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, as well as highlight a few other factors that may come into play given your scuba diving 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 that may be 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 a risky activity, 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 the risk profile of an applicant 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 important to keep in mind that each insurance company has its own 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 going to be all that 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 right around ten or so dives 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 when it comes to insuring people who dive for a living.

This would include professionals who may:

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

Why? Mainly because these occupations will increase the amount to time someone spends underwater (thus increasing an insurance companies risk). As well as increasing the difficulty involved in maintaining safe diving protocols.

In cases like these where you’ll begin to see one’s life insurance application start to become much more complicated than your typical recreational diver application might be.

It’s also when…

You may find some insurance companies deciding that they don’t wish to insure an individual or decide 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 who will be willing to insure someone, but only with an exclusion to their life insurance policy stating that if they die as a result of some type of scuba diving accident, the insurance policy will not be “enforceable.”

Which is something…

That most folks aren’t interested in pursuing. However, the good news is that if this is your only option, what you’re likely going to find is 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 that may be related to scuba diving that could come into play?

At the end of the day, the vast majority of folks who scuba dive will find that their “hobby” isn’t going to have all that much of an effect on the outcome of their life insurance application.

In fact, other factors like one’s age and health history are much more likely to ultimately decide what “kind” of life insurance policy they will be able to qualify for as well as what “rate” they may be expected to pay.

That said…

For the really avid scuba diver, who is always looking to have that “perfect dive,” your pursuit may send you to many exotic and tropical locations.

Some of which may potentially affect the outcome of one’s life insurance application or could even cause one’s life insurance application to be Denied or Postponed.

Examples of such locations may include parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and several of the countries neighboring the Red Sea.

This brings us to our next topic which is…

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

In our experiences here at IBUSA, what we have found that seems to work best in helping folks find the best life insurance policy that they can qualify for is to first make sure that we have plenty of options to choose form.

This way…

We’re not trying to apply a..

“One size fits all approach”

To an individual’s needs.

Now, 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 are also going to be more lenient when it comes to other factors that could come into play.

Factors like:

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

This is why having lots of options will often mean the difference between getting insured and getting a great rate!

So, if your ready to compare some of your options, just give us a call and let us show you what we can do for you!