging in underwater activities regarding the use of artificial breathing apparatus, or Scuba diving gear, subject to the insured person being approved as medically fit to dive by the company or person that has organised the diving.

Do you need Scuba Diving Medicals in Spain?

In Spain, like most European countries, a dive medical is normally required by law for any certified or non-certified diver proposing to Scuba Dive or enrol in a diving school for training of any kind.

We would recommend that you obtain a SCUBA diving medical certificate from your country of origin, or a local GP. If you are a tourist, and if you are going to a location that does provide diving courses and individual dives, then check with them as to whether you need the medical certificate. Some schools may take you out on an initiation dive, if they feel that you are fit enough, even if you don’t have your Scuba diving medical certification.

Diving qualifications for Spain.

You don’t need any diving qualifications to snorkel in the sea anywhere in the world and is a popular activity amongst people wanting to see what is below them and in the water around them. Snorkelling normally takes place in relatively shallow water, primarily so that they can at least see the bottom.

To obtain diving qualifications you should always seek out diving schools that can explain the type of courses available and what these courses entail, their costs and the time it will take to get your qualifications. Getting qualifications is not just about putting a tank on your back and jumping into the sea.

Scuba diving can be very dangerous, can take some time to learn, just like driving a car, and you will then get the suitable qualifications that will allow you to dive in most parts of the world.

Never Dive Alone – ever!

As a sports diver you should never dive alone. If you do you are asking for trouble. Always dive with a buddy or someone that is a tender to your dive. This might be when you are diving in shallow water to recover a specific object that might have fallen out of the boat and doesn’t require two of you to actually dive. Be Safe.

Travel insurance for Scuba Diving.

Scuba Diving insurance cover can be added to your existing travel insurance policy and you may pay a little more to have this risk added. You will be restricted to certain conditions and they are as follows: -

What is NOT covered under the Scuba Diving endorsement.

The insurance will not cover claims directly or indirectly arising from, happening through or as a result of: -

Diving by persons aged under 12 years of age and over 65.

It’s the age thing again. Scuba diving is considered to be a dangerous sport and by placing an age restriction on Travel insurance for Scuba diving in Spain, means that they are limiting the potential risk for claims.

Solo Diving in Spain.

As I Stated earlier, in Scuba diving terms it is considered stupid to dive alone on a sports dive as the risks are greatly increased. Getting tangled in nets or debris underwater, as well as potential equipment failure or running out of air. Instructors can often be classified as solo divers because they dive with novice divers, who have little or no diving experience and who do not have the diving skills to rescue other divers should an emergency arise.

Diving at night in Spain.

Night Diving is completely different from diving during the day. The darkness and mystery surrounding a night dive adds an element of fear to the dive, which drives up the adrenalin and increases the intensity of the dive. Night diving brings with it a different set of challenges and although alluring, can also be dangerous. Fear can create a different set of dangers and hence this is not covered under the travel insurance policies for scuba diving insurance in Spain.

Organised cave diving in Spain.

We all know that cave diving, whether by day or night, is extremely dangerous and most cave dives have to be properly organised and supervised. This is not going to be something that the novice will undertake and hence is classified as a specialised diving trait and not covered by Scuba Diving travel insurance policies.

Diving for hire or reward in Spain.

Getting paid to dive has it rewards for the competent diver in Spain. Someone may want you to examine the underneath of a boat or recover an anchor or something lost overboard, in which the client may offer to make some payment. In effect you are being hired to do a job of work for which you will be paid. Sorry – it’s not covered under this Travel insurance policy.

Diving by persons not holding a recognised certificate for the type of diving being undertaken, or not under professional instruction.

Pretty obvious that if you are not in qualified company that they are not going to offer you any cover.

Diving without proper equipment and/or contrary to codes of good practice according to bona fide organisations such as the BSAC, the British Sub Aqua Club or PADI, The Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

Proper equipment is essential for your own safety and for those around you or diving with you. Faulty equipment or poorly maintained diving gear can lead to accidents. Always check out the diving schools diving gear and see what sort of conditions their equipment is in and how they treat their equipment. Well-disciplined diving schools will be happy to show you the equipment room.

Diving to depths no greater than 30 meters.

If you are a Scuba diver, then you will know why this is restricted. Deeper dives compress the air in the bloodstream and can lead to an air embolism. Pressures above 30 meters are lower than on deeper dives and therefore the risk of embolism or the bends, as it is known, are unlikely.

Flying within 24 hours of the last dive.

This is to ensure that the air bubbles that have accumulated in your body have had time to dissipate and will not expand during flight and reduce the risk of an air embolism. Initial scuba diving training will teach you about Decompression Sickness after Scuba diving, so that the body has sufficient time to rid itself of Nitrogen absorbed into the body during diving.

Whilst suffering from cold, influenza, infection or obstruction of the sinuses or ears.

Diving with a cold, headache, blocked or sniffly sinuses or any kind of infection can lead to serious problems. Ear infections are common in divers and a cold will make it difficult to equalise your ears as you descend. Sinus squeeze, or reverse sinus squeeze results when you descend and can’t equalise the pressure in your ears. This can be very painful and can cause the rupture of your eardrum. Hence another potential risk not covered by this Travel Insurance policy for Scuba divers.

Link to Scuba Diving Travel Insurance in Spain

Personal Accident and Injury insurance in Spain

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