Divers can experience life-threatening events in a matter of seconds, and they don't even have to be fully submerged for it to happen. Comprehensive diving insurance can account for those moments when some may feel falsely assured as well as the obvious instances of danger.
ABC News recently covered the story of diving company owner Shawn Stamback, who, along with a small group of passengers was surprised by two humpback whales. The interruption came while the group was taking a break during a dive in an area off of the shore of California. From the sound of it (and the viral video that was taken of the occurrence), the entire event happened quickly: first a rush of fish, then the two creatures plunging up out of the water before returning. Neither of the divers in the water, one of whom was Stamback at the time, appear to have been hurt.
Although Stamback is a profession with years of experience diving, this particular encounter occurred while the divers were out for a recreational jaunt. He told ABC that he was as terrified in the moment as his companions.
"You don't go looking for trouble like that," he said. "If you're a scuba diver, everything you do is planned, but you're out in the wild so you can only plan what you have control of."
That control can so easily be wrested away from divers in precarious conditions, but one thing that someone who makes a living doing this can do to keep some control is take out commercial diving insurance. Hazards in the ocean aren't always evident and can escalate rapidly, so the more prepared a person is, the better they will manage it.