How To Insure Your House?

[gusti]

Hi all,

I am a bit paranoid that our house might be broken into, as all other houses in my street have been burglared in the past few months... a huge problem here in Rangsit klong 2. Can anyone recomend an insurance company that sells home owner insurance and/or insure the inside, like TV, computers etc.

Regards,

Gusti

[dutch]

Bangkok Insurance Public Company Ltd.( the one with the blue bird logo)

They insured my house and its contents full.The most complete AND cheapest offer of 4 companies that I selected.

[silk123]

How much was it and how much is your house worth.

Is fire and flood included?

Just want to get an idea of what it would cost to insur this one. 2 million baht house. no alarm installed.

[ProThaiExpat]

If your house is made of brick and plaster, fire insurance seems unnecessary to me.

There are contents policies, similar to a condo policy and then you would be getting specific coverage for the need expressed.

I would certainly get a policy for the "replacement" value of any item stolen or damaged. Anyone who has gone through claiming an insurance loss knows full well what "adjusters" do to th value of an item n the name of depreciation, to the point that you get almost nothing for an appliance or computer.

Some insurance companies actually arrange for the purchase of the replacement item at wholesale so they save themselves money.

[Crossy]

If your house is made of brick and plaster, fire insurance seems unnecessary to me. 

There are contents policies, similar to a condo policy and then you would be getting specific coverage for the need expressed.

I would certainly get a policy for the "replacement" value of any item stolen or damaged.  Anyone who has gone through claiming an insurance loss knows full well what "adjusters" do to th value of an item n the name of depreciation, to the point that you get almost nothing for an appliance or computer.

Some insurance companies actually arrange for the purchase of the replacement item at wholesale so they save themselves money.

You'd be amazed how well a brick house burns (been there got the t-shirt). It's all the stuff you have inside that burns.

[rcalsop]

Hi all,

I am a bit paranoid that our house might be broken into, as all other houses in my street have been burglared in the past few months... a huge problem here in Rangsit klong 2.  Can anyone recomend an insurance company that sells home owner insurance and/or insure the inside, like TV, computers etc.

Regards,

Gusti

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry if this reply is alittle late but I was just scanning through the topics and I noticed the question .

We live in Khlong 3 Rangsit and we have 2 houses in my wifes name but my name on the loan papers and the land registry for the second house ...with the mortgage we arranged (for both of us ) Term life insurance plus health insurance cover and full comprehensive insurance for both properties ,contents , flood , fire, liability insurance , etc the Bank Siam Commercial were fantastic in arranging everything and were very competative in pricing . The service was great and very quick with good advise and even more suprising at the time niether my wife or I banked with them .....we do now .

Note if your house is a new town house or a linked house there is no boundry wall in the attic /roof space ie no fire break or security break ,if next door or any linked house catches fire or has a security break- in all the houses ajoined are at risk .

I know as I have been up into the roof and looked for my self . (but we own the linked house) .

When I spoke to the nieghbours opposite who have long lines of linked houses and were individually spending a fortune on metal barred windows etc they were not aware of the fact the security they had spent a lot of money on was only a good visual deterrrant or for the casual thief . The reality was any house on the row with weak security or no security was the true level of the house security

[gusti]

Hi all,

I am a bit paranoid that our house might be broken into, as all other houses in my street have been burglared in the past few months... a huge problem here in Rangsit klong 2.  Can anyone recomend an insurance company that sells home owner insurance and/or insure the inside, like TV, computers etc.

Regards,

Gusti

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry if this reply is alittle late but I was just scanning through the topics and I noticed the question .

We live in Khlong 3 Rangsit and we have 2 houses in my wifes name but my name on the loan papers and the land registry for the second house ...with the mortgage we arranged (for both of us ) Term life insurance plus health insurance cover and full comprehensive insurance for both properties ,contents , flood , fire, liability insurance , etc the Bank Siam Commercial were fantastic in arranging everything and were very competative in pricing . The service was great and very quick with good advise and even more suprising at the time niether my wife or I banked with them .....we do now .

Note if your house is a new town house or a linked house there is no boundry wall in the attic /roof space ie no fire break or security break ,if next door or any linked house catches fire or has a security break- in all the houses ajoined are at risk .

I know as I have been up into the roof and looked for my self . (but we own the linked house) .

When I spoke to the nieghbours opposite who have long lines of linked houses and were individually spending a fortune on metal barred windows etc they were not aware of the fact the security they had spent a lot of money on was only a good visual deterrrant or for the casual thief . The reality was any house on the row with weak security or no security was the true level of the house security

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the advice... our house is a detached house so that problem is not here, but true about the second story of the house, it has nothing so a burglar with a laddar would have an easy time robbing us

Well, thanks again neighbour, I'll go to SCB tomorrow morning

[WhiteShiva]

Hi all,

I am a bit paranoid that our house might be broken into, as all other houses in my street have been burglared in the past few months... a huge problem here in Rangsit klong 2.  Can anyone recomend an insurance company that sells home owner insurance and/or insure the inside, like TV, computers etc.

Regards,

Gusti

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry if this reply is alittle late but I was just scanning through the topics and I noticed the question .

We live in Khlong 3 Rangsit and we have 2 houses in my wifes name but my name on the loan papers and the land registry for the second house ...with the mortgage we arranged (for both of us ) Term life insurance plus health insurance cover and full comprehensive insurance for both properties ,contents , flood , fire, liability insurance , etc the Bank Siam Commercial were fantastic in arranging everything and were very competative in pricing . The service was great and very quick with good advise and even more suprising at the time niether my wife or I banked with them .....we do now .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have just installed fire detectors in all rooms in our hours (except bathrooms), and I am planning on installing a security system - do you know if SCB gives any discounts for these (or similar) kind of measures?

[aletta]

I pay 5000 Baht for insurance on a 1,000,000 Baht house,is that excessive?

[rcalsop]

Hi all,

I am a bit paranoid that our house might be broken into, as all other houses in my street have been burglared in the past few months... a huge problem here in Rangsit klong 2.  Can anyone recomend an insurance company that sells home owner insurance and/or insure the inside, like TV, computers etc.

Regards,

Gusti

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry if this reply is alittle late but I was just scanning through the topics and I noticed the question .

We live in Khlong 3 Rangsit and we have 2 houses in my wifes name but my name on the loan papers and the land registry for the second house ...with the mortgage we arranged (for both of us ) Term life insurance plus health insurance cover and full comprehensive insurance for both properties ,contents , flood , fire, liability insurance , etc the Bank Siam Commercial were fantastic in arranging everything and were very competative in pricing . The service was great and very quick with good advise and even more suprising at the time niether my wife or I banked with them .....we do now .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have just installed fire detectors in all rooms in our hours (except bathrooms), and I am planning on installing a security system - do you know if SCB gives any discounts for these (or similar) kind of measures?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I also have smoke detectors (2 battery operated Home pro )but only in the area outside the kitchen and the top of the stairwell .that covers all the bedrooms .

The discounts available when I asked are for high risk mega properties and are few and far between basically if you have any real valuables the view is you should have a security man to sleep by your gate . We have good boundry security (high walls and what I believe the most usfull and effective halogen spot lights 4 in the small garden we have all equipped with built in motion detectors . They cost 850 baht each and I fitted them my self easily , any person approaching the garden gate auto matically triggers the lights with about 1500 watts of illumination ..not only usefull for us when arriving home or answering the door it is a very good deterent for the opportunistic thief . At the rear of the property I have extended the house to the boundry walls and designed it with no windows only glass blocks so fairly secure again .

Also we have good nieghbours and we all know what are the usual movements noises etc in our little soi ( some people would call this nosey nieghbours I now think of it as community spirit ) .

When the house was unattended for a while I flew back in to BKK unplanned and unannounced arriving at the house by taxi at 2:00 am after a delayed flight .

Before I had my second case out of the taxi the nieghbour opposite ( actually his mother ) was stood next to me checking who I was and what I was doing , when she was happy it was me she gave me the post she had collected plus the water bill she had paid for me then ofered a tea and some soup .. the best security I have ever had . She always gets a little gift from my travels .

Reference cost --difficult to compare like with like it relates to area , construction , particular valuables. etc But I know one thing it is damm site cheaper than the UK and I feel much safer here than in the UK .

[jingjingna]

With the recent flooding and everything I am looking at insurance too. For those interested checkout www.royalsun.co.th. I got a quote for all risks at Baht3,200..not bad me thinks!

[Rags]

House contents insurance is also one of the items on my ever expanding "to do list" and some friends previously recommended Royal Sun Alliance.

I have not fully checked out their policies or associated costs, but I was very dissapointed with a brief review of their Thai website, and was also a little put off when they appeared to want a list of all valuable items over 2,000 Baht.....!!!!

Now I am by no means a wealthy man, but almost every item of note in our house would cost more than 2,000 Baht to replace.

Do these other insurance companies offer a more user friendly policy - i.e. something along the lines of "electrical goods insured up to maximum replacement value of XX,XXX Baht per item etc"....?

Rags

Edited September 30, 2005 by Rags

[jingjingna]

Rags,

My recent visit requested proof for items over 25,000 Baht..of which, some I have and some I haven't, receipts I mean!

[FRM-BKK]

Just to add my little bit..................

I insured my condo and its contents with Royal & Sunalliance (Thailand)

It was all competed on-line without any problems.

I too had to provide evidence for any item over 25,000 Thai Baht.

They may ask questions if the property is left un-attended for over 3 months, keep that in mind.

This is the web-site: www.royalsun.co.th

I paid 3,222.00

Very happy.

All documentation in English.

Good luck

FRM-UK

[ProThaiExpat]

Very happy that you spent 3,222 Baht?

After you have made a claim and resolved it to your satisfaction does your happiness have any relevance.

[colinj]

I pay 5000 Baht for insurance on a 1,000,000 Baht house,is that excessive?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just received my renewal for a house in Bangkapi. 3600 baht for 1M on the building and 200K on contents. The policy is with QBE Thailand in Bangkok. Good Australian Company and a decent policy with the important bits in English.

[FRM-BKK]

Very happy that you spent 3,222 Baht?

After you have made a claim and resolved it to your satisfaction does your happiness have any relevance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ProThaiExpat,

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say?

FRM-UK

[ProThaiExpat]

Buying an insurance policy anywhere is the easy part.

Knowledgeable people who buy insurance products are more concerned about the claims process and the reputation of the company for settling claims fairly from the consumers point of view.

If you have a clear cut "replacement" policy, then you aren't faced with the "depreciation" problem in the adjustment process.

I went to a local insurance agency and attempted to get an English language copy of the insurance policy offered, a major Australian Inusrance company starting with a Q, but to no avail, despite many promises. A Pataya guy said he got the English language version.

Insurance policies are generally one page of inclusion and multiple pages of exclusions. You may have a "good" policy and a "good" company, determined by your talking to actual polcyholders who have suffered a loss and been through their claims process, but until your company has actually performed beyond handing your a written document and collecting your money, you really have no reason to be happy, as the happiness your are currently enjoying, in this regard, is based on a promise and a prayer and not much else.

In Western cultures there is established legal mechanisms to collect against insurance companies who do not act fairly with their insureds and the largest judgements in individual civil litigation in the U.S. have been in the area of insurance companies and their "bad faith" in relations with their insureds.

In Thailand, I have not seen much in the way of falang getting much satisaction from the courts and thus your remedy in Thailand in the event you have a unsatisfied claim against an insurance company is problematic in my view.

Insurance is sold on the basis of "fear" and "worse case scenarios".

If your residence is filled with expensive appliances or other objects listed individually on your insured "scheduled" and your policy promises "replacement" of those object in the event of loss and the insurance proceeds available have not "caps" on individual items and the "aggregate" figure is large enough to cover all potential losses, your at least "half-way" there.

Good luck to you, the same luck I have had in 30 years of my insuring my homes and contents, as I have never had to make a claim, as I have never suffered a loss. Would sure like to have those premiums back. I am self insured in Thailand as my contents are just T.V.s and appliances and my project has yet to have a loss and the likelyhood of a fire in s brick house with only furniture to burn is remote.

I have no gas in the house and when I leave for any length of tiime, I shut down most electric and water into the house.

Having read some posts regarding a high level of burgalaries in some neighborhoods in Bangkok, I might be of a different mind if I had expensive contents and I could get a policy that I was able to verify the insurance compapnies claims experience.

[FRM-BKK]

Buying an insurance policy anywhere is the easy part.

Knowledgeable people who buy insurance products are more concerned about the claims process and the reputation of the company for settling claims fairly from the consumers point of view.

If you have a clear cut "replacement" policy, then you aren't faced with the "depreciation" problem in the adjustment process.

I went to a local insurance agency and attempted to get an English language copy of the insurance policy offered, a major Australian Inusrance company starting with a Q, but to no avail, despite many promises.  A Pataya guy said he got the English language version.

Insurance policies are generally one page of inclusion and multiple pages of exclusions. You may have a "good" policy and a "good" company, determined by your talking to actual polcyholders who have suffered a loss and been through their claims process, but until your company has actually performed beyond handing your a written document and collecting your money, you really have no reason to be happy, as the  happiness your are currently enjoying, in this regard, is based on a promise and a prayer and not much else.

In Western cultures there is established legal mechanisms to collect against insurance companies who do not act fairly with their insureds and the largest judgements in individual civil litigation in the U.S. have been in the area of insurance companies and their "bad faith" in relations with their insureds.

In Thailand, I have not seen much in the way of falang getting much satisaction from the courts and thus your remedy in Thailand in the event you have a unsatisfied claim against an insurance company is problematic in my view.

Insurance is sold on the basis of "fear" and "worse case scenarios".

If your residence is filled with expensive appliances or other objects listed individually on your insured "scheduled" and your policy promises "replacement" of those object in the event of loss and the insurance proceeds available have not "caps" on individual items and the "aggregate" figure is large enough to cover all potential losses, your at least "half-way" there.

Good luck to you, the same luck I have had in 30 years of my insuring my homes and contents, as I have never had to make a claim, as I have never suffered a loss.  Would sure like to have those premiums back.  I am self insured in Thailand as my contents are just T.V.s and appliances and my project has yet to have a loss and the likelyhood of a fire in s brick house with only furniture to burn is remote.

I have no gas in the house and when I leave for any length of tiime, I shut down most electric and water into the house.

Having read some posts regarding a high level of burgalaries in some neighborhoods in Bangkok, I might be of a different mind if I had expensive contents and I could get a policy that I was able to verify the insurance compapnies claims experience.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ProThaiExpat,

Thank you for your comprehensive explanation on the subject. Most of the issues you have touched upon are absolutely correct.

Before I purchased the cover I did some home work.

My policy does replace "new" for "old"

The contents in my condo do not amount to a great deal of money, but enough to buy insurance.

FRM-UK

[grahamb]

This is a subject that's also on my To-Do list so thanks for bringing it up!

I have 1 question that those of you with insurance may be able to answer... Does your policy have an option of all-risks coverage for certain items? Some of the most valuable items we have are jewellery which lives in the safe at home but obviously is at risk of loss or theft outside the home. In previous insurance policies I've had in other countries, it was possible to pay an extra premium for declared items to get the all-risks coverage but I don't know if that's possible here.