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

[Regyai]

This old chestnut!

 

There are the contractual terms as written and agreed to by both parties

 

and there are the assumed/imagined terms mewed about by the laissez-faire victims of their own negligence after they've been bitten (both metaphorically and as in this instance literally)

[SunsetT]

7 hours ago, Tilacme said:

The most i could get travel insurance for was 45 days.

Well try other companies for 'single trip' insurance.

[shy coconut]

7 hours ago, Dave67 said:

Between Jobs, in Thailand, I got 6 months insurance which covers in SE Asia with a company that rhymes with specific toss

 

I filled out a questionnaire to buy the insurance when I needed to use I got the first hospital and transferred to ICU the insurance company bottled out and asking for my Medical records from the UK. luckily I'd started work for a huge Japanese company in Vietnam and they put a guarantee of payment for $16,000, I had 2 stents fitted through my arm, mainly because and the veins in my arms are bigger than most because of the time I spend in the gym. Back on my feet next day and back on light duties for a week. Fitter than when I went in. Another 3 weeks and I'm back in the gym

 

I'm ditching them and my new life insurance has a stringent medical checkup before they sell you cover

 

Moral of the story, if you have filled out a questionnaire for you health insurance including life cover you will be abandoned when you need them the most

Although it has been established that the unfortunate Norwegian was not covered, did your questionnaire

cover the outcome of a shark bite?

[Dave67]

3 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Although it has been established that the unfortunate Norwegian was not covered, did your questionnaire

cover the outcome of a shark bite?

Probably would have could be classed as accident and swimming is not a dangerous sport

[lordblackader]

The problem is if he was here for over 3 months, he wasn't traveling. On a 12 month travel insurance policy, it only covers the one destination for no more than 90 days. If he wasn't traveling, he should have had normal medical insurance -that's not rocket science. Pointing the finger at the insurance company is rubbish. 

[atyclb]

22 minutes ago, Thomas Hannah said:

Rubbish.If you get it for the year.It allows you 90 days of stay at anytime.this is what he would have had.But it looks like he was there longer.19 stitches is not a large wound.Looks like the hospital was milking the insurance,300000 baht is a joke.

 

they may have also repaired some tendons and ligaments and deep wounds may have been closed with multi level sutures but still crazy expensive

[madmitch]

12 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

I take out travel insurance every winter for 6 months as a 'single trip'. You provide the dates of leaving and return. Some used to limit cover to 180 days when I needed 183 days but my present UK company 'justcover.com' does not. Some companies also stipulate cover must start and finish in home country.

 

....But you are right in that, although they are some of the richest financial institutions in the World, many are also the scum of the Earth in how they do absolutely anything they can to make it as difficult as possible to claim  or wriggle out of paying genuine claims. Also I dont know how they get away with making their small print so difficult to understand that most people cannot understand it.

All contracts, whether it's insurance, a purchase or an agreement when you download a piece of software or sign up to something online, are written in legalese. Why? Because it's the language of the courts and is the most appropriate language to avoid and/or settle disputes and ambiguities. 

 

Insurance contract wordings are currently much simpler than they were a couple of decades ago as those in the business attempted simple language contracts but it's still written in a legalistic way; there's no other safe way to write contracts. The exclusion and coverage sections are generally fairly easy to understand and there's no need to wade through the rest of the policy; just read these important sections. You don't need to read the how to make a claim section until it's actually necessary.

 

And, for those that mentioned it, Acts of God are not excluded by insurance companies. It's a myth. As an atheist I would argue in Court that nothing is an Act of God, therefore any supposed excluded peril is covered.

[Tchooptip]

1 hour ago, Bill Miller said:

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..

I had tachycardia in the middle of the night I went to a  Bangkok Hospital after a few intravenous injections my heart came back to normal, but they kept me in ICU during the day. There is no  cardiologist full time in the hospital so I had an appointment for a few days later, after looking every exam and ECC they made in the night  the cardiologist told me I do not know why they kept you in ICU till 4 PM , it was unnecessary they could have sent you home on the same morning, then he whispered Pffff this hospital is only after money,  how much did you pay? 45 000 ฿ He looks again at the ECC of the night and said I would like to see an echography of your heart, he smiled ,I will not bill it, like that you will not pay for it. 

[Coaster11]

Travel insurance for up to 18 months is available.

[Dino 308]

I think that if the insurance company is named and if they are caught referring to some "fine prints" in the contract they will rethink and pay up, brand image would be damaged otherwise.

Insurance companies are parasites and you have to be smart not letting them avoid payments as they are told to by their management

[scubascuba3]

I think that if the insurance company is named and if they are caught referring to some "fine prints" in the contract they will rethink and pay up, brand image would be damaged otherwise.
Insurance companies are parasites and you have to be smart not letting them avoid payments as they are told to by their management

But the guy didn't read the obvious and clear policy doc on the cover?

[spermwhale]

8 hours ago, Tilacme said:

The most i could get travel insurance for was 45 days.

People are too lazy to read the fine print in insurance policies. If they buy it from a website they will likely not read the details and understand how it works. Every insurance policy has exclusions and it's up to the buyer to read it thoroughly. And his wife get's pissed at local authorities. Why? This was an incident caused by a creature in its natural habitat. 

 

[masterpasser]

8 hours ago, hagler said:

He didn't have an effective travel insurance policy that covered him.

 

Therein lies the issue.

 

A lot of policies are "time limited" .

 

His obviously was.

 

Caveat emptor

Love it - Caveat Emptor 

[BwindiBoy]

3 hours 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!

The Norwegian bought the wrong insurance cover, effectively under-insuring himself the day he stayed longer than he was covered for. It's HIS fault, not the insurance company's.

[Russell17au]

1 hour ago, Marley01 said:

Name and shame this company

No, name and shame the person that did not take out and pay the premiums for the right insurance cover.

Read the brochures and the terms and conditions of the policy before you buy it, if it does not cover what you want then you upgrade and pay the extra premium.

There are too many that do not take out the right insurance and then when they need it and then they find out that they are not covered, this is not the fault of the insurance company it is the fault of the individual who does not pay for the correct cover

[Russell17au]

There are many people on here jumping on the insurance company. Wake up, if you do not take out the correct insurance and pay the correct premium for your coverage then you are not covered and that also includes insurance for houses, cars, house contents, travel, life, health, boat. All insurances have a standard insurance but if you want extra cover then you must have it included in the policy and pay the extra premium. I know many people who under insure there homes because they believe nothing will happen and then one day their house catches fire and is destroyed and then they find that the insurance that they paid for is not enough to rebuild their home and replace everything they lost because they did not take out the right insurance policy.

[Tilacme]

1 hour ago, Thomas Hannah said:

Rubbish.If you get it for the year.It allows you 90 days of stay at anytime.this is what he would have had.But it looks like he was there longer.19 stitches is not a large wound.Looks like the hospital was milking the insurance,300000 baht is a joke.

I had an annual travel insurance policy available only to professionls, the cost was only  few hundred pound but the limit overseas was 45 days.

[Acemaker]

9 hours ago, tingtongtourist said:

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

Taking out Travel Insurance before you leave your Home Country is pretty straight forward actually, you take out the Policy from the Day you depart to the day you actually arrive back in your Home Country, its Bloody simple, you have to be a complete Prat to take out Insurance for 3 Months if you know your going to be staying say 6 months ! check the valid FROM date to the valid UNTIL Date , thats it, and if you do only take it out for 3 months knowing full well your staying more than 3 Months and something happens after the 3 months when the Policy has expired whos Fault is that , DUH !   

[Russell17au]

It appears from some of the things said on here that a lot of people do not know how to get insurance, whether it be health, life, house, or travel insurance. All insurance companies have a basic cover but it is up to you to sit down and tell the insurance company what you want covered (185 days in Thailand with jetski and motorbike cover) then the insurance company can formulate the policy for you and give you the quote for what it is going to cost you as a premium. It is then up to you to either accept that quote and pay that premium or to pay a lesser premium and you take the risk then that nothing is going to happen to you.

This is not the blame of the insurance company, it is the blame of the person taking out the insurance cover

[jimn]

2 hours ago, Telly said:

It is pretty standard for an annual policy to cover 90 days.

That's why on every 89 day I'm on a flight or crossing the border to keep the policy valid.

Another one who dosen't understand how annual policies work. If you have a policy for 90 days it dosen't reset when you cross a border or go home. It will be a 90 day maximum per annum not multiple 90 days in the term of the annual policy. 

[terryofcrete]

4 hours 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!

And get sued , rightly so if the insurance wasn’t valid at the time of the accident. Surely people uunderstand  that if you overstay the number of days for which the insurance policy is taken out  you are not covered. They are not in business to be a charitable foundation. Golden rule, make sure you are covered BEFORE you go. Also most policies exclude existing illnesses , anyone waiting on a medical procedure , and as for cash being stolen... check the policy very carefully for the limit... usually only around €300. The total value of any personal items lost or stolen... same thing... might only be €500,  so if you had your laptop, ipad, phone , and automatic sub machine gun stolen... They could be worth a fortune but the insurers will only pay whatever the amount that is stated in the policy. i think that is obvious as having the correct ticket to board a flight. check it.  Viva James Last ! 

[Tchooptip]

1 hour ago, Russell17au said:

There are many people on here jumping on the insurance company. Wake up, if you do not take out the correct insurance and pay the correct premium for your coverage then you are not covered and that also includes insurance for houses, cars, house contents, travel, life, health, boat. All insurances have a standard insurance but if you want extra cover then you must have it included in the policy and pay the extra premium. I know many people who under insure there homes because they believe nothing will happen and then one day their house catches fire and is destroyed and then they find that the insurance that they paid for is not enough to rebuild their home and replace everything they lost because they did not take out the right insurance policy.

And you can take Russell117's word for it... he is an insurance agent

[Just Weird]

10 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.

The point is that he didn't have an "effective" insurance policy, he obviously had a policy that covered him for a limited time period which is very common.  In return for the lower risk of his only being in Thailand for a limited time he would have paid a lower premium than those staying here more permanently.  If that is the case, which is very likely, then the insurer is not "wriggling out of paying", more the insured was trying to claim for something for which he wasn't covered. 

 

Why should the Hua Hin District Chief or the mayor pay this man's hospital bill and possibly set a precedent for other tourists to make claims, would you advocate that all tourists' medical bills are paid for by local authorities?

[timewilltell]

Insurance companies along with life insurance and pension companies are really a huge scam that goes on with the nod from government. Apart from grabbing your money at which they are very adept to pay for their plush offices in central city locations, they are experts in not paying out. It is all very well saying read the small print, but the small print is the entire set of conditions and get out clauses that run into tens of pages in legalese that most will never read. 

 

High time for control on these companies with a mandatory fund to pay out for cases where the insurer goes broke or fails to comply with plain English advisories at the front if every cover. You rarely get the full story until after you have paid by which time it's too late. The whole - annual cover only covers for three months - is a typical case which invites misunderstanding. 

 

As for the Thais - they always run when faced with paying money but very ready to grab any opportunity that might make them look good, charitable and concerned. Those in government and quite a few others, are way too self centred and self important to be good, charitable or concerned - all if which is fake.

[AWillOz]

This is what makes insurance such an unwanted, regretful, almost (to feel like) extorted payment for us all... We pay their high prices in good faith and they so often just wriggle out of paying back or just plain refuse.... Then you gotta spend $50 000 in court just to get your $20 000 payout. They know this and it sickens me.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, tingtongtourist said:

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

Insurance is not a big scam and any reasons not to pay would be set out in the policy exclusions that insurers always tell you about, if they didn't the policies conditions could not be enforced. 

 

The real problem is that policy holders do not always read the conditions of the policy that they bought even though every insurer's documentation tells the insured to do so.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, madmitch said:

Obviously he didn't have an effective travel policy!

 

Travel policies are time-limited. If he originally booked his holiday and paid his insurance premium for, say, 30 days, then he is covered for 30 days; no more. If he has an annual travel policy that states he's covered for a maximum of 90 days per trip then if he stays longer the insurance cover is void.

 

I can assure you that the vast majority of valid claims in accordance with the terms and conditions of a travel insurance policy are paid with no hassle. But break the terms and conditions and you are not covered. 

 

PR opportunity? Maybe, but does an insurance really want to set a precedent in paying out uninsured claims? 

 

Only just got to your post saying exactly the same thing as I just posted.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, midas said:

" Caveat emptor "

 

Yes indeed! Particularly when it comes to insurance companies

Read the policy conditions and comply with them and you'll have no problems with claims; that's not unreasonable, if you don't like the conditions you don't have to buy the policy. 

[Just Weird]

7 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

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!!!

So much for you not disclosing that you were living in Thailand!  That makes a big difference to an insurers risk.

[peterb17]

3 hours ago, Telly said:

It is pretty standard for an annual policy to cover 90 days.

That's why on every 89 day I'm on a flight or crossing the border to keep the policy valid.

Telly

 

Are you really expecting the wonderful  TV members to really believe that you take a flight to keep an insurance policy valid every 90 days ( instead of paying a bit more for a longer policy)

 

Maybe you have confused this thread with visa runs?