It is very important to be insured for both general medical treatment needed for dive related illnesses and injuries, and in particular for decompression sickness treatment, which involves some hours in a recompression chamber. Recompression can be extremely expensive, around US$6000 an hour, and is specifically excluded by some insurance policies.

There are many dive insurance policies which cover medical treatment needed after diving, including recompression. Some are associated with the certification agencies or with dive resort organisations. Typical prices are about US$50 per year for insurance for dives to less than 40 meters and US$120 per year for coverage to any depth you have trained for. In addition dive resorts and dive tour operators will often have insurance for divers who are injured or become ill on dives they conduct.

Many general travel insurance policies cover diving if you are certified or with an instructor, but check the terms first: some also exclude scuba diving.