Uninsured British man on way to extend his visa loses leg after horrific motorbike accident

[jenny2017]

6 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

And the French drive on the 'wrong side of the road'

The French. 

[nong38]

I feel for the lad but am amazed how many young people think that they don't need travel insurance when they go travelling, is because they are young and fit that they think that nothing will happen to them or that they think every other country is just like home but a bit hotter?

It is to be hoped that people to make provision for themselves and do not hope for good luck and the goodwill of others to remedy bad luck on Thailand's roads, anyone who uses the roads here knows what to expect and where the pecking order lies, motor cycles give way to lorries regardless of who has the right of way, size counts.

[ukrules]

8 minutes ago, nong38 said:

I feel for the lad but am amazed how many young people think that they don't need travel insurance when they go travelling, is because they are young and fit that they think that nothing will happen to them or that they think every other country is just like home but a bit hotter?

It is to be hoped that people to make provision for themselves and do not hope for good luck and the goodwill of others to remedy bad luck on Thailand's roads, anyone who uses the roads here knows what to expect and where the pecking order lies, motor cycles give way to lorries regardless of who has the right of way, size counts.

He did have insurance, just not enough cover. A common mistake.

 

[dunroaming]

20 hours ago, JOC said:

Second one in 3 days....(Hua Hin 3 days ago).

Both British

Both Uninsured

Both expecting someone else to pick up the bill

 

 

I don't suppose he gave much thought to having an accident and ending up seriously injured in hospital, let alone expecting other people to pick up the bill.  Yes stupid for not getting insurance but he now has life changing injuries and things will never be the same for him.

 

Considering it looks like the other driver was at fault and this young man was wearing a helmet and had the correct legal insurance for the bike, his only "crime" is being the victim of yet another Thai road accident.

[BangkokReady]

I get the impression you guys think he should have had insurance...

[Pat in Pattaya]

2 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

I get the impression you guys think he should have had insurance...

They roll out exactly the same lines every single tim..

 

This really is a very strange forum where nobody has ever made a mistake.

[Thian]

Well i just got reply from the ANWB in holland, for Dutchies the ONLY rule for the IDL is that it's valid 1 year....there's no issue about  3 months in row/a year or whatever...all the info is https://www.anwb.nl/vakantie/thailand/informatie/reisdocumenten

 

It seems that there's a difference between Holland and other EU or Western countries, i don't know..but i told them i'll keep them responsible in case i ever get in trouble for it. If you're Dutch and in trouble because of it you can pm me and i'll send you the email i just received.

 

 

[Russell17au]

7 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

The driver was obviously taught at the red bull driving academy, dragging the guy down the road  = he was not aware he even hit the bike, was he breathalysed or blood tested, where's the log books the great one promised  about 6 months or more ago to stop these maniacs driving on speed and red bull.

The poor guy was lucky to survive, insurance or not he is another victim of Thai mad driver.

Were you at the scene of the accident? Did you witness the accident? Was it the trucks fault? was it the bike riders fault? Was the truck driver on drugs or under the influence of alcohol? Was the bike rider on drugs or under the influence of alcohol? Of course you are correct Mr Judge, Jury and Executioner.

[Tilacme]

Every insured expat here would have to dig into their own pocket should they wind up in this guys unfortunate situation.

[ukrules]

13 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

Every insured expat here would have to dig into their own pocket should they wind up in this guys unfortunate situation.

 

Not true, many people have adequate cover.

 

I have 1.5 Million pounds which is about 66 million THB of insurance cover for everything that could go wrong including any motorcycle accident - I double checked on this with BUPA Global / International from the UK.

 

I would pay the excess which is 22k Baht, nothing more.

 

The problem here is he didn't have enough cover for a very serious accident or illness.

 

I chose my cover quite deliberately so it's not useless when I really need it. I read the small print.

 

It's not exactly cheap but you get the cover you pay for.

[Thian]

24 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

Every insured expat here would have to dig into their own pocket should they wind up in this guys unfortunate situation.

Why's that? i think i have insurances for that.

[dunroaming]

26 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

Every insured expat here would have to dig into their own pocket should they wind up in this guys unfortunate situation.

My travel insurance (through my bank) covers me for up to £500,000 worth of injury and repatriation should I need it when travelling abroad.  Death brings in one million but I don't tell my wife about that, just in case!

 

My insurance is part of a package offered by my bank which also includes home contents insurance, mobile phone insurance and AA breakdown cover.  All for the princely sum of £12 per month.  It does include motorbike accidents, even in Thailand!

Edited March 22, 2018 by dunroaming

[Russell17au]

5 hours ago, Thian said:

Cheers mate, i'll send your reply to the ANWB and wait for their reply.

 

If you're right that means i'm driving motocy/car without a dl so uninsured which is VERY dangerous..i sure don't want that and also Holland sure doesn't want that.  We are a very developed country but are always open for improvements (like this).

 

My wife has a very busy job and not many holidays so it's a waste to go with me and hold my hand while doing the dl-exams..yes i have motocy and car dl from Holland for many decades and never had accidents.

 

But because the ANWB advises people with the wrong info they will be responsible for all the damage done if their advice is wrong (which i think is the case here). 

 

Other worldtravelers should be warned by their homecountries and get the right information. 

 

I'll email them right now and see what they say.

Australia is the same, they issue an international drivers permit that is valid for 1 year which is only valid for 90 days in Thailand, but it is not the issuer's responsibility to know what country you are going to be driving in, it is your responsibility to check the validity of your international drivers permit in what ever country you are going to drive in. As for the 1 year validity and the 90 day validity in Thailand, I was in Thailand for 90 days then I returned to Australia for 30 days then returned to Thailand and my international drivers permit was valid for the first 90 days and it was valid for another 90 days when I returned to Thailand which was inside the 1 year validity of the IDP.

[Tilacme]

5 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

My travel insurance (through my bank) covers me for up to £500,000 worth of injury and repatriation should I need it when travelling abroad.  Death brings in one million but I don't tell my wife about that, just in case!

I did say expat. You are a tourist with 30 day travel insurance. There in lyes a difference.

[Tilacme]

9 minutes ago, Thian said:

Why's that? i think i have insurances for that.

Please look at the print for motorcycle accident.

[Tilacme]

11 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

Not true, many people have adequate cover.

 

I have 1.5 Million pounds which is about 66 million THB of insurance cover for everything that could go wrong including any motorcycle accident - I double checked on this with BUPA Global / International from the UK.

 

I would pay the excess which is 22k Baht, nothing more.

 

The problem here is he didn't have enough cover for a very serious accident or illness.

 

I chose my cover quite deliberately so it's not useless when I really need it. I read the small print.

 

It's not exactly cheap but you get the cover you pay for.

With respect, i don't believe for one second that you have an insurance policy that would pay out bt66 million in medical care and expenses in the event that you have a motorcycle accident in Thailand. 

 

 

[jenny2017]

1 hour ago, dunroaming said:

I don't suppose he gave much thought to having an accident and ending up seriously injured in hospital, let alone expecting other people to pick up the bill.  Yes stupid for not getting insurance but he now has life changing injuries and things will never be the same for him.

 

Considering it looks like the other driver was at fault and this young man was wearing a helmet and had the correct legal insurance for the bike, his only "crime" is being the victim of yet another Thai road accident.

I donated a few bucks and I'm aware that he's still got a long way to go. I also believe that the truck driver caused the accident, the guy had quite a lot of motorcycle driving experience. 

[dunroaming]

13 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

I did say expat. You are a tourist with 30 day travel insurance. There in lyes a difference.

No I had the same level of travel insurance as an expat although I did spend at least two months (in total) a year in the UK.  The cover ran over a twelve month period and covered all countries except war zones. Although back then it was more expensive.  I think £25.00 per month.  Again it was through my bank and the insurance was with Lloyds.

 

Never been a tourist to Thailand but have always travelled extensively on business, therefore insurance was essential. 

[Tilacme]

2 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

No I had the same level of travel insurance as an expat although I did spend at least two months (in total) a year in the UK.  The cover ran over a twelve month period and covered all countries except war zones. Although back then it was more expensive.  I think £25.00 per month.  Again it was through my bank and the insurance was with Lloyds.

 

Never been a tourist to Thailand but have always travelled extensively on business, therefore insurance was essential. 

If you are only in uk for 2 months then you are not on travel insurance as most would know it.  You would be on a specialist policy and i say again, your motorcycle cover in Thailand would be minimal

[marquis22]

The first conscious thought is to donate but really do we only donate to the ones we read about?

What about the ones we don't hear?

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, shackleton said:

Here we go again same old Subject 

Having no travel/ medical insurance in Thailand

how many times has this subject been discussed on this Forum

No doubt will be discussing again  

some people never learn to their cost 

wish the guy a speedy recovery 

No speedy recovery with an injury like that. He might even do better having his leg amputated. I've looked after a guy that had his leg completely mashed by a m'bike accident, but didn't want it amputated, and it was traumatic doing his dressings every day. Degloving is about as bad as it gets without actually losing the leg.

[Russell17au]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Well i just got reply from the ANWB in holland, for Dutchies the ONLY rule for the IDL is that it's valid 1 year....there's no issue about  3 months in row/a year or whatever...all the info is https://www.anwb.nl/vakantie/thailand/informatie/reisdocumenten

 

It seems that there's a difference between Holland and other EU or Western countries, i don't know..but i told them i'll keep them responsible in case i ever get in trouble for it. If you're Dutch and in trouble because of it you can pm me and i'll send you the email i just received.

 

 

It appears that it is hard for you to understand that Thailand dictates how long any IDP is accepted in Thailand, Holland does not dictate to Thailand. Holland the same as Australia issue an IDP which is valid for 1 year but Thailand will only accept that IDP for a maximum of 90 days.

It is not an International Drivers License, it is an International Drivers Permit that is connected to your home country drivers license.

The 90 day limit that is placed on ALL IDP's is in accordance with the laws of Thailand not Holland.

You can enter Thailand and drive on your Dutch IDP for 90 days maximum then if you leave Thailand and go to Singapore and drive around there for 90 days then you return to Thailand you will have another 90 days in Thailand on your Dutch IDP and that covers 270 days of your 1 year IDP

[Russell17au]

Anyone can get any insurance coverage that they want as long as they are willing to pay the premiums for that coverage.

All insurance companies are a rip-off but they will always accept cash premiums

[thaibeachlovers]

33 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

With respect, i don't believe for one second that you have an insurance policy that would pay out bt66 million in medical care and expenses in the event that you have a motorcycle accident in Thailand. 

 

 

That's not what he's claiming. They would pay out for any accident up to 66 million baht, but obviously it's never going to cost anywhere near that in reality.

[bristolgeoff]

please help i,am on the list for begging to help me.no insurance but 50k from government scheme.standard.not from my pocket

[Tilacme]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That's not what he's claiming. They would pay out for any accident up to 66 million baht, but obviously it's never going to cost anywhere near that in reality.

You are obviously a novice on insurance to assume that such rudimentries require explaining.

[ukrules]

16 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

With respect, i don't believe for one second that you have an insurance policy that would pay out bt66 million in medical care and expenses in the event that you have a motorcycle accident in Thailand. 

 

 

Sure I do, it's capped at 1.5 million UK Pounds per year.

 

First there's this :

 

Then this - the full policy document : policy document - bupa global.pdf

 

You might find the above interesting, it really does cover a lot and it's explained in great detail in the PDF which was downloaded last year when I renewed it. Page 27 of the PDF outlines most of the benefits which come into play in an accident.

 

Of course I read this cover to cover before taking out the policy.

 

This level of cover costs 95k Baht a year and it's the best cover I could find, anywhere. It excludes the US.

 

I posted the above information for others who might be reading this thread - if you don't have adequate insurance then now might be the time to buy some - you can get full coverage if you want it.

 

[jenny2017]

14 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Haven't read any explanation of how accident occurred.

I'd assume that the truck driver just didn't see the guy on his bike. It happens way too often here, look at all the stickers they've got on their trucks. And some of them are on their phones. 

[dunroaming]

6 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

If you are only in uk for 2 months then you are not on travel insurance as most would know it.  You would be on a specialist policy and i say again, your motorcycle cover in Thailand would be minimal

Sorry chum, obviously  but I am not making myself clear.  I am separating when I did live in Thailand and my current situation.  My insurance then covered me for all travel over a recurring twelve month period.  It was done through my personal bank account but could have been covered by my business at a higher cost.  At the time (over ten years ago) it was about £25 a month.  Most of the people I knew who travelled on business had the same.

 

Now I live in the UK but still travel a lot on business, mainly to South East Asia but also quite a bit in Europe and the States.  My travel insurance is now part of a package through the bank.  It is through Lloyds (as before so you can guess who I bank with) and includes cover for all vehicle accidents including trains or planes.  Thailand (so far) doesn't have any restrictions although I suspect it will soon as most do these days.  As I am sure you know, with travel insurance the company will look to have local insurances cover the costs and expect those costs to be relevant to any accident.  In other words I have to have local vehicle insurance with whatever vehicle I am driving.  They will then look to them to claim back any payments from the local insurance companies.

 

I hope that clarifies things. 

[Thian]

1 hour ago, Russell17au said:

but it is not the issuer's responsibility to know what country you are going to be driving in, it is your responsibility to check the validity of your international drivers permit in what ever country you are going to drive in

Well when i fill in the papers to apply for IDL i have to tell them which country i'm going to visit because they have different IDL's i guess.

And i have no idea where to check for the validity of my IDL in thailand...also i don't have to because the company who issues them has the responsibility to give me the right info, and that's on their website as well. If they cause me a lot of damage by giving the wrong info they will be responsible.

 

I also drove in Oz for a year with my IDL and that wasn't a problem, also not at policechecks. I never made accidents though except once almost where the Cairns-police themselves drove through red light full speed without wailinglights or sirenes..i was taking a right corner crossing their lane and just stopped in time or we would have had a full crash.