British woman seriously injured in Thailand taxi crash forced to pay £35,000 after wrongly believing she had travel insurance with bank

[Andrew65]

1 minute ago, AsiaHand said:

Because unlike in any other country,the enforcement of taxis having to properly carry insurance is almost non existence.The judge (were she to take this to court would almost certainly say that since the taxi driver cannot pay then your are the one because you are a foreigner from the UK and probably rich anyway.

If it were in Saudi Arabia, the attitude there would be if you hadn't have been in Saudi, then the accident wouldn't have happened.

[Stoker58]

Serious question.....anyone know what insurance cover the law in Thailand requires taxi drivers to have?

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, KittenKong said:

You would think that the taxi would have commercial insurance to cover passengers, wouldn't you?

Yes you would, but "This is Thailand".

[Psimbo]

'Forced to pay' is the phrase being used by the UK tabloids, who love a story like this. The true story may be somewhat different.

 

Either the driver responsible for the crash or the taxi driver's insurance should cover this- its a case for their insurers to sort out. It's not an issue for travel insurance. BPH loves to rack up bills when insurance is involved. if ne of the vehicles are insured the drivers should be prosecuted by the cops then sued by the insurance companies (even though that will not happen)

 

People are too quick to rush off  to or depend on  crowd-funding sites these days.

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

Public service vehicle..oh please

Lets all embellish and twist the words so as to turn another sad story into another a thai bashing exercise. 

I really do despair at the mindset of many ( not all ) on here.

How many of us on here have got on the back of a 'public service ' motorbike taxi?

How do we know he has insurance?

We wouldnt understand the documents in any case.

Imagine trying to sue.

There's a reason everything is so cheap.

But you expect switzerland on the cheap

Then again the tone of your post strongly suggests you could never be content.

This woman clearly didnt do her homework.

She has had a tragic and costly accident. You seem hellbent on twisting this so that the thais are portrayed as bad guys.

 

They are the bad guys here, if anyone is running a business transporting people, taxis etc, they should not be allowed to do so without the proper insurance.

The Thai government is 100% to blame for this, I don't think I have to explain it, any fair minded person will know what I mean.

[mercman24]

post 119 thankyou i am well aware, think i have lived here long enough, i was making a point, lesson  not needed.

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, 2008bangkok said:

What about all the Thais they probably dont have insurance so whats the difference?  On this case she thought she did have insurance. Apart from that surely the taxi must have insurance, liability etc

"Apart from that surely the taxi must have insurance, liability etc".

Only one answer to this. This is Thailand.

[Curmudgeon1]

20 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

Public service vehicle..oh please

Lets all embellish and twist the words so as to turn another sad story into another a thai bashing exercise. 

I really do despair at the mindset of many ( not all ) on here.

How many of us on here have got on the back of a 'public service ' motorbike taxi?

How do we know he has insurance?

We wouldnt understand the documents in any case.

Imagine trying to sue.

There's a reason everything is so cheap.

But you expect switzerland on the cheap

Then again the tone of your post strongly suggests you could never be content.

This woman clearly didnt do her homework.

She has had a tragic and costly accident. You seem hellbent on twisting this so that the thais are portrayed as bad guys.

 

The crime here is insurance companies charge half of what they do in the West and cover 1/20th... it's criminal. 

[MrJohnson]

I do feel sorry for this young woman, however traveling without adequate insurance is just asking for trouble. The chattering classes can debate all day long about who should or shoudn't pay, who  is or who is not responsible, what is and what is not fair. But the fact of the matter is that for the injured party there is only one thing that matters and that is that you get adequate treatment and can be repatriated expeditiously.  One only has to look at the road fatality statistics in this country to get a sense of how dangerous it is to travel on the roads. I for one will not take a taxi or any vehicle now unless there are seat belts. I trust my own driving so actually drive myself where possible. This may not however be advisable for the average tourist. The sooner that the Thai government brings in compulsory insurance the better. I wish this young lady a speedy recovery and return to the UK.

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, thedemon said:

There must be at least some insurance coverage from the compulsory 3rd party insurance on the vehicle. 

 

On top of that, the police should have seized the vehicles involved so that the fault party has to pay or they don't get their vehicle back.

I repeat. This is Thailand.

[NoshowJones]

18 hours ago, stevenl said:

Accident insurance for passengers is compulsory.

Then the poor girl has nothing to worry about. Oh wait!

[marko kok prong]

Incredibly as i was driving to Kanchanaburi the other day on a two lane highway,a medium sized truck was coming the wrong way down the shoulder,nothing extraordinary there but as i moved over a 4 wheel drive was coming the wrong way down the fast lane,straight at me ,luckily i had just enough room to get between them,i have seen a lot of crazy driving here,but this took my breath away,lucky the road was quiet,but what the hell was the other car doing?

[captspectre]

this is getting to be a habit with the european tourist!  the third or fourth time this tourist season? AND the wet season is supposed to be ow travel. and as for the taxi company paying, even though in the civilized world that would be the law, not here!

 

[Russell17au]

4 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

People still banging on about this.

Trying to blame thailand instead of the lady who didnt organise her insurance?

Golden rule for many ( not all ) on here is whenever possible and no matter how trivial, unreasonable or unmanageable the event...blame the thais. A very very tragic way to live out the rest of ones life.

Its awful isnt it?

Thailand being the only country in the world where shonky taxis operate, small businesses dont comply with the norms of 'good old back home' etc etc.

Lets all have a damn good sob, stamp our feet and lament why the world isnt the way we fogies believe it should be.

Dammit we british built an empire and those disrespectful jonny foreigners didnt do as we told them. They all deserve a damn good thrashing or at least a sneering post on a messageboard. That'll teach em.

Wow that feels better.

Wake up expatthailover and get your head out of the clouds and come down to where the real world is. Firstly the driver of the taxi is a Thai and the driver of the truck is a Thai, so now that means I will be thai bashing because it was the stupid action by a THAI driver that has caused this accident that this woman is a victim of and it is the tight walleted THAI's who have not taken out the proper insurance as is required by Thailand for the registration of their vehicles and a Thai vehicle for hire (taxi) has not taken out the proper insurance to protect his passengers. When I register my car here in Thailand I MUST have 3rd party insurance to cover my passengers. Where is the THAI truck drivers insurance and where is the THAI taxi drivers insurance.

[Thaidream]

21 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

21 hours ago, mercman24 said:

driver, i drive , you sit in the back lol,, 

Public service vehicle..oh please

Lets all embellish and twist the words so as to turn another sad story into another a thai bashing exercise. 

I really do despair at the mindset of many ( not all ) on here.

How many of us on here have got on the back of a 'public service ' motorbike taxi?

How do we know he has insurance?

We wouldnt understand the documents in any case.

Imagine trying to sue.

There's a reason everything is so cheap.

But you expect switzerland on the cheap

Then again the tone of your post strongly suggests you could never be content.

This woman clearly didnt do her homework.

She has had a tragic and costly accident. You seem hellbent on twisting this so that the thais are portrayed as bad guys.

 

This isn't a question of Thais being painted as bad guys- and I don't expect Switzerland on the cheap.  Thailand wants to be regarded as a  newly industrialized country and has a myriad of laws covering liability for public transportation.   The Lorry as a commercial vehicle must have liability insurance as well as any Taxi picking up passengers.  Public vehicles are subject to yearly inspections as well as insurance verification.

 

It is the wealthy owners of commercial companies that skirt the laws and are allowed to do so.  It is incumbent upon the regulating body and the Thai Government to stop allowing commercial vehicles to break the law.

 

This lady should not have to pay anything as she incurred no fault and it is incumbent upon the Government to protect tourists since they  actively ask  millions to come to Thailand.  This  person's family should make a formal complaint with the Thai Government via a competent lawyer and initiate a lawsuit.

 

Whether she had travel insurance or not is not the issue and even if she did- the Travel insurance might not cover something like this as she was a passenger.

 

No one is bashing Thai people- but at the very least since there are regulations they need to be enforced.

[captspectre]

55 minutes ago, Curmudgeon1 said:

The crime here is insurance companies charge half of what they do in the West and cover 1/20th... it's criminal. 

not ME tonto! I would never be stupid enough to get my lovely body on a motor bike driven by a thai!  the russians have a word for it, it is called "russian" roulete!

 

[meechai]

21 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Stories like this really piss me off. If you are in a taxi and it has an accident, his insurance should cover any medical expenses, especially if you do not have your own. On that note though, I am continuously shocked how many stupid people, (and if you come somewhere dangerous like Thailand without insurance, you are stupid), either have no insurance or do not bother to check their coverage. Maybe time for the Government to force people entering the country to show proof of adequate coverage, or for them to be forced to buy a package at the point of entry to cover them.

Exactly on both counts

 

1- Amazing Thailand where a customer/passenger has to pay medical & not the driver or the company the driver works for.

If it was in the USA I dare say the passenger would be not only not pay medical bills but also be paid a large sum for the trouble

 

2- As you say it is nuts to enter Thailand uninsured anymore

Yes Thailand will need to force folks or suffer the bill themselves

[Borzandy]

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

I was hit by a motorcycle taxi. He gave me a free ride to the hospital.

I was hit  by a black pickup, he almost killed me, he didn't stop and someone has to carry me to hospital.

[Thaidream]

The taxi driver may have rented the taxi from a company that rents out hundreds- in either event - that Company must carry liability insurance. Regarding the lorry- it is most likely owned by a company and used as a commercial vehicle transporting goods and is required to have commercial liability insurance.

 

If neither the owners of the taxi nor the lorry obtained commercial liability insurance they are still liable . This would involve a  good legal team that deals with foreigners to seek relief from the responsible party.

 

I am not sure travel insurance would have covered a situation in which a person is riding in a commercial vehicle in  Thailand..

 

Thailand could readily solve these problems by creating a special fund to pay for medical expenses of tourists who find themselves in this situation.  Add a charge of  500 Baht to an air ticket in the same manner as a security charge.  The Thai Government could also pay the medical bills in these situations and then send the bill to the responsible commercial owner.

[stanleycoin]

Just now, Borzandy said:

I was hit  by a black pickup, he almost killed me, he didn't stop and someone has to carry me to hospital.

That's about right for the third world nature of Thailand when it comes 

to the Roads, Driving and Riding.

[Bantex]

Another GoFundMe beggar trying to live on the cheap and not willing to take responsibility for themselves. I just checked their GoFundMe page and of the £35,000 asked for £32,725 was raised in one day. She is a travel agent and should know better. If she thought she had insurance through her bank then its obvious that she didn’t read the policy details.

 I have a credit card that gives Travel insurance but I checked the cover it offered and I decided it was grossly inadequate and took out annual travel insurance with the cover I needed.

[gbswales]

Well it may still be that she will be able to claim against the party at fault in the accident or of course against the liability insurance of the taxi driver - assuming of course that it was not one of the many illegal taxis.  However such claims are often slow to process and it may be that the hospital are not prepared to wait several months for payment especially as it is a farang who will no longer be in the country by then.  If she has not done so already she should seek help from British embassy/consulate and retain the service of a Thai solicitor (one recommended by the embassy) to issue proceedings against the taxi driver and/or the driver of the other vehicle.  She would also be advised to ask for a copy of the police report and keep all receipts and any other paperwork.    If she pursues this avenue she may eventually get  compensation for the event.  I imagine a lot of you will post the usual cynical remarks rubbishing the Thai legal system but in my view what she needs is a  reliable (and honest) lawyer who understands it and knows how to win compensation.

Of course at the moment her concern will be recovery and getting back home so possibly the embassy can appoint someone to get the ball rolling for her - in the meantime we of course hope for her speedy recovery.

Edited May 11, 2018 by gbswales

[Russell17au]

2 minutes ago, Bantex said:

Another GoFundMe beggar trying to live on the cheap and not willing to take responsibility for themselves. I just checked their GoFundMe page and of the £35,000 asked for £32,725 was raised in one day. She is a travel agent and should know better. If she thought she had insurance through her bank then its obvious that she didn’t read the policy details.

 I have a credit card that gives Travel insurance but I checked the cover it offered and I decided it was grossly inadequate and took out annual travel insurance with the cover I needed.

Did you also check both the taxi and the trucks insurance as really this matter has nothing to do with her travel insurance because she is an innocent victim of a road accident. Just out of curiosity when you checked your cover did you look at whether you were covered as a passenger on a train, bus or in a taxi if they were involved in an accident?

[joecoolfrog]

22 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Stories like this really piss me off. If you are in a taxi and it has an accident, his insurance should cover any medical expenses, especially if you do not have your own. On that note though, I am continuously shocked how many stupid people, (and if you come somewhere dangerous like Thailand without insurance, you are stupid), either have no insurance or do not bother to check their coverage. Maybe time for the Government to force people entering the country to show proof of adequate coverage, or for them to be forced to buy a package at the point of entry to cover them.

Yes maybe but definitely a bigger priority is to ensure that public service vehicles have passenger liability insurance. Its a disgrace that an innocent victim gets saddled with a horrendous bill because neither the lorry or the taxi had adequate ( or indeed any ) coverage.

Thailand is fond of boasting of its lucrative and ever increasing tourist trade but appears to have very little interest in protecting these guests.

[Russell17au]

3 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

Yes maybe but definitely a bigger priority is to ensure that public service vehicles have passenger liability insurance. Its a disgrace that an innocent victim gets saddled with a horrendous bill because neither the lorry or the taxi had adequate ( or indeed any ) coverage.

Thailand is fond of boasting of its lucrative and ever increasing tourist trade but appears to have very little interest in protecting these guests.

It is not only the tourist trade that this affects, it also affects everyone whether they are Thai, expats or tourists that travel on any public transport in Thailand whether it be taxi, motorbike taxi, songteaw, train, tuk tuk or normal bus service, the question now is are the passengers covered by insurance when traveling on public transport in Thailand.

[tropo]

7 hours ago, Blackheart1916 said:

What are LCCs? Most of my bookings are through Expedia, and the insurance option always comes up. For short trips I will take it after adding in what I need, for longer periods i will shop around and have a closer look.

Low-cost carriers or budget airlines. They have cheap insurance options covering the flight, but not comprehensive vacation insurance packages.

[Bob in Pakchong]

23 hours ago, KittenKong said:

You would think that the taxi would have commercial insurance to cover passengers, wouldn't you?

My daughter of 18 years old was struck by a truck & died instantly last week, the truck driver was uninsured, so far to add insult to us we have been offered 100,000 baht , we are still in mourning & will never ever get over this sad tragedy   

[khunPer]

22 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Stories like this really piss me off. If you are in a taxi and it has an accident, his insurance should cover any medical expenses, especially if you do not have your own.

This is what I believe most folks think, when they enter a proper looking taxi – believe I also read in the news that all metered taxis shall have an extended insurance covering the passengers – however the article says "local taxi" only, which don't state if it was a Taxi-Meter or like company, or a private car driving for a fee; the latter could have only mandatory third-party insurance, which covers next-to-nothing; i.e. up to 70,000 baht in medical only.

 

I would expect a proper looking taxi to have an insurance covering the passengers, and me when I'm the passenger – especially important for those expats staying without a (huge) health insurance, but a typical Thai Personal Accident insurance only with fairly low medical cover – however I would never be travelling abroad as tourist without an insurance, as it's relative small money for a high value coverage compared to general travel costs. Furthermore, if offered something for "free" or as complimentary service, like a bank's MasterCard with insurance, I'll doublecheck the conditions for when I'm covered; i.e. with MC all (major check-able) travel expenses need to be paid for with the MC to be covered.

 

It's also not clearly reported about police report, and which part might be of fault; i.e. if it's the lorry, and about that vehicle's insurance cover.

 

Another sad go-fund-me story – which in the unbearably bright light of hinsigt could have been avoided – however, I sincerely wish the young couple to have a fast recovery, and that their financial troubles will be solved.

[Russell17au]

There are a lot of comments been made on this thread that the young lady should have checked her insurance and that her being a travel agent she should have known better. I ask you that are making these comments since when have the insurance companies declared that you are not covered when traveling on public transport of which a taxi is. I suggest that you all go and check your insurance policies to see what else is exempted in the policies. This is not about her insurance but about how any vehicle is allowed on the road without the 3rd party insurance that is required by law for a vehicle to be registered and taxed. Also why a public passenger vehicle is allowed to operate without the proper public liability insurance that covers the passengers.

[Just Weird]

22 hours ago, Ralf61 said:

Yes, she should, but who can understand (or even read) 15 pages of "Terms and Conditions", font size 4?

No one has to do that except in your imaginary world.