Many scuba divers don’t consider their beloved activity dangerous, which can catch them off guard when asked about it during a life insurance application. That’s why we want to take a moment to discuss how scuba diving may affect the outcome of your application and highlight a few other factors that may come into play, given your hobby.

Questions that will be addressed in this article will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I currently scuba dive?
• Why do life insurance companies care if an individual is a scuba diver?
• Are there any other “additional” factors related to scuba diving that could come into play?
• What can I do to help ensure that I find the “best” life insurance policy for me?

Can I qualify for life insurance if I currently scuba dive?

Although scuba diving is considered risky, it is still possible to qualify for life insurance coverage. However, premiums may be higher due to the increased risk of death or injury associated with this activity.

When applying for life insurance, insurance companies typically assess an applicant’s risk profile based on factors such as age, health, lifestyle, and occupation. The information gathered is then used to calculate the risk of insuring the applicant and determine premiums.

Participating in high-risk activities like scuba diving may be viewed as a negative factor during the assessment, as it increases the likelihood of accidents or injuries. As a result, applicants may be charged higher premiums to compensate for the increased risk.

It is essential to remember that each insurance company has its underwriting guidelines and may assess risk differently. Therefore, it is a good idea to compare quotes from multiple companies to find the best coverage at an affordable price.

Why do life insurance companies care if an individual is a scuba diver?

Most life insurance companies aren’t worried about insuring a “typical” recreation diver. This would be the kind of diver that is certified by one of the major national certification boards, including:

• PADI,
• NAUI,
• Or SSI.

They’re also not likely to exceed 100 feet in an average dive. These “types” of divers probably aren’t diving too regularly and will usually limit their annual dives to around ten or so a year.

What does worry your typical life insurance underwriter is…

when a diver does dive below 100 feet or dives more frequently than ten or so dives per year. Insurance companies also begin to get nervous when folks aren’t just diving in open water but are instead diving in locations such wrecks, salvage sites, or under ice.

Insurance companies also begin to get nervous about insuring people who dive for a living.

This would include professionals who may:

• Perform underwater welding,
• Underwater demo,
• Recreational divemaster and
• Underwater archeology.

Why? This is mainly because these occupations will increase the time one spends underwater (thus increasing an insurance company’s risk) faculty involved in maintaining safe diving protocols. In such cases, a life insurance application will become much more complicated than a typical recreational diver application.

It’s also when you may find some insurance companies deciding that they don’t wish to insure an individual or determine that they may want to charge an extra premium to an individual’s application to help compensate for the perceived increased risk involved.

Sometimes…

We may even encounter insurance companies that will insure someone, but only with an exclusion to their life insurance policy stating that if they die in a scuba diving accident, the policy will not be “enforceable.” Which is something most folks aren’t interested in pursuing. However, the good news is that if this is your only option, you’re likely to find that the insurance policy you may be offered will usually be much less expensive than one that would cover you for any deaths related to diving.

Are there any other additional factors related to scuba diving that could come into play?

The vast majority of scuba divers will find that their “hobby” doesn’t significantly affect the outcome of their life insurance application. Other factors, like age and health history, are much more likely to decide what “kind” of life insurance policy they will qualify for and what they may be expected to pay.

That said…

For the avid scuba diver always looking for the “perfect dive,” your pursuit is to take exotic and tropical locations. Some of these may affect the outcome of one’s life insurance application or even cause one’s life insurance application to be Denied or Postponed. Such locations may include parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and several neighboring Red Sea countries. This brings us to our next topic, which is…

What can I do to help ensure that I find the “best” life insurance policy for me?

In our experiences here at IBUSA, what seems to work best in helping folks find the best life insurance policy they can qualify for is first to make sure that we have plenty of options. This way, we’re not trying to apply a…

“One size fits all approach.”

To an individual’s needs. This isn’t to say that there aren’t “certain” life insurance companies that tend to be more “lenient” when it comes to insurance scuba divers because there are. But that doesn’t mean that these same companies will be more lenient regarding other factors that could come into play.

Factors like:

• Pre-existing medical conditions,
• Issues about a family medical history,
• Currently, tobacco or marijuana usage,
• Etc

This is why having many options often means the difference between getting insured and getting a great rate! So, if you are ready to compare some of your options, call and let us show you what we can do for you!