thaiericsweden

Description of the Bail Bond and how it works:

The Bail Bond is posted at the Police Station if you are involved in an vehicle accident that involves either a serious injury or death of a third party.

A serious injury is determined by the doctor's report.

The person has to sustain injuries that require in excess of 20 days for recovery.

The police have the right to hold you in jail.

The Bail Bond is a guarantee so you don't have to stay in jail / prison.

If the case has to go to court, another Bail Bond will be posted at the court so you don't have sit with the prisoners in the court-house.

Types of insurance available for your vehicle:

1. CTPL (Compulsory Transportation Public Liability).

2. Third party cover.

3. Three plus one cover.

4. Second class insurance.

5. Two plus one cover.

6. First class insurance also known as Comprehensive insurance.

The vehicle will most probably have the CTPL policy, as it is the minimum required by law to be legal on the road in Thailand.

The majority of insurance companies will not offer a first class insurance on 10 year old vehicles.

Your only options range from Third party cover to Two plus one cover. Below is an overview of each type:

Third party insurance

What is covered?

1. Third party victims injured in the accident. Includes all medical treatment costs.

2. Third party death. Includes compensation for death.

3. Third party property damages. Includes cost of repairs to other property.

4. Medical expenses cover for your passengers.

5. Personal Accident cover for your passengers.

6. Bail Bond to keep the driver out of jail in case of serious accident.

What is not covered:

1. Damages to the vehicle named on the policy.

2. Loss of income to a rental vehicle.

3. Loss or damages to personal belongings in the vehicle.

Three plus one cover

What is covered?

1. Includes everything a Third party policy covers and….

2. Additional cover against damages to your vehicle in the event your vehicle is at fault.

3. Three plus one polices designate a sum insured for your vehicle, repairs for each separate accident with another vehicle are covered to this limit.

4. There is a choice of deductible (2,000 Baht) or no deductible. It is preferred to choose policies without deductibles because customers almost always forget they have to pay a deductible.

5. Only accidents with other designated vehicles are covered.

6. The premium is fixed according to sum insured; there is no No-Claims-Discount.

What is not covered:

1. No cover if you cannot show proof of the other vehicle. Damage from hit and run accidents are not covered.

2. Parking lot dents/scratches due to unknown vehicles is also not covered.

3. Colliding with stationary objects (walls, posts, power pylons, sidewalks, and gates) is not covered.

4. Collisions with mobile objects (Rocks, Tree branches, animals…etc) is also not covered.

Second class insurance

This type of policy offers the same cover as a Third party policy with 2 additional benefits.

Cover against vehicle theft and cover against fire damage.

Two plus one cover

All the same benefits as a Three plus one policy with one more benefit described below.

Covers theft of your vehicle or damage due to fire to the sum insured.

I suggest that you purchase the insurance directly from a branch office of a reputable company in Hat Yai.

Pay at the office, ask for an official receipt or pay to their bank account.

The policy will be posted to you in the next few days or you can drop by an pick it up.

AIG is no longer with us, the Thai company has been taken over by Chartis Insurance.

You claim to have received good service and never had a claim; this does not make sense.

An insurance company is usually graded by the service they offer on handling claims.

I am not saying there was anything wrong about AIG or Chartis; just be aware that you should check around before choosing your new insurance company.

I recommend that you never pay the premium to agents, always pay your premium at the bank directly to the account of the broker or insurance company.

This eliminates any risk of the funds going missing. It also gives you proof of payment, the bank slip is a legal record of payment.

I am sure the majority of reputable insurance companies have a branch office in Khorat.

Regardless of which insurance company or broker you use, service should be of a similar standard.

If you have an automobile accident anywhere in Thailand, the insurance company will most probably use the services of a sub-contracted surveyor.

Only if the claim is of a significant amount, will the insurance company send a representative or registered loss adjuster to investigate the claim.

If you prefer to shop around, time and money can be saved by using the services of a broker.

Sorry, but I cannot recommend any brokers with an office in Khorat, the closest would be in Bangkok where you have a good variety to choose from.

In Thailand, the majority of health insurance is sold by life insurance companies.

AIA Life insurance company commands the largest share of the market, over 30%.

The simple reason for this is that they are the pioneers in the life insurance market in Thailand.

AIA had a very long head-start before the competition realized this was a very profitable business.

There are more than 20 life insurance companies registered in Thailand.

You are sure to get a better offer from an alternate company, AIA is the market leader and does not have to try as hard as the competition.

I would suggest that you avoid to buy health insurance from a life insurance company.

There's nothing wrong with buying a little life insurance, but keep it separate from the health insurance.

(If you want me to discuss life insurance, I have lots to say...and most of it proves that there are alternate investment choices with much better returns.)

The Thai insurance regulations issued by the Office of Insurance Commission stipulates that life insurance companies must include a life insurance policy when they sell health insurance.

Your cannot buy a stand-alone health policy from a life insurance company.

In addition to this restriction, the health insurance plans offered by life insurance companies will have fixed sub-limits on the medical benefits.

Once a sub-limit is reached, the excess balance has to be paid by the customer.

The majority of life insurance customers in Thailand are from the lower income brackets.

These customers usually have no other options for saving money, many are not able to purchase a home because they cannot get a bank loan......hence, their only option is life insurance.

The life insurance plans promoted by life insurance companies are usually the ones that make the best profits for life insurance companies. Agents promote these plans because they earn the highest commissions from these types of plans. The customer is actually the one person to this agreement that benefits the least from the life policy.

Foreigners that do not have a work permit can buy life insurance. Life insurance agents always ask for a work permit because that is what they are taught to do. The work permit is only needed to show a legal address in Thailand. The local immigration office can supply you with a document that states you legal address in Thailand which should satisfy any life insurance company.

There are many Thai insurance companies (Life ins. and Non-life ins.) offering some form of health insurance.

The choice all depends on your budget.

The range is from a few thousand a year to over 100,000 Baht a year for comprehensive cover.

You can spend time contacting various insurance companies for comparative quotes or you can let a broker do this for you.

It costs nothing extra.

In addition to saving time, the broker is able to prequalify a variety of insurance companies from their experience.......less time wasted contacting companies that have little or nothing to offer in terms of health insurance.

Pre-existing Conditions are normally not covered:

(exceptions only if agreed by underwriters of certain insurance companies)

Items 1. to 6. describing pre-existing conditions are all linked together as if they are in one sentence...

1. Any medical condition or related condition for which you have received treatment.

2. Or medical condition that you had symptoms of.

3. Or to the best of your knowledge knew this condition existed.

4. Or sought advice for this condition.

5. Or taken (prescription or non-prescription) medication for treatment.

6. Prior to the start date of the insurance policy.

It is recommended that you take lots of photos of your house and contents.

In addition to the photos, make an inventory list of your belongings.

Photos and the inventory will be invaluable when it comes time to asses a claim.

The value to insure is easy to estimate. Contents: Add up the total value of your belongings and home improvements.

You did not say if the policy includes the building or not. If you own the house, then you will have to estimate the reconstruction cost of the building.

If you rent the house, ask the owner for a copy of the insurance policy.

If they say the insurance policy is with the bank or refuse to show you a copy of the policy, this means that they most probably have a mortgage with a bank.

The insurance policy will only be for fire insurance and the policy will only cover the amount of the loan.

This basically means the house is uninsured.

If you are deemed liable for any damages to the house (worst-case-scenario, the house is destroyed), the owner will expect to be compensated in full.

If you don't have any insurance, guess who is going to pay the bill.

If your home is in a flood risk area, it will be extreemely difficult to ask the insurance company for cover against flooding. If they will offer this, it will only be for a small percentage of the total value you are insured for. The flood cover can be added as an extension to your current policy. If MSIG will not offer this, shop around for another insurance company, there are 75 insurance companies in Thailand.

Many insurance companies offer a packaged insurance policy including limited cover against electrical damage.

Lightning, short circuits and power surges are covered to certain limits.

If MSIG does not offer this cover, look for another company that includes this benefit.

I see from the MSIG website that the electrical cover is only against lightning and fire..............there are alternate insurance companies that offer more.

There are many Thai insurance companies (Life ins. and Non-life ins.) offering some form of health insurance.

The choice all depends on your budget.

The range is from a few thousand a year to over 100,000 Baht a year for comprehensive cover.

You can spend your time contacting various insurance companies for comparative quotes or you can let a broker do this for you. It costs nothing extra. In addition to saving time, the broker is able to pre-qualify a variety of insurance companies based on their experience.......less time wasted contacting companies that have little or nothing to offer in terms of health insurance.

In Thailand, the majority of health insurance is sold by life insurance companies.

AIA Life insurance company commands the largest share of the market, almost 40%.

The simple reason for this is that they are the pioneers in the life insurance market in Thailand.

AIA had a very long head-start before the competition realized this was a very profitable business.

There are many insurance companies offering health insurance in Thailand, 25 life insurance companies and 75 non-life insurance companies.

Most persons buying health insurance, base their choice of insurance policy on the choice of benefits and budget.

This is because premiums and benefits are easily compared.

Other features that are not obvious cannot be compared before making a choice.

There are companies that offer good service and companies with poor service.

In addition to service, the background and financial stability of the insurance company has to be included as a factor in determining your final choice.

I would suggest that your wife avoid to buy health insurance from a life insurance company.

There's nothing wrong with buying a little life insurance, but keep it separate from the health insurance.

The Thai insurance regulations issued by the Office of Insurance Commission stipulates that life insurance companies must include a life insurance policy when they sell health insurance.

Your wife cannot buy a stand-alone health policy from a life insurance company.

In addition to this restriction, the health insurance plans offered by life insurance companies will almost always have fixed sub-limits on the medical benefits.

Once a sub-limit is reached, the excess balance has to be paid by the customer.

An inexpensive health insurance from a non-life insurance company that includes a Major Medical benefit will cover higher medical bills than an offer from a life insurance company.

The Major Medical benefit will cover 80% to 90% of the costs in excess of basic medical benefits.

Jazzbo is correct.

There is no 2 year time limit.

If the insurance company can prove and has evidence that the applicant misled the company or left out information on the application form, the policy can be canceled from inception.

The omission or information does not have to have anything to do with a pending claim being investigated by the insurance company.

The insurance company will refund your premium less any claims expenses paid.

It is imperative that you declare all conditions on an application form.

Renewal Premium rates are not guaranteed.

If you are a healthy person with no claims, you can expect to pay the same premiums as other persons in your age group.

If you are sick and have claims that have cost the insurance company money, your renewal premiums will be loaded by a percentage based on the size of the claims incurred by the Insurance Company.

These loadings can range anywhere from 10% to 25% by reputable companies and 10% to over 100% by a few less-than-reputable companies.

Loadings are applied each year as a factor to the basic premium you pay. In later years, these loadings are compounded for each significant claim paid by the Insurance Co.

Insurance premiums are based on the collective results of all insured customers.

You are one of thousands of policyholders that are insured by Health Insurance Company.

Not all customers will have claims each year; this is what keeps annual-premium-increases manageable.

If all customers had claims every year, your insurance premiums will increase by a higher percentage.

The increase in premiums is determined by the collective customer claims that occurred during the previous policy year.

Even if you had no claims, your premiums will still go up by a small percentage.

The cost of insuring your family is averaged out among all customers insured by the company.

If you had a million dollar claim, you can expect a small incremental increase in premium the next year; the insurance company would not ask you to repay the million dollars.

The annual increase in premium would be the same for all other customers in the same age group that you belong to; you will not be penalized for your claim.

On the other hand; if you had no claims in one year, it would not make you eligible to pay the same premium as the previous year.

Four important factors that cause premiums to go up each year:

1. Hospitals increase their medical charges each year.

2. The price of drugs goes up each year.

3. As you get older, you pose a higher risk to the insurance company.

4. In addition to this; as you get older, the cost of treating you will rise exponentially if you have to go to the hospital for treatment.

This health insurance company; like most other health insurance companies charges premiums according to the customer age.

The premiums are usually split into 5-year age groups.

When you started your policy, you were in one age group.

As you get older, you move to a higher age group; you will notice a higher jump in the premium increase when you move to higher age groups.

Each year, health insurance companies have to revise their premiums based on the past year's claims expenses.

If all the customers had a higher incidence of claims, the premiums have a higher annual-incremental increase.

Pre-existing conditions are any declared or undeclared medical conditions.

Pre-existing conditions are normally categorized by the long description below, items 1. to 6. are all linked together as if they are in one sentence.

1. Any medical condition or related condition for which you have received treatment.

2. Or medical condition that you had symptoms of.

3. Or to the best of your knowledge knew this condition existed.

4. Or sought advice for this condition.

5. Or taken (prescription or non-prescription) medication for treatment.

6. Prior to the start date of the insurance policy.

Two types of medical underwriting affecting pre-existing conditions:

Full medical underwriting policies

1.The majority of health insurers use this method for screening applicants.

2.Medical underwriting requires applicants to honestly disclose all their pre-existing medical conditions.

3.Underwriters will review applications and propose the exclusion wording for the customer to accept.

4.Only in some cases, can exclusion wording be revised at start of policy.

5.Exclusion wording has to be agreed on at the start of the policy, there is very little chance of changing this in the future.

6.Changes to exclusions have to be accompanied by medical reports that are acceptable to the underwriters. There is no guarantee that exclusions will be deleted or changed.

Moratorium underwriting policies

1.With moratorium underwriting, after 2 years of continuous cover, some pre-existing medical conditions will become eligible for benefit.

For a particular condition to be covered, it is required that in the first 2 continuous years of the policy;

You did not have to consult any doctor for medical treatment,

Or take any medication,

Or suffer any symptoms for that medical condition,

Or suffer symptoms for any related condition.

2.Many pre-existing conditions will never be covered by a moratorium policy, such as;

Diabetes.

Hypertension (raised blood pressure).

Hyperlipidemia (raised cholesterol levels).

Ischemic heart disease.

Cancer.

Thyroid disease.

Auto-immune disorders.

Arthritis.

Thaivisa insurance claim to have offices throughout Thailand, but I can see only 3 office locations noted on your page of the thaivisa website.

On your aainsure website, I can only see 4 office addresses.

Aren't you stretching it a bit when you say "offices throughout Thailand"?

As a broker, your most important asset is trust. Customers must trust you before they become your customer.......

A few points that members should note when looking at local health insurances.

Cheaper overall premiums with corresponding lower coverage limits.

Health cover benefits are very generous when compared to premiums charged.

Many plans include a range of sub-limits to costs of treatment, such as Surgeons Fees, Hospital General Expenses, Room and Board, Ambulance….etc.

Premium rates do not reflect the actual cost of insuring persons at each age group because premium rates are not adjusted annually to compensate for changing medical costs and inflation.

Renewal Premium rates are not guaranteed. If you are a healthy person with no claims, you can expect to pay the same premiums as other persons in your age group.

If you are sick and have claims that have cost the insurance company money, your renewal premiums will be loaded by a percentage based on the size of the claims incurred by the Insurance Company.

These loadings can range anywhere from 10% to 25% by reputable companies and 10% to over 100% by a few less-than-reputable companies.

Loadings are applied each year as a factor to the basic premium you pay.

In later years, these loadings are compounded for each significant claim paid by the Insurance Co.

In a worst-case-scenario, you could be paying a higher premium for a "cheap" local health insurance than a million dollar plan from overseas.

Renewal of your Local Health Insurance is not automatic. The policy is year by year. If the Insurance Company decides not to renew your policy, they have the right to refuse renewal. This is allowed by the Office of Insurance Commission.

Local Health Insurances have time limits on travel outside of Thailand; some companies limit you to 90 days travel each year.

The insurance company didn't pay the claim directly to the hospital for a simple reason.

The claims department was not sure if this was related to a pre-existing condition.

If you have only had your health insurance policy less than 2 years, this can be a problem.

In addition to the possibility of being related to a pre-existing condition, the doctors report may say something that gives rise to suspicion of this claim.

If you have had this insurance for over 2 years, there should be no problem concerning pre-existing conditions.

The insurance company is using delaying tactics to frustrate you.

If you don't get answers and the claim is not settled within a reasonable time frame, you have to register a complaint at the Office of Insurance Commission.

Go to the nearest Office of Insurance Commission and register a complaint against this Insurance company.

The OOIC helps all customers that have problems with insurance companies and speeds up the settlement.

I have assisted many times as a translator at the local OOIC office and I have seen first-hand that they really help customers that are being badly treated by insurance companies.

Here is the web address

http://www.oic.or.th

Sorry but it is only in Thai, ask a friend to help you read it.

Click in the blue column on the left of the page, second from the bottom is a listing of provincial OOIC offices.

You should not be delayed because of financial problems of the insurance company.

Go to the nearest Office of Insurance Commission and register a complaint against Phoenix Insurance.

The OOIC helps all customers that have problems with insurance companies and speeds up the settlement.

I have assisted many times as a translator at the local OOIC office and I have seen first-hand that they really help customers that are being badly treated by insurance companies.

Here is the web address

http://www.oic.or.th

Sorry but it is only in Thai, ask a friend to help you read it.

Click in the blue column on the left of the page, second from the bottom is a listing of provincial OOIC offices.

Your travel policy can be extended for 90 days each time.

KEY WORDS TO NOTE HERE: This is a 90 day policy.

This means your 90 day policy is just that.....a 90 day policy.

There is no mention of an annual policy or even that it is a renewable policy.

Once the first 90 days is over, a new policy is basically in effect.

Even if it is not called a new policy, but an extension, it acts exactly the same as a new policy.

Any conditions that pre-date the new 90-day extension are...............PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS.

This is the reason why travel insurance policies are relatively cheap.

They re-set every 90 days and eliminate the chance of a major medical condition of being covered.

This is also why they can boast unlimited cover.....because the chance of having to pay an expensive claim is so incredibly minimal.

Travel Insurance is basically to cover you against accidents.

Never consider travel insurance as a replacement to annual health insurance.

The older you get, the more pre-existing conditons are going to be eliminated from cover.

This is an automated process because your policy resets itself every 90 days.

You may well feel you are fit and free of any serious medical conditions.

Something will sneak up on you without you realizing something is wrong.

We are not doctors, we never know when it will happen.

Only when you seek treatment for this condition, will the doctor estimate when this condition first manifested itself.

If that condition pre-dates the current 90-day extension of your policy.............you pay the medical bills.

Be aware of the limitations on evacuation.

Evacuation is only considered the last option when there is nothing else left.

You have NO SAY in the evacuation process.

It is a decision made by the attending doctors and insurance company.

Thailand has too many excellent medical facilities to warrant an evacuation.

If you feel you are going to be evacuated because you think it is the best option..........dream on.

Aerial medivac costs have skyrocketed since the twin towers went down.

There are several International health insurance companies that will accept applications from persons that are over the age of 65, there is even one operating in Thailand.

I advise you start looking at the choices available before it is too late.

Your accident insurance through the Siam Commercial Bank is actually with the Siam Commercial Sammagi Insurance company. The 1 million Baht policy pays 1 million on death or total disability due to accidents but not due to motorcycle accidents (this is a lower limit at 100,000 Baht). Their age limit is 70 and they do not insure persons with disabilities or that have chronic illnesses (I read this information from their brochure). I agree, this accident insurance is good value, you will be hard pressed to find something better. I have a policy with ACE INA Insurance that offers better cover at almost the same price and they also have higher levels of cover exceeding 1 million Baht for people that need a higher benefit level.

The only way to protect yourself from a claim dispute in the first few years of the health policy is to have a full medical check-up at the start of the policy. The problem in your case is that you are into the first year of this policy. I personally would look for a different health insurance company. This way you can have a medical check-up at the start of the new policy and have a better chance at getting claims covered if there is a dispute in the first year. Your pre-existing conditions cannot be denied, if there are any, then they are there. Your only hope is to keep additional conditions from being suspected and not covered.

Check-ups are a valuable tool in helping the customer when there is a dispute in a claim with the insurance company in the first year of the policy.

1.Hypothetical situation. The customer is treated by a doctor that makes a mistake in diagnosis of the customer's medical condition.

2.If the doctor mistakenly declares the medical condition is pre-dating the start-date of the policy, the insurance company has to deny payment of the claim based on the medical information provided.

3.If the customer has the results of a medical check-up (taken at the start of the policy) and these results dispute the mistaken diagnosis of the treating doctor, the customer has a good chance the insurance company will agree to a second doctor's diagnosis to review the claim and pay.

The positive benefits of a check-up far outweigh the negative aspects. Annual check-ups are a part of normal healthy life. Early detection of a medical condition is always to the benefit of that person. Check-up or no check-up; if the customer has a pre-existing medical condition, even if there is no medical record at a hospital, the insurance company has to rely on the results of the treating doctor to state when this condition was present. You are relying on the treating doctor to asses you condition. The treating doctor has to make an educated guess to when this condition first manifested itself. The doctor can easily make a mistake. A medical check-up eliminates the chance of a mistake.

Why do health insurance premiums go up?

Insurance premiums are based on the collective results of all insured customers.

You are one of thousands of policyholders that are insured by Health Insurance Company.

Not all customers will have claims each year; this is what keeps annual-premium-increases manageable.

If all customers had claims every year, your insurance premiums will increase by a higher percentage.

The increase in premiums is determined by the collective customer claims that occurred during the previous policy year.

Even if you had no claims, your premiums will still go up by a small percentage.

The cost of insuring your family is averaged out among all customers insured by the company.

If you had a million dollar claim, you can expect a small incremental increase in premium the next year; the insurance company would not ask you to repay the million dollars.

The annual increase in premium would be the same for all other customers in the same age group that you belong to; you will not be penalized for your claim.

On the other hand; if you had no claims in one year, it would not make you eligible to pay the same premium as the previous year.

Four important factors that cause premiums to go up each year:

1. Hospitals increase their medical charges each year.

2. The price of drugs goes up each year.

3. As you get older, you pose a higher risk to the insurance company.

4. In addition to this; as you get older, the cost of treating you will rise exponentially if you have to go to the hospital for treatment.

This health insurance company; like most other health insurance companies charges premiums according to the customer age.

The premiums are usually split into 5-year age groups.

When you started your policy, you were in one age group.

As you get older, you move to a higher age group; you will notice a higher jump in the premium increase when you move to higher age groups.

Each year, health insurance companies have to revise their premiums based on the past year's claims expenses.

Health insurance companies are not a charitable organization; they do their best to make a nominal profit.

Health insurance profit margins are small, usually between 5% to 10%.

Insurance companies that make more than 10% profit are not competitive and cannot keep customers.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the insurance companies can do to control the hospital medical charges; all hospitals try their best to charge as much as possible for their services.

The definition of pre-existing conditions that I find satisfies most insurance companies:

Items a. to f. are all linked together as if they are in one sentence.....

a. Any medical condition or related condition for which you have received treatment.

b. Or medical condition that you had symptoms of.

c. Or to the best of your knowledge knew this condition existed.

d. Or sought advice for this condition.

e. Or taken (prescription or non-prescription) medication for treatment.

f. Prior to the start date of the insurance policy.

The only way to protect yourself from a claim dispute in the first few years of the health policy is to have a full medical check-up at the start of the policy.

Check-ups are a valuable tool in helping the customer when there is a dispute in a claim with the insurance company in the first year of the policy.

a. Hypothetical situation. The customer is treated by a doctor that makes a mistake in diagnosis of the customer's medical condition.

b. If the doctor mistakenly declares the medical condition is pre-dating the start-date of the policy, the insurance company has to deny payment of the claim based on the medical information provided.

c. If the customer has the results of a medical check-up (taken at the start of the policy) and these results dispute the mistaken diagnosis of the treating doctor, the customer has a good chance the insurance company will agree to a second doctor's diagnosis to review the claim and pay.

The positive benefits of a check-up far outweigh the negative aspects. Annual check-ups are a part of normal healthy life. Early detection of a medical condition is always to the benefit of that person.

Avoiding medical check-ups will not help the customer. Check-up or no check-up; if the customer has a pre-existing medical condition, even if there is no medical record at a hospital, the insurance company has to rely on the results of the treating doctor to state when this condition was present. You are relying on the treating doctor to asses you condition. The treating doctor has to make an educated guess to when this condition first manifested itself. The doctor can easily make a mistake. A medical check-up eliminates the chance of a mistake.

For the cost of a few thousand Baht to cover a small house, home insurance is a prudent investment.

For many persons that own a house, the insurance policy covers their most significant investment.

For a few thousand Baht a year, you are covered for millions in potential losses.

If you are renting a house, ask the owner for a copy of their insurance policy.

If they say the insurance policy is with the bank or refuse to show you a copy of the policy, this means that they most probably have a mortgage with a bank.

The insurance policy will only be for fire insurance and the policy will only cover the amount of the loan.

This basically means the house is uninsured.

If you are negligent and deemed liable for any damages to the house (worst-case-scenario, the house is destroyed), the owner will expect to be compensated in full.

If you don't have any insurance, guess who is going to pay the bill???

Most insurance companies offer packaged policies to cover you from a variety of perils.

Some of the packages include cover against burglary.

Be warned, not all items are covered against burglary.

The majority of packaged insurance policies will have a list of items excluded from Burglary cover.

Very few insurance companies will cover some of these items if they are endorsed by the company and included in the insurance policy:

1. Cash money, Cheques, coins, bonds, securities, accounting books.

2. Credit cards, Bank cards.

3. Gold bullion, ornamental gold or precious metals and precious stones.

4. Bonds, Certificates, Title deeds.

5. Important documents, contracts, obligations, stamps, duty stamps.

6. Manuscripts, plans, drawings, designs, patterns, moulds or models.

7. Goods held in trust or on commission belonging to others.

8. Any antique or works of art.

9. Personal effects, watches, glasses, jewelry, Palm/Pocket PCs.

10. Explosives.

11. Notebook computers, cameras, video cameras (With a few insurance companies, this is the only category that you can purchase additional cover against burglary).

There are also two time limits stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission that you should be aware of, these limits affects all house and condo insurance policies.

1. Time limit of 60 days if the house / condo are unoccupied or abandoned without someone to take care of the property. If you intend to leave your home unattended for over 60 consecutive days, the policy has to be endorsed by the insurance company to be valid. If you have a security guard service, or maid looking after the house, it is not considered abandoned and the policy will not lapse automatically.

2. Some insurance companies also have an additional abandoned/unoccupied time limit of 7 days for Burglary cover (this varies between companies). After 7 days, your house is still insured, but you have no Burglary cover.

If you intend to leave your house unattended for a length of time, make sure someone is looking after it. Don't expect to be covered for losses if you lock up and leave.

I have no idea on whether the various members have the correct level of insurance; only prices are mentioned (no values for the house). Be aware of the problems of under-insurance and over-insurance. Under-insurance will save you a minimal amount in annual premium expense but when it comes time to pay a major claim, your savings will be lost. The level of under-insurance will affect the amount paid by the insurance company and it could end up costing you the loss of millions. For example; if you insured your 20 million house for 10 million, you are considered only 50% insured. If your house has a claim for 4 million Baht, the insurance company will only pay 50% of 4 million.

Over-insurance is not so bad. By paying for too much insurance you are only increasing your premium expense. There is no benefit to paying for more insurance you need, because the insurance company will only pay the actual loss. For example, your 10 million house is insured for 20 million. If it is destroyed, you will only be compensated 10 million, even though you paid for 20 million cover.This problem occurs very often when an unskilled insurance agent or broker sells you insurance on the total purchase value of your house.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is some information on the 2 types of health policies offered by different insurance companies.

Two types of medical underwriting affecting pre-existing conditions:

1. Full medical underwriting policies

a. The majority of health insurers use this method for screening applicants.

b. Medical underwriting requires applicants to honestly disclose all their pre-existing medical conditions.

c. Underwriters will review applications and propose the exclusion wording for the customer to accept.

d. Only in some cases, can exclusion wording be revised at start of policy.

e. Exclusion wording has to be agreed on at the start of the policy, there is very little chance of changing this in the future.

f. Changes to exclusions have to be accompanied by medical reports that are acceptable to the underwriters. There is no guarantee that exclusions will be deleted or changed.

2. Moratorium underwriting policies

a. With moratorium underwriting, after 2 years of continuous cover, some pre-existing medical conditions will become eligible for benefit.

b. Many pre-existing conditions will never be covered by a moratorium policy, such as;

Diabetes.

Hypertension (raised blood pressure).

Hyperlipidemia (raised cholesterol levels).

Ischemic heart disease.

Cancer.

Thyroid disease.

Auto-immune disorders.

Arthritis.

c. For a particular condition to be covered, it is required that in the first 2 continuous years of the policy;

You did not have to consult any doctor for medical treatment,

Or take any medication,

Or suffer any symptoms for that medical condition,

Or suffer symptoms for any related condition.

For those that do have pre-existing conditions, there is hope. A few insurance companies will cover certain pre-existing conditons at a higher premium rate.

Here is the wording I use to best describe pre-existing conditions (below items a. to f. are all linked together as if they are in one sentence).

a. Any medical condition or related condition for which you have received treatment.

b. Or medical condition that you had symptoms of.

c. Or to the best of your knowledge knew this condition existed.

d. Or sought advice for this condition.

e. Or taken (prescription or non-prescription) medication for treatment.

f. Prior to the start date of the insurance policy.

Switching health insurances is never reccomended, especially if you are older. See the reasons below:

1. Choosing the best health insurance to match your needs is essential.

2. Moving between different health insurance companies each year to save on premium expenses is to your disadvantage. It is always advisable to stay with the same health insurer as long as possible.

3. As we get older, our bodies develop certain medical conditions. The older we get; the more medical conditions we accumulate.

4. Take for example the family that has chosen a cheaper health insurance plan because they expected to stay in Thailand. In the future, due to unforeseen reasons, they have to move away to a different country. The local health insurance will only provide them with temporary cover in the new country (usually 90 days). This family will have to apply for a new health insurance with a different company.

5. All new applications will have to declare pre-existing conditions. Certain conditions that were covered by the previous health insurance are now no longer covered. These conditions started during the previous policy year (when they were covered) but cannot be covered by the new policy because they exist at the start of the new policy.

6. Your family will not be given a discount on the premium due to excluded pre-existing conditions. Your premium rates will be the same as other policy-holders of the same age- group but your cover will be inferior to others because of declared (and undeclared) pre-existing conditions that are not covered.

7. All health insurance companies regard pre-existing conditions in a similar manner. Very few companies will give the customer the choice of cover on a few pre-existing conditions. These companies will cover a few declared conditions at a higher premium fee.

8. New applicants that fail to declare all pre-existing conditions on the application form risk either having their policy cancelled when the insurance company finds out at a later date or; if the insurance company is lenient, they will add exclusions to the policy to offset the undeclared pre-existing conditions.

I would never drive a vehicle if it did not have more than the compulsory insurance.

It just is not worth the risk.

Having a sufficient insurance policy to protect you gives you peace-of-mind.

It also gives you the expertise of a large insurance company to protect you if you have an accident so no one can take advantage of your situation.

Car Insurance, four main groups;

1. Compulsory insurance, CTPL; Minimal cover required to legal on the road in Thailand. Provides up to 50,000 Baht medical cover to third parties involved in accidents. Does not keep you out of Jail or pay for damages to other vehicles. (Premiums range from approximately 600 to 1200 Bt.).

2. Third party only (and variations to include limited cover for your vehicle damages), pays for compensation and medical expenses (Up to 2 million per person) to others and damages to their vehicles. This policy includes a Bail Bond if the driver accidentally kills another person or seriously injures them. (Premiums range from 4,000 Bt. to 10,000 Bt.).

3. Second class; Same cover as Third party only and covers your vehicle if it damaged by fire or stolen (Premiums depend on value of vehicle insured).

4. Full Coverage, Fully comprehensive, First class; Pays for everything, including the repair costs for damages to your own vehicle (Premiums depend on value of vehicle insured).

Motorcycle insurance, three main groups;

1. Compulsory insurance, CTPL; Minimal cover required to legal on the road in Thailand. Provides up to 50,000 Baht medical cover to third parties involved in accidents. Does not keep you out of Jail or pay for damages to other vehicles. (Premiums range from approximately 300 to 650 Bt.)

2. Third party only, pays for compensation and medical expenses (Up to 1 million per person) to others and damages to their vehicles. This policy includes a Bail Bond if the driver accidentally kills another person or seriously injures them. (Premiums are less than 3,500 Bt.).

3. Full coverage, Fully comprehensive, First class; Pays for everything, including the repair costs for damages to your own vehicle. (Premiums depend on the value of the motorcycle insured).

Brokers provide more than just a shopping service.

Brokers can help you save money on premiums, but that is not the primary function of a broker.

Brokers really help when there is a problem with a claim.

They know from experience on how to solve the problem with the best possible outcome.

Brokers can send you a dozen quotes for a single insurance request, but that doesn't make them a better broker.

The broker pre-qualifies insurance companies.

They steer customers away from the cheapest insurance companies because cheap usually goes hand-in-hand with more problems.

If your primary objective is to buy the cheapest insurance, then you should re-asses your insurance needs.

Again, I stress, cheaper insurances have a good chance of costing you more at the end of the day.

Your choice of health insurance is ultimately determined by your needs and budget.

Take your time to compare the offers. The most expensive is not always the best and the cheapest may end up costing you more in the future.

Talk to one of more insurance brokers for a comparison. Brokers don't charge you anything for their services.

Differences between Thai health insurances and overseas health insurances:

International Health Insurances:

1. Higher overall benefit limits, anywhere up to 2 million USD.

2. Most companies have no traveling restrictions except for the USA. You are covered for everything except Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, anywhere in the world including Medical Evacuation costs.

3. All International companies adjust their premiums annually to compensate for continually changing medical costs and worldwide inflation. For well managed health insurance companies, this adjustment can range anywhere from Zero to 10%. For poorly managed companies, the increase can easily reach as high as 25%.

4. The cheapest plan from any International company will pay for a normal private room in any hospital in the world. There are usually no limits for the room rates, just as long as the room rate is comparable to other hospitals in the same area.

5. International Health Insurance plans will pay ALL In-Patient expenses as long as they have been sent an invoice beforehand. It is important that you contact the insurance company before being admitted to the hospital and to make sure the hospital sends invoices to the insurance company to avoid unnecessary delays.

6. As long as you continue to pay the premiums before the due date, you are guaranteed renewal of your annual policy, Certain Insurance companies have limits on the maximum renewal age; others have no limits.

Local Health Insurances:

1. Cheaper overall premiums with corresponding lower coverage limits. Health cover benefits are very generous when compared to premiums charged.

2. Many plans include a range of sub-limits to costs of treatment, such as Surgeons Fees, Hospital General Expenses, Room and Board, Ambulance….etc.

3. Premium rates do not reflect the actual cost of insuring persons at each age group because premium rates are not adjusted annually to compensate for changing medical costs and inflation.

4. Renewal Premium rates are not guaranteed. If you are a healthy person with no claims, you can expect to pay the same premiums as other persons in your age group. If you are sick and have claims that have cost the insurance company money, your renewal premiums will be loaded by a percentage based on the size of the claims incurred by the Insurance Company. These loadings can range anywhere from 10% to 100% and are applied each year as a factor to the basic premium you pay. In later years, these loadings are compounded for each significant claim paid by the Insurance Co.

5. Renewal of your Local Health Insurance is not automatic. The policy is year by year. If the Insurance Company decides not to renew your policy, they have the right to refuse renewal. This is allowed by the Office of Insurance Commission.

6. Local Health Insurance companies include a 30 day waiting period at the start of the policy for illness claims. There is no waiting period for Accident claims. There is also a 6 month waiting period for a few medical conditions, see list below.

i. Benign or malignant tumor, cancer, polyps or cysts.

ii. Hemorrhoid.

iii. Hernias.

iv. Pterygium, pinguecula or cataract.

v. Tonsilectomy or adenoidectomy

vi. Stones

vii. Endormetriosis.

viii. Varicose veins.

ix. Hallux valgus.

x. Ganglion.

Other than Thai government hospitals, it is possible to use private hospitals that are not on the list of providers.

The main thing to understand is the contracted hospitals are only contracted to follow a set procedure on claims.

The contract between the hospitals and insurance companies are not contract guarantees for payment of all claims.

Follow this procedure when you need to use a hospital that is not on the list of providers:

1. Call the insurance company as soon as reasonable; or at least 24 hours before admission to the medical center. Some companies require 72 hours notice.

2. Provide your name, policy number, telephone number, and location of planned treatment, dates of treatment and the name of the Specialist / Doctor treating you.

3. When the insurance company has sufficient information to appraise the claim, written confirmation will be dispatched to you and the medical center will be paid directly.

4. If you should undergo treatment before obtaining confirmation from the insurance company, you may not receive a full refund for all expenses.

5. If the hospital fails to supply all required information and documents to the insurance company, you may have to pay first and claim back the medical costs later. Original documents must be sent to the insurance company to pay the claim.

6. Claims are processed faster if you call the insurance company prior to a claim.

Government hospitals, in some cases, have better facilities.

If you have to use a government hospital, do so without fear that your claim will not be paid.

All insurance companies will pay bona fide claims after they are supplied with all supporting documents.

Remember that only original documents and receipts must be sent to the insurance companies.

Copies cannot be used and will only slow down the claims process.

Standard instructions for all my customers that require Non-Emergency In-Patient treatment at a hospital:

1. Call the insurance company as soon as reasonable; or at least 24 hours before admission to the medical center. Some companies require 72 hours notice.

2. Provide your name, policy number, telephone number, and location of planned treatment, dates of treatment and the name of the Specialist / Doctor treating you.

3. When the insurance company has sufficient information to appraise the claim, written confirmation will be dispatched to you and the medical center will be paid directly.

4. If you should undergo treatment before obtaining confirmation from the insurance company, you may not receive a full refund for all expenses.

5. If the hospital fails to supply all required information and documents to the insurance company, you may have to pay first and claim back the medical costs later. Original documents must be sent to the insurance company to pay the claim.

6. Claims are processed faster if you call the insurance company prior to a claim.

The majority of my insurance customers don't read the policy wording, so what the agent and broker tells them is of utmost importance.

In order to provide a speedy claims processing service, it is always in the best interests of the customer to call the insurance company at their earliest opportunity.

Don't wait till you get to the hospital before informing the insurance company.

The company I work with, represents 8 health insurance companies.

We broker all types of insurance but specialize in health insurance.

I can email you more info, I'll send you a pm with my email address.

International health insurance companies:

1. Higher overall benefit limits, anywhere up to 2 million USD.

2. Most companies have no traveling restrictions except for the USA. You are covered for everything except Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, anywhere in the world including Medical Evacuation costs.

3. All International companies adjust their premiums annually to compensate for continually changing medical costs and worldwide inflation. For well managed health insurance companies, this adjustment can range anywhere from Zero to 10%. For poorly managed companies, the increase can easily reach as high as 25%.

4. The cheapest plan from any International company will pay for a normal private room in any hospital in the world. There are usually no limits for the room rates, just as long as the room rate is comparable to other hospitals in the same area.

5. International Health Insurance plans will pay ALL In-Patient expenses as long as they have been sent an invoice beforehand. It is important that you contact the insurance company before being admitted to the hospital and to make sure the hospital sends invoices to the insurance company to avoid unnecessary delays.

6. As long as you continue to pay the premiums before the due date, you are guaranteed renewal of your annual policy, Certain Insurance companies have limits on the maximum renewal age; others have no limits.

Local Health Insurances:

1. Cheaper overall premiums with corresponding lower coverage limits. Health cover benefits are very generous when compared to premiums charged.

2. Many plans include a range of sub-limits to costs of treatment, such as Surgeons Fees, Hospital General Expenses, Room and Board, Ambulance….etc.

3. Premium rates do not reflect the actual cost of insuring persons at each age group because premium rates are not adjusted annually to compensate for changing medical costs and inflation.

4. Renewal Premium rates are not guaranteed. If you are a healthy person with no claims, you can expect to pay the same premiums as other persons in your age group. If you are sick and have claims that have cost the insurance company money, your renewal premiums will be loaded by a percentage based on the size of the claims incurred by the Insurance Company. These loadings can range anywhere from 10% to 100% and are applied each year as a factor to the basic premium you pay. In later years, these loadings are compounded for each significant claim paid by the Insurance Co.

5. Renewal of your Local Health Insurance is not automatic. The policy is year by year. If the Insurance Company decides not to renew your policy, they have the right to refuse renewal. This is allowed by the Office of Insurance Commission.

6. Local Health Insurance companies include a 30 day waiting period at the start of the policy for illness claims. There is no waiting period for Accident claims. There is also a 6 month waiting period for 10 medical conditions.

7. Local Health Insurances have time limits on travel outside of Thailand; some companies limit you to 90 days travel each year.