First Class Car Insurance

[Dah fahrang]

Does anyone know:

if I buy First Class insurance for my car, (fully comprehensive in UK) does it include the Government Compulsory Insurance - or do I still have to get this as a separate item, and pay separately?

Do I then display one single insurance sticker (First Class only) on my windscreen, or two?

Also, anyone recomment decent insurance company with English speaking staff - for policy issue, and in case of mishap?

Heard Viraya are quite good?

[COBBER]

No ,First Class insurance does not include the compulsary government insurance. You must get this seperately. Whoever you get the first class insurance from should be able to sell you the compulsary government insurance as well and you will get a seperate sticker for this.

[ProThaiExpat]

I would sure appreciate some definitive information in this area. I have lived here three years and while the inusrance process was completely taken care of the first year by the Toyota dealer, each subsequent year has been different.

2nd year, found I hadn't obtained the road tax certificate so off to transportation department every year at renewal time.

3rd. year, all the insurance documents arrived by mail, sticker identifying the insurance company insured with, a government sticker which I thought was car registration, could be government insuranc sticker? Will still have to go off to transportation department for their sticker for the road tax.

The cost of the govenment sticker was a little over 700 Baht and was billed separately from the insurance. Could this have been for government insurance, and if so, what about car registration, is their such a beast in Thailand and if so, do you need to renew it and if so, how??

[Thetyim]

The law changed last year, the road tax and compulsory insurance must now start on the same date.

You can no longer renew your road tax unless you have insurance .

Your car must display a current road tax and compulsory insurance sticker. The fine for no insurance is a bit steep so don't forget it.

I have given so many plugs for AIG insurance that people are beginning to think that I work for them. They have given me very good service.

When I first came to LOS I used a Thai insurance company.

They were nothing but problems, refused to accept valid claims, called me a liar, etc, etc.

[Dah fahrang]

ProThaiExpat:

I'm in the same boat! Last year, Isuzu dealer happy to do it all. Will do again this year, but at what 'cost' to me? prefer to go my own route.

Have found Deves and Aviva web sites - e-mailed them for quote for fully comp. insurance, and will eventaully get gov't compulsory insurance from who-ever.

Thetyim:

Will also give AIG a try then. word of mouth recommendations are always sound! Renewal not due till mid-August, so got time to organise!

[RDN]

The law changed last year, the road tax and compulsory insurance must now start on the same date.

You can no longer renew your road tax unless you have insurance .

Your car must display a current road tax and compulsory insurance sticker.  The fine for no insurance is a bit steep so don't forget it.

...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would like to get this information documented and examples of the various stickers, their names, and relationships posted. I would therefore like help from other members in getting the facts straight, as I am no expert. I'll write what I think is the case and wait for corrections.

I have three stickers on my pick-up and will use them as examples. I'll make better pictures later.

Firstly, registration. I believe this is similar to the English 'Tax disc'. It is this one:

The cost me 900 baht for my 2WD pick-up.

Then there is the mandatory insurance. This is called a "Por Lor Bor" and must run from and to the same dates as the registration sticker. If you bought your car new, and were given a Por Lor Bor, it probably ran from the date you picked the car up, whereas the registration takes typically 2 months to get done by the dealer who then gives you the correct number plates. So your Por Lor Bor will expire before your Registration. So you have to get a short Por Lor Bor to cover you until the first registration renewal date, and then you can get a years worth of Por Lor Bor and registration.

This is what the Por Lor Bor looks like;

This cost me 1000 baht plus tax 70 baht (7%) plus stamp 4 baht = 1074 baht.

Lastly the "First Class Insurance". My sticker looks like this:

This is for the Sampanh Insurance Company and the sticker has information on the inside, so you can read it inside the car. It has the policy start date, policy number and engine number. It also has the company telephone number.

This cost me about 14,000 baht. The dates it runs do not have to be related to the Por Lor Bor or Registation dates.

So, have I got the stickers the right way round? Any other corrections needed?

Cheers.

[Valjean]

Moving to Thailand next month to work and wondering how much does insurance cost? Say for a 700K baht used car, a couple years old. For the compulsory? For the "first class"?

[COBBER]

With First class insurance if you can get a statement from your previous insurer that you have been insured and accident free for the previous 2 years you should get a 40 % discount on the premium which puts you on the cheapest rate. With my 4 yo Toyota Soluna it brings the premium down from about 16000 to just over 10000. Also when your buying a used car ,if it has first class insurance this comes with the car and is transferred to you and when you renewal comes up you can use this as 1 year of accident free insurance to get a discount on the premium. I believe that you cant get first class insurance on a car which is older than 10 years.

Another option is Third party fire and theft type insurance which covers just about everything first class does except damage to your own vehicle. For my car i was qouted around 5000 for this.

[Valjean]

With First class insurance if you can get  a statement from your previous insurer that you have been insured and accident free for the previous 2 years you should get a 40 % discount on the premium which puts you on the cheapest rate. With my 4 yo Toyota Soluna it brings the premium down from about 16000 to just over 10000. Also when your buying a used car ,if it has first class insurance this comes with the car and is transferred to you and when you renewal comes up you can use this as 1 year of accident free insurance to get a discount on the premium. I believe that you cant get first class insurance on a car which is older than 10 years.

Another option is Third party fire and theft type insurance which covers just about everything first class does except damage to your own vehicle. For my car i was qouted around 5000 for this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the info, one question. Is the premium (10000) above per month? year? billing cycle?

thanks again

[Crossy]

With First class insurance if you can get  a statement from your previous insurer that you have been insured and accident free for the previous 2 years you should get a 40 % discount on the premium which puts you on the cheapest rate. With my 4 yo Toyota Soluna it brings the premium down from about 16000 to just over 10000. Also when your buying a used car ,if it has first class insurance this comes with the car and is transferred to you and when you renewal comes up you can use this as 1 year of accident free insurance to get a discount on the premium. I believe that you cant get first class insurance on a car which is older than 10 years.

Another option is Third party fire and theft type insurance which covers just about everything first class does except damage to your own vehicle. For my car i was qouted around 5000 for this.

Thanks for the info, one question. Is the premium (10000) above per month? year? billing cycle?

thanks again

Err, it's annual (130 quid a month would be a bit steep, even in the Uk)

[tango]

The law changed last year, the road tax and compulsory insurance must now start on the same date.

You can no longer renew your road tax unless you have insurance .

Your car must display a current road tax and compulsory insurance sticker.  The fine for no insurance is a bit steep so don't forget it.

I have given so many plugs for AIG insurance that people are beginning to think that I work for them.  They have given me very good service.

When I first came to LOS I used a Thai insurance company.

They were nothing but problems, refused to accept valid claims, called me a liar, etc, etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have bought various new vehicles in Chiangmai over the past decade, and I heartily recommend AIG for the best service and rates. Be sure to read the fine print on what exactly is the baht limit of your coverage; if the price is less than that of AIG then the various limits are well down, too. Do yourself a favour and check out AIG. For some reason I keep being told 1st class coverage for vehicles 5 years old or less except Honda Accord which is apparently 7 years. Be careful, even if not the fault of a farang, the police tend to ascribe the fault to the farang; so 1st class coverage is a must, IMHO. Cheers.

[Kerryd]

Are the rules the same for motorcycles (Registration, Road tax, 1st class insurance, ect) ?

I'm considering buying one of those 200cc bikes when I get back next time (assuming I can find a place to store it while I'm out of the country for months on end). More convenient for short trips around the country than getting a baht bus or motorcycle taxi each time.

(I joked with one girl in my building, that I was going to hire her and her Honda Wave to drive me up to Nong Khai, just to spend an hour there and then come back).

But, if it's going to cost an arm and a leg for the various paperwork/taxes/ect, it might be easier to go the rental route.

[COBBER]

The law changed last year, the road tax and compulsory insurance must now start on the same date.

You can no longer renew your road tax unless you have insurance .

Your car must display a current road tax and compulsory insurance sticker.  The fine for no insurance is a bit steep so don't forget it.

I have given so many plugs for AIG insurance that people are beginning to think that I work for them.  They have given me very good service.

When I first came to LOS I used a Thai insurance company.

They were nothing but problems, refused to accept valid claims, called me a liar, etc, etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have bought various new vehicles in Chiangmai over the past decade, and I heartily recommend AIG for the best service and rates. Be sure to read the fine print on what exactly is the baht limit of your coverage; if the price is less than that of AIG then the various limits are well down, too. Do yourself a favour and check out AIG. For some reason I keep being told 1st class coverage for vehicles 5 years old or less except Honda Accord which is apparently 7 years. Be careful, even if not the fault of a farang, the police tend to ascribe the fault to the farang; so 1st class coverage is a must, IMHO. Cheers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Also if i could add in the event of an accident you must leave the vehicles exactly where they are and call your insurer immediatly. If you dont do this your insurance could become invalid. The insurer will send out their rep. who will act as your agent in negotiations and call out the police if required.

[Valjean]

Thanks for the info, one question. Is the premium (10000) above per month? year? billing cycle?

thanks again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Err, it's annual (130 quid a month would be a bit steep, even in the Uk)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actualy that's about how much it costs in the US. I pay $3840 per year for one new car, one five year old car and one very beat-up pick up (no first class). I think the new car is close to the 130 quid, at least when the dollar was worth something.

Thanks for the info