insurance

[teerakinlos]

how do you expats deal with your health insurance you stay with the one you have in your home country or is it possible to get a thai health insurance ?
and what about when you hire or bye a car or moterbike is it easy to get insurance for that ? thanks

[Nicke]

You can extend your travel insurance in your home country (usually 45 days is the standard length, i think) or buy one from a local company, e.g. Bupa Bluecross. They sell for a limited time or one year. Many of my expats friends use this company, Geir bought extended time from his Norweigian insurance company.

For cars, if you hire from Avis or Budget you will have insurance, if you rent from the beach or smaller ones you will most likely not have one. I have never heard of anyone renting a motorbike who got insurance.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by teerakinlos

how do you expats deal with your health insurance you stay with the one you have in your home country or is it possible to get a thai health insurance ?
and what about when you hire or bye a car or moterbike is it easy to get insurance for that ? thanks

[stevem]

You need a work permit to get health insurance in Thailand. The requirement for a work permit for just about anything is being introduced and is being enforced where implemented. This is as I've been told, to stop farang working here and making *lots* of money and having a free ride on the Thai system.

[domifletch]

I have asked BUPA and I am waiting for a price.

Do you know if it is possible to be covered by a company working in Belgium for a long term stay in LOS, based on a monthly or yearly price ?

If I understand well, it wouldn't be possible for me, as I don't have a work permit, to subscribe an health-medical insurance by BUPA directly in LOS ?

I have found a company, but have been disgusted, it was maybe 70 €/month

If one of you has an idea of an average price for such an insurance, and what is covered, please let me know.

Thanks a lot

[Captain]

Domi,
I friend of used DKV during his stay in Thailand. Don't know price. Check it out in Belgium

[domifletch]

Originally Posted by Captain

Domi,
I friend of used DKV during his stay in Thailand. Don't know price. Check it out in Belgium

Thanks Captain, I just had a look on their website. Not so cheap, I would have to pay 50 €/month for a hospitalisation cover of 5000 €, first price. You can get a better cover, but it becomes to be really expensive.
I will call them, maybe I have not understood everything on their site
Thanks

[tonyd]

Originally Posted by domifletch

I have asked BUPA and I am waiting for a price.
Do you know if it is possible to be covered by a company working in Belgium for a long term stay in LOS, based on a monthly or yearly price ?

Hello deifletch, I'm not sure that I entirely understand the question.

An international insurance company, even if it is located in Belgium or anyplace else in the world, can insure you in Thailand. BUT... it would be considerably cheaper for you to just purchase local Thai-based coverage.

Also, hospitals in Phuket charge more if you have international medical insurance than they do if you have Thai based insurance.

If I understand well, it wouldn't be possible for me, as I don't have a work permit, to subscribe an health-medical insurance by BUPA directly in LOS ?

BULLHICKY! I'm sure BUPA Thailand didn't tell you that. There are 2 types of Thai-based insurance companies marketing health insurance in Thailand, life (Life Insurance) and non-life (General Insurance). The Life Insurance companies require a work permit. The General Insurance companies that sell health insurance don't require a Work Permit. All that they require is a photocopy of the I.D. portion of your passport. If you are Thai, they require a photocopy of your Thai I.D. card.

The most famous Life Insurance company in Thailand, with the largest and most agressive sales force, but not necessarily the best health product, is AIA. Altogether, though, there are 25 Life Insurance companies in Thailand.

There are 5 General Insurance companies, Thai Health Insurance (THI), AXA, BUPA, LMG and IAG/NZI. They all 5 have unique differences. When you buy annual renewable health insurance from a Life Insurance company you must attach it to a life insurance policy. Therefore, you can pay monthly, quarterly, etc. General Insurance companies sell medical insurance as stand-alone policies. They will only accept an annual premium. You can pay by credit card.

If one of you has an idea of an average price for such an insurance, and what is covered, please let me know.

Cost is based on age. I believe that you are age 40. THI: 21,917 baht per year for WH6000 (6,000 bt per DR&B - Max bene = 1,500,000 baht). BUPA: 18,192 baht per year for Diamond (5,000 baht DR&B - Max. Bene = 600,000 baht) AXA Exec. Plus: 18,454 baht per year for Plan 5 (6,000 baht DR&B - Max Bene = 875,000 baht). LMG and IAG/NZI are for those who want high premium high benefit international style coverage at Thai prices. It would be easier to show them against international coverage, rather than Thai coverage.

I hope that answers your questions.

[LivinLOS]

Whats DR&B in those numbers ???

Also I understand its cheap to insure the over max benefit clauses if those are not enough for you ??

My buddy uses a policy from the UK that states he can only be in Thailand at any one visit for a max of 90 days but he can come as many times as he likes in the year.. As he does visa runs in under 90 days he has asked them and they have replied (in writing in email) that as long as he came into the country less than 90 days ago it doesnt matter how many days he has spent in Thailand that year.. I actually didnt believe him and it was my argueing that he got the email because of.. His policy was diurt cheap (90 or 120 GBP for the year) and has very high international evac type cover.

Sounds crazy and I am sure its intended for a traveller not a resident but visa runs mean hes constantly covered according to the letter of the agreement.

[tonyd]

[quote=LivinLOS]Whats DR&B in those numbers ???
DR&B refers to Daily Room and Board benefit. That figure is important when buying local coverage. It's not so imporant if you have international health insurance. But the cost of international health insurance is considerably higher.

The cost for a private room at Bangkok Phuket Hospital is 2,300 baht per day, including food and nursing care. A private room at Bumrungrad, with food and nursing care is 5,030 baht per day.

Also I understand its cheap to insure the over max benefit clauses if those are not enough for you ??

Yes. You are talking about Major Medical insurance. Major Medical insurance has a deductilbe (excess) that has to be paid by you (or other coverage) before it kicks in and starts paying any medical bills. The higher the deductible the lower the premium. It is intended to cover the high end costs of medical care. It can be used to expand the coverage of basic hospital insurance. Traditionally, Major Medical pays 80% and you pay 20% of the costs. THI Major Medical pays 90% of the costs, leaving you with the additional 10%. Some international plans take over and pay 100% after the deductible has been satisfied.

My buddy uses a policy from the UK that states he can only be in Thailand at any one visit for a max of 90 days but he can come as many times as he likes in the year.. As he does visa runs in under 90 days he has asked them and they have replied (in writing in email) that as long as he came into the country less than 90 days ago it doesnt matter how many days he has spent in Thailand that year.. I actually didnt believe him and it was my argueing that he got the email because of.. His policy was diurt cheap (90 or 120 GBP for the year) and has very high international evac type cover.

I'm a THB kind of guy. 120 GHB equals about 8,443 THB. That's pretty cheap for international insurance, especially with med-evac. Are you sure that it isn't travel accident insurance, which doesn't cover illness? Many companies do sell travel accident insurance. I would have to know more about the coverage he is paying for before I can comment on it. The 90 day thing doesn't bother me. I'm sure that if he had to use his coverage anywhere in the world, the insurance company would prefer that he use it in Thailand.

[LivinLOS]

Its my understanding that it is some form of (travel) insurance that covers sickness as well as accidental care.. IIRC it doesnt cover prescriptions, small pharmacy drug purchase, or dental other than emergency treatment. It was sort of a cheap but very usable emergency cover.. My argument was it was probably designed for 90 days in any one year but he put me right.

[tonyd]

I agree with you. Your thinking on this made sense.

[andytan]

well I was told by my insurance (Prudential- Malaysia) that most of the local health insurance pays 2x more for accidents when you are overseas. However there is a clause that says "you cannot be away for more than 90 days overseas" it's more of a holiday accident coverage. I have a working visa but I still need to exit every 90 days. So, I just stick to my home insurance.

[orientalbreeze]

Hi All,
Since the health cost here in Thailand has been so cheap I have not even bothered signing up for an insurance company...If something would happen its usually very cheap so I can afford it with no headaches....However, this may not be a good way of thinking (although many farangs in thailand think this way)...I believe many people who sign up never use their insurance but this is probabably not the best way of doing it (although nothing bad has happened to me in 2years living here you never know)....

So I decided to sign up for Bupa last week and it seems like a good one (but I'll find out once somthing happens)....They have various plans starting from 7336 baht/year (ruby plan) til 21,005/year (platinum plan) depending on what kind of coverage you want....I signed up with the latter one since that one covers for everything so no worries.....I would be a little careful signing up with a Thai insurance company cause you never know (have heard some of my Thai friends recommend not to sign up with thai insurance)....However, there may be some out there that i dont know about that could be good....Although no insurance company is a perfect one I guess it's about time to get one...By the way there are also some other ones like allianz in ireland and Cigna International in the US...

Good Luck,
Johan

[madmitch]

I have worked in the insurance industry for many years, and know a bit about healthcare coverage in Thailand so hopefully the following may be useful.

You do NOT need a work permit to buy health insurance. A work permit will allow you to participate in the Thai social security scheme and any hospital allowance would not be enough to cover the international hospitals in Phuket.

If you are relying on cover from overseas, read the wording carefully. There's a post below ststing that someone's UK cover allows up to 90 days at a time in Thailand. This may be the case but read it carefully. I'm one of the bu**ers that used to write the small print on policies so I'm just advising you to be sure.

The local Thai companies cater for lower income Thais predominantly and their limits are not good enough if you want treatment at Bangkok Phuket for example. Also their wordings won't be in English.

The following international companies sell health insurance cover within Thailand:

BUPA Blue Cross
LMG Pacific
Royal Sun Alliance
Goodhealth (though they are based in Hong Kong)
Allianz

Check their websites. My GF is signed as an agent for LMG (American and Phillipine financed, Liberty Mutual are one of the major U.S. insurers), so if you are interested in their products PM me (blatant plug!). Also you can try an insurance broker.

Finally, there are numerous instances at the moment of hospitals overcharging and even performing unnecessary operations and prescribing superfluous drugs. They make a lot of their money from the pharmacy side. Many hospital directors consider their business as primarily a money making institution and the actual healthcare is secondary. If in any doubt, get a second opinion.