Hua Hin shark attack victim: Insurance won't pay as wife slams authorities

[Kasset Tak]

I had an "international" insurance from back home, paying over $3.500 a year and they refused to pay for hospital as I was living in Thailand... so much for being an "international" health insurance!!!

[Tilacme]

4 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Yes, in some Polynesian countries they are worshiped as Gods,

did you not know that ..

regards Worgeordie

Well they will still need a tray

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

So in  a normal insurance policy,what would a shark attack come under ?

regards worgeordie 

Under a travel, health or even accident policy, a shark bite would not come under the exclusions, therefore would be covered. 

 

The exception could be if the incident occurred during scuba-diving but only if scuba-diving were excluded under the terms and conditions. 

[crazykopite]

A lot of insurance companies will insure you for a 1 year period on proviso you return to your country every 90 days I have to assume his insurance company had this type of clause in its policy

[happy chappie]

300,000baht for 19 stiches.your having a laugh.probably 1,500baht in any other hospital.bkk hospital are a money pit.tried sticking me in icu because I need beta blockers and said it would effect my heart rate and I needed to be near the old electric starter pads.fibulator I think it's called.the doctors are half quack,half taxi driver.the wife needed a growth removed 180,000 in bkk and 30,000 in army hospital.i had stents 300,000 for 2 lots.800,000 in bkk.nothing but a rip off and sense of feeling the more you pay the better the service.

[OmegaRacer]

Why would the Thai authorities have to pay anything? It's not their responsibility.

[DoctorG]

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can't extend travel insurance once its started

Sorry, I did this many times. Away for a very long time but totally unsure of when I would return. (Nomads insurance)

Obviously I cannot speak for the insurance that this fellow had.

 

My second point is to wonder why the wife/gf thought the government should pay. They do not own/control the sharks.

[Time Traveller]

5 hours ago, darksidedog said:

If he had an effective travel insurance policy that gave him cover at the time of the incident, that should not matter.

I dont know who comes off looking worse here, the insurance company for wriggling out of paying or the Hua Hin politicians who were very keen to get a photo with him, but now seem to be washing their hands of it, as it might involve lobbing out some cash. They are both missing a big PR opportunity.

Just another example of why insurance is a scam at best. Insurers can deny paying out for any reason whatsoever.

For those of you who are the cheer squad for compulsory insurance, we see through your lies.

[SpeakeasyThai]

So now its official, Sharks also swim in high rise insurance office towers. Nothing new in that.

[malcoml]

Insurance or not I'm more interested in how 18 stitches can cost a total of 300,000 baht.

[kcpattaya]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

He said if he ever came back he would give him a "special tourist card".

Wishful thinking that is.

It is soooooo typical Thai to only TAKE TAKE TAKE and NEVER GIVE GIVE GIVE. 
 

[SpeakeasyThai]

3 minutes ago, malcoml said:

Insurance or not I'm more interested in how 18 stitches can cost a total of 300,000 baht.

The local head honcho monk blessed each stitch for good luck!

[Puccini]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So in  a normal insurance policy,what would a shark attack come under ?

regards worgeordie 

 

Let's take your own international travel insurance policy as an example. The insurance company probably has an English version of the terms and conditions on its website. Please post a link a link to them and somebody will point you to the paragraph under which a shark attack comes.

[Proboscis]

Lets name and shame the real sharks in this story, which is the insurance company. Tell us the name of the company so that no one will ever be suckered into ever buying insurance from them ever again. That will stop them from hiding their time restrictions in the "small print." Come one, Thai Visa - do us a public service! Name and shame the company!

[off road pat]

Hmm,...My travel insurance covers me and my wife all year round, but only 6 moths in one go abroad, I explain,...we are covered for 6 months when we are in Thailand, if we would fly back to Europe and the next day fly back to Thailand we would be covered for 6 months again. !!!..I have been to the Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin a few years ago. Stayed 22/23 days. My insurance paid 330.000 Thb without a problem. and repatriated my wife and I to Belgium in Business class.

Don't ask me the name of the insurance, it covers only Belgian Citizen. !!!

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So in  a normal insurance policy,what would a shark attack come under ?

regards worgeordie 

Exclusions are mentioned, and this would not be mentioned, therefor not excluded.

[denby45]

1 hour ago, happy chappie said:

300,000baht for 19 stiches.your having a laugh.probably 1,500baht in any other hospital.bkk hospital are a money pit.tried sticking me in icu because I need beta blockers and said it would effect my heart rate and I needed to be near the old electric starter pads.fibulator I think it's called.the doctors are half quack,half taxi driver.the wife needed a growth removed 180,000 in bkk and 30,000 in army hospital.i had stents 300,000 for 2 lots.800,000 in bkk.nothing but a rip off and sense of feeling the more you pay the better the service.

Agree. His injuries were not that bad. should have stuck on a bandaid and be done with it. 30 baht at most.

 

Den

Edited April 30, 2018 by denby45

[NextStationBangkok]

One has to bring the shark along with them for witness to claim the insurance ?

[Bill Miller]

56 minutes ago, happy chappie said:

300,000baht for 19 stiches.your having a laugh.probably 1,500baht in any other hospital.bkk hospital are a money pit.tried sticking me in icu because I need beta blockers and said it would effect my heart rate and I needed to be near the old electric starter pads.fibulator I think it's called.the doctors are half quack,half taxi driver.the wife needed a growth removed 180,000 in bkk and 30,000 in army hospital.i had stents 300,000 for 2 lots.800,000 in bkk.nothing but a rip off and sense of feeling the more you pay the better the service.

Wondering about all this "aftercare" and PT as well.
I had a stroke and went to the Navy hospital in Sattahip, Four days, three nights for observation and stabilization, and two sessions in rehab, "This is what you must do to regain use", then "good luck, out the door, come back in a month, here are your meds. 20,000 baht please".
19 stitches is a bunch, but I am sure most of the after care could be handled on an outpatient basis.
When my youngest sister laid her leg open with a chainsaw and needed forty stitches that is how they handled it in the US..

[jimn]

16 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Lets name and shame the real sharks in this story, which is the insurance company. Tell us the name of the company so that no one will ever be suckered into ever buying insurance from them ever again. That will stop them from hiding their time restrictions in the "small print." Come one, Thai Visa - do us a public service! Name and shame the company!

I am sorry but you are totally wrong here.

Its not the insurance companies fault that the guy was not covered. When taking out insurance you either buy (1) Annual Cover. This covers you for a stated maximum of xx days abroad per year. (2) Single Trip insurance. This covers you for the period requested. (3) Pre Existing Medical Conditiins Single Trip Insurance. (I have this myself and I am covered for 7 months in Thailand.) There are normally restrictions on what hospitals you can go for treatment. ie no Private hospitals only Government hospitals unless agreed by the insurance company.

Reading between the lines on this it appears the guy had insurance but had exceeded the duration of his cover. He was therefore not insured. You cant blame the insurance company for something that is not covered.

[atyclb]

4 hours ago, chuang said:

Staying  in Bangkok Hospital is expensive, i think most people know that....

 

hell yeah..... 19 stitches . more than 9000 usd

[steve73]

If he'd known that his insurance wouldn't cover him he could have moved to a gov't hospital for aftercare, or even, as some have suggested, outpatient service.

 

But unless the hospital actually confirmed that his insurance would not cover him within a short period then they should carry some of the blame.

 

I had a similar experience when I visited a private hospital with back problems.  They initially said I was covered with insurance so I went ahead with surgery... only to be told after that the insurance had refused, and was presented with a 180k bill, for 2 nights.... 

 

Lesson to be learned: confirm that insurance will cover before agreeing to anything other than necessary emergency care.  

[flyingdoc]

Usually travel insurance carries a maximum of 31 days.  After that it is invalid.

[jimn]

2 minutes ago, steve73 said:

If he'd known that his insurance wouldn't cover him he could have moved to a gov't hospital for aftercare, or even, as some have suggested, outpatient service.

 

But unless the hospital actually confirmed that his insurance would not cover him within a short period then they should carry some of the blame.

 

I had a similar experience when I visited a private hospital with back problems.  They initially said I was covered with insurance so I went ahead with surgery... only to be told after that the insurance had refused, and was presented with a 180k bill, for 2 nights.... 

 

Lesson to be learned: confirm that insurance will cover before agreeing to anything other than necessary emergency care.  

I agree. Insurance companies require you or a representative to contact them as soon as possible to confirm that they will cover the claim.

[new2here]

another lesson why not to buy into the big scam that is called insurance.
as it says here, typical insurance from home not cover you after 2 or 3 months abroad.
 
sometimes they tell you, sometimes not. doesnt really matter, as for most claims from incidents in Thailand they could find several reasons not to pay anyway

So long as 1) the time limit was disclosed before purchase and 2) the event or claim falls after the time limit, then I can’t see that being any kind of scam at all.

Scam to me would need some kind of fraud or unjust enrichment.. and so long as points 1 and 2 are correct, then no, I don’t think it is.

I do get it that from a court of public perception position or even “optics” this looks bad... and no one is really going to “feel” for an faceless insurance company, over that of a photographable victim in the hospital.. but.l so long as the policy was rightly disclosed and the claim does in fact fall outside of coverage, then to me that’s fair and right.


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[Pattaya28]

"special tourist card". 

[Pattaya28]

Insurance does not last indefinately.

The policy will always ask the duration of the visit.

They are probably well within their policy rights.

Again, a tourist trying to save money on insurance fees.

[dunroaming]

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

If he had an effective travel insurance policy that gave him cover at the time of the incident, that should not matter.

I dont know who comes off looking worse here, the insurance company for wriggling out of paying or the Hua Hin politicians who were very keen to get a photo with him, but now seem to be washing their hands of it, as it might involve lobbing out some cash. They are both missing a big PR opportunity.

Many travel insurance policies have a limited life.  They are for travellers and tourists and cover a period of time.  My travel insurance is continuous and I pay for that.  Most tourist insurances last for less than three months.

[Chongalulu]

5 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

Most travel insurance have a limit of 90 days written in their policy.

 

I found many years ago one that didn't have that limit, so I thought I was save, but when I had an issue they didn't pay.

 

At that point they claimed that in the policy was written that the insurance was available to residents of my country only, but since I was more than 180 days absent from my country, I was not a resident any more.

 

I checked this with my government, and it was confirmed.

That’s not correct. It means if you qualify as a resident at the time of travel. It is perfectly possible to buy what is often known as a backpackers policy which can be for a travel period of even more than a year -my daughter bought one for her student exchange year abroad at NTU Singapore. No annual multimtrip policy goes beyond 90 days . You simply didn’t buy the correct policy.

[Rimmer]

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