Brit Faced Large Bill After Thailand Bike Crash

40 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

Wait a minute. Why the aggressiv approach. It's my impression that most long term expats do indeed have a valid Thai license for motorbike. It's incredibly easy to get, you need no motorbike experience at all. 50 general traffic questions, 45 correct answers (I got 48 at first try) , a ridicolously easy reaction and color test, and you're good to go.

Why this approach?

Because you don't have a licence for a motorcycle either in Thailand or your home country, yet you are commenting on them as if you had knowledge and experience. Yes, I have a Thai car and used to have an m/c licence. You need, apart from tests, to take various tests. Most of the opinions voiced on this thread are from the perspective of ignorance about the incident, driving in Thailand and, in particular, road safety. ... or they wouldn't be harping on about licences and insurance policies they haven't read. People seem to think because they have a licence, they must be some kind of "expert".

I know several expats who never got a Thai driving licence of any kind and think if they have an IDP, they can blag their way through it and the reason many of them don't have a D/L is because they failed the Thai test and then continue to drive – this means they are driving illegally, uninsured, but still think they can criticise the guy in the OP.

3 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

because of exclusions he had not been aware of.

had he taken the time to read the policy then he would have been aware. alternatively, he could have requested of the insurance company; please include cover for riding a motorcycle. it's not rocket science.

easy to be a smart arse after the event – have you read your plicy Thai or foreign?

No helmet maybe no license of course,The begging bowl come alive again please help.Bank of mum and dad instead of the begging bowl.It was not my fault does not matter you have no license or helmet and insurance will never cover u.suck it up

9 hours ago, kwilco said:

Because you don't have a licence for a motorcycle either in Thailand or your home country, yet you are commenting on them as if you had knowledge and experience.

What are you on about..

You don't know me, and you're obviously confusing me with someone else here. That was my first comment on this thread.

Me, I certainly have both bike and car licence.

14 hours ago, kwilco said:

It is a wonderful country to ride any motorbike and with all the traffic on Thai roads being 2-wheelers, you're in great company, with parking and many other facilities... not mention the glorious weather

I know what you mean, I live in Phuket and I feel so alone and unwanted when I drive my car as I can not share in the true close knit bond of motorcycle riders who are so close to each other they seem to hug now and then as they crash into each other.

It is so lonely to be sat with four other people in the car each feeling alone and unloved as bike riders are.

The weather in my car is not great, it is cold sometimes, it might be something to do with the air-con and the shade from the sun saving my skin from become elephant like after years of sun damage.

I avoid using the many free car parks in Phuket at the shopping malls, along the beaches etc, it so horrible in a car, I might swap it for a motorbike and join the fleet of other free mortals on a bike all heading for an early untimely death. 😀

15 hours ago, kwilco said:

"Probably"??? - don't suppose – get the crash report and comment on the evidence. PS – Good luck getting the crash report.

I see so you got the crash report, what did it say?

13 hours ago, Hish said:

Make that "most British travel insurances"

(Not every traveller in Thailand is British.)

No. Travel Medical insurance is typically structured as a reimbursement of expense contract.

My Group Insurance Travel health extension is with Allianz, the large German multinational. The contract summary states;

Provides reimbursement for certain costs for a medical emergency (including hospitalization) that occurs during your trip. Please refer to the policy terms and conditions for full details.

My previous travel coverage with AXA was also a reimbursement format.

I cannot recall ever seeing a direct payment Travel medical Expense contract, expect for the provision when expenses are pre-approved by the insurer. Can you name any international travel medical insurers that pay direct as is done for in-country medical and dental?

3 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

I see so you got the crash report, what did it say?

Read my post. Are you aware of how the RTP handle crashes?

18 hours ago, kwilco said:

have YOU got one??

yes... even a THAI one too... 😝

3 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

No. Travel Medical insurance is typically structured as a reimbursement of expense contract.

My Group Insurance Travel health extension is with Allianz, the large German multinational. The contract summary states;

Provides reimbursement for certain costs for a medical emergency (including hospitalization) that occurs during your trip. Please refer to the policy terms and conditions for full details.

My previous travel coverage with AXA was also a reimbursement format.

I cannot recall ever seeing a direct payment Travel medical Expense contract, expect for the provision when expenses are pre-approved by the insurer. Can you name any international travel medical insurers that pay direct as is done for in-country medical and dental?

I did name some, and I tried to explain what an assistance company does.

Your post just shows that you don't know at all how travel insurances often work, sorry.

Ask the third party payer department in any international hospital for a list of companies with direct billing agreements, maybe they give it to you. Some even publish it on their website.

20 hours ago, kwilco said:

THat's a false definition – you are just relying on semantics that vary between countries.

the Law in Thailand is clear – if it has TWO WHEELS It is a motorcycle. To ride a motorcycle in Thailand, you are required to have a FULL driving licence – no probationary, learners, small bike or any other licence is permitted.

Hold on, so my mountain bike is classed as a motorbike and I need a licence to ride it ?

7 hours ago, Hish said:

I did name some, and I tried to explain what an assistance company does.

Your post just shows that you don't know at all how travel insurances often work, sorry.

Ask the third party payer department in any international hospital for a list of companies with direct billing agreements, maybe they give it to you. Some even publish it on their website.

It is you who does not understand how a Travel Medical Insurance Policy is written. Start by reading the document.

The assistance company you refer to is not the insurer. April Group is a wholesale French insurance broker and Third Party Administrator (TPA). It does not write the contract of indemnification. In the UK, the insurance provided by APril is from AXA XL, the French multinational.

I am fully aware of how travel medical insurance policies work. You are confusing medical benefits under a health insurance policy and a stand alone medical travel insurance policy. As I stated, if medical expenses provided under the travel provisions are pre-approved, they can be paid direct by the insurer. However, almost all are set up as reimbursement, where the insured pays and is then reimbursed by the insurer subject to a deductible and the co-pay or the coverage sublimit. Your imagined scenario of direct payment creates a collections and administration problem where the medical care provider would receive a portion of expenses from the insurer, and then have to collect the deductible and/or co-pay and/or the excess over capped sublimit from the patient. Hospital systems do not invoice on that basis. Unless it is for a pre-approved expenditure, the service provider invoices the patient who then submits a claim to the insurer.

If the Travel Medical Insurance policy was set up as a direct payment format, it would not have specific references to how claims are submitted to the TPA and the REIMBURSEMENT provisions. Using the April Travel Health Insurance wording; Section 7 Claims, page 16.

Upon submission of your first claim, please provide us with your full bank account details for reimbursement.

Section 7.1 page 17

You can submit all reimbursement claims through the Easy Claim app. Here’s how you can do this:

You will be able to track the status of your reimbursement claims in the Easy Claim app and Member Portal

In the event of an "Evacuation", it must be preauthorized and it will use the designated service provider which has the service contract with the designated crisis TPA and insurer. This is where there is a a direct payment to the service provider

Sorry for the Brit of course...but did the bloke rush into Thailand with proper accident insurance coverage ? Of course not as usual...

13 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

I know what you mean, I live in Phuket and I feel so alone and unwanted when I drive my car as I can not share in the true close knit bond of motorcycle riders who are so close to each other they seem to hug now and then as they crash into each other.

Yep, I agree, everyone should drive a car and be real special. Lord knows the Phuket roads are free and clear to accommodate sarcasm.

5 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

It is you who does not understand how a Travel Medical Insurance Policy is written. Start by reading the document.

The assistance company you refer to is not the insurer. April Group is a wholesale French insurance broker and Third Party Administrator (TPA). It does not write the contract of indemnification. In the UK, the insurance provided by APril is from AXA XL, the French multinational.

I am fully aware of how travel medical insurance policies work. You are confusing medical benefits under a health insurance policy and a stand alone medical travel insurance policy. As I stated, if medical expenses provided under the travel provisions are pre-approved, they can be paid direct by the insurer. However, almost all are set up as reimbursement, where the insured pays and is then reimbursed by the insurer subject to a deductible and the co-pay or the coverage sublimit. Your imagined scenario of direct payment creates a collections and administration problem where the medical care provider would receive a portion of expenses from the insurer, and then have to collect the deductible and/or co-pay and/or the excess over capped sublimit from the patient. Hospital systems do not invoice on that basis. Unless it is for a pre-approved expenditure, the service provider invoices the patient who then submits a claim to the insurer.

If the Travel Medical Insurance policy was set up as a direct payment format, it would not have specific references to how claims are submitted to the TPA and the REIMBURSEMENT provisions. Using the April Travel Health Insurance wording; Section 7 Claims, page 16.

Upon submission of your first claim, please provide us with your full bank account details for reimbursement.

Section 7.1 page 17

You can submit all reimbursement claims through the Easy Claim app. Here’s how you can do this:

You will be able to track the status of your reimbursement claims in the Easy Claim app and Member Portal

In the event of an "Evacuation", it must be preauthorized and it will use the designated service provider which has the service contract with the designated crisis TPA and insurer. This is where there is a a direct payment to the service provider

Sorry, I didn't read all of this.

It starts wrong and gets worse.

I am not inclined to teach you. You seem to get your knowledge from reading policies, not from actual work in the travel insurance industry.

But it would be good if you stopped telling people most travel insurance work by reimbursemnt. This is just complete nonsense, and everybody who has practical experience knows this. Did you go and ask a third party payer department at a renowned hospital as I told you ? Did you check some websites of hospitals publishing their direct billing agreements, as I told you?

Have you never known a patient who ran up a bill of millions and never paid a dime himself?

It may be true for British insurances, I don't know.

But the time when British equalled to "most of the world" are long gone.

BTW you mentioned, confusion may arise if the patient pays something, and the insurance pays by direct billing. Yes, this problem does exist. But it's usually a minor problem. Patients usually don't have the money to pay the real big items (costs in Thailand can easily run into millions of Baht, and in China or the US much, much more)

So therefore you are as much in the dark as any of there rest of use then so you opinion on what happened is just that, an opinion like the rest of us.

11 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

Yep, I agree, everyone should drive a car and be real special. Lord knows the Phuket roads are free and clear to accommodate sarcasm.

What is special about driving a car?

It is about as common as using a mobile phone, why do you think it is special to drive a car?

It is not a crazy thing to do like riding a motorbike though in Phuket, that is just plain stupid.

6 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

It is not a crazy thing to do like riding a motorbike though in Phuket, that is just plain stupid.

Motorcycling maybe considered by some to be too sporty and therefore not for them.

39 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Motorcycling maybe considered by some to be too sporty and therefore not for them.

Riding a motorbike in Thailand has nothing to do with sport, dream on, do you imagine you are in a MotoGP race as you toddle along at 50 kph on a Honda 125 😀.

I ride a bicycle here for daily exercise, I do not think I am in the Tour De France each time I ride it.

On 5/16/2026 at 10:12 AM, alien365 said:

Do they even have 50cc here?

Seen some. They exist, but very rare

On 5/16/2026 at 2:32 PM, Toby1947 said:

What about electric type motor cycles which are ready available in Thailand

A cop once told me 500 watts or more needs a helmet and license.

On 5/16/2026 at 10:12 AM, alien365 said:

Do they even have 50cc here?

Honda Gryo 50cc 3-wheeler.

https://fasterwheeler.com/th/bikes/honda-gyro-x-10876

On 5/17/2026 at 8:24 PM, kwilco said:

THat's a false definition – you are just relying on semantics that vary between countries.

the Law in Thailand is clear – if it has TWO WHEELS It is a motorcycle.

You obviously don't understand what I'm trying to say. The guy had a moped license from the UK and thought that that was sufficient to drive here. According to his insurance anything above 50cc is a motorcycle which means he is not qualifies. That has nothing to do with how Thailand categorises their 2-wheelers. It's the UK insurers pov that matters.

On 5/16/2026 at 8:18 AM, Srikcir said:

Because he didn't read through the entire policy as if his life might depend on the policy?>

like most people i imagine,

Although these days it is actually a lot easier to establish exactly what cover you have, Its a lot clearer and there is no actual small print. I think in the UK at least, some regulating body has been busy reigning these insurance companies in.

He was a little unlucky , the last time I bought travel insurance it covered up to 125cc subject to having a valid UK bike licence and that was the cheapest I could find, Don't think I have ever seen a 50cc for hire,

23 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Hold on, so my mountain bike is classed as a motorbike and I need a licence to ride it ?

A mountain bike is classified as a bicycle, not a motor vehicle, and is covered by travelers' insurance policies unless ridden in competitive/sporting events.

3 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Riding a motorbike in Thailand has nothing to do with sport, dream on, do you imagine you are in a MotoGP race as you toddle along at 50 kph on a Honda 125 😀.

I ride a bicycle here for daily exercise, I do not think I am in the Tour De France each time I ride it.

That was a very poor and uneducated guess try 100kph for a 125.

15 minutes ago, Krabi King said:

You obviously don't understand what I'm trying to say. The guy had a moped license from the UK and thought that that was sufficient to drive here. According to his insurance anything above 50cc is a motorcycle which means he is not qualifies. That has nothing to do with how Thailand categorises their 2-wheelers. It's the UK insurers pov that matters.

but anything above 50cc Is a motorcycle there are no mopeds with larger engines that I know of

On 5/17/2026 at 4:06 AM, thaibreaker said:

It probably covered what his license allowed him to ride. If he had only a british license for car, he was allowed to drive a 50cc scooter.

Seems why the claim was denied.

not scooter, moped apparently

On 5/16/2026 at 12:32 PM, Upnotover said:

Indeed there are, unfortunately as is normal they appear not to have been. But clearly the rider had come to that conclusion, or at least so he claims.

one question I would be asking is just exactly how critical it was to have his injuries treated here ? Thai hospitals in tourist areas don't miss a trick

11 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

one question I would be asking is just exactly how critical it was to have his injuries treated here ? Thai hospitals in tourist areas don't miss a trick

His economy ride back to blighty might have been somewhat uncomfortable......"Jude suffered a broken shoulder, broken arm, broken nose and a shattered elbow in the crash"

4 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

but anything above 50cc Is a motorcycle there are no mopeds with larger engines that I know of

I am not claiming there are. On the contrary, I actually said 50cc + is a regarded a motorcycle. And that's exactly why he wasn't covered.

Comprehensive reading seems hard these days.