Travel insurance warning as NI man loses leg after Thailand motorbike accident

[ttrd]

9 hours ago, overherebc said:

Unfortunately this is

'No country for safe biking.'

Don't care if you've ridden safely for the past 30 years or not, in fact I believe if you've never come off in your early years of biking the more likely it is to have a bad one here. 

Early on I managed a few 'down the road on my wee pink bum' happenings and they are the best experiences to have to learn what biking is about.

I bought a big bike here

( 1100cc ) after 30 years of UK and EU riding and hung up the helmet after about 2 years here. It was just too scary.

RE - I bought a big bike here

( 1100cc ) after 30 years of UK and EU riding and hung up the helmet after about 2 years here. It was just too scary.

 

I would assume it would have been far safer to hung up the bike rather than just the helmet … 

[zyphodb]

9 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Yawn.

Sell your Kawayamazuki XYZ1100 space ship and buy a RE 500 single.

Tour the countryside taking in all the sights, sounds and smells @ 80 kmph instead of hooning around at 160 kmph.

Or are you saying you'd kill yourself on anything bigger than a stepthru?

 

Me?

I'm off for a ride on my Triumph.

Got to agree, you're far safer on a big bike as long as you ride defensively and not too fast...

[jaiyen]

I very much doubt any travel insurance covers you for an accident on a motorbike. Read the small print. Same as personal insurance doesn't cover you for  bikes, diving, flying,etc. or anything more dangerous than sitting still.

[simon43]

How much is your premium?

I'd love to know too!

 

I mentioned this in a previous post in this thread.

 

This year I was paying $83 USD per month for $500,000 annual cover with an expat provider, with $2,000 USD excess.  I am 3 months off 60 years old.

 

Now I just changed expat insurance providers to improve my cover to $1.2 million USD per year, with $0 excess/copay.  No medical required and the premium is $143 per month.

[emptypockets]

11 hours ago, fisherd3 said:

It will be impossible to formulate any private insurance plan in Thailand that anyone can afford when e.g Bangkok Hospital Rayong charges 34,000 thb for first Rabies shot of a course.

150 baht in deepest darkest Isaan. But you have to have three....ouch 20 bucks.... I'd throw myself off the highest building... but I'd only break a leg.

[emptypockets]

11 hours ago, overherebc said:

Unfortunately this is

'No country for safe biking.'

Don't care if you've ridden safely for the past 30 years or not, in fact I believe if you've never come off in your early years of biking the more likely it is to have a bad one here. 

Early on I managed a few 'down the road on my wee pink bum' happenings and they are the best experiences to have to learn what biking is about.

I bought a big bike here

( 1100cc ) after 30 years of UK and EU riding and hung up the helmet after about 2 years here. It was just too scary.

Where is"here;?

[Sheryl]

Some travel insurance companies do cover bike accidents. Mine does. 
I'm amazed how many expats that live here don't have any insurance  I have many friends that don't  to me that's insane. Medical insurance here is expensive to get a good one it's around 45000 + and most have a ceiling limit here. And a cut of at 70yrs of age. 
I have not found a good expat insurer here that covers your needs for less then 80 000 b a Yr 

Your mistake is looking for a policy here rather than a policy which will cover you here.

There are many internationally based companies which offer expat policies specifically aimed at westerners living in countries other than their own. These offer a better level of cover and lifetime renewal.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[emptypockets]

11 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

This... one thousand times.

 

I rode a Honda GL1000 in the UK.  I rode an off-road trails bike in Myanmar (because the roads were so bad that no vehicle can drive at more than 20 mph!).

 

I would never ride a motorbike in Thailand.

 

 

Funny that... don't know where you rode a bike in Burma but the locals here seem to do alright on the Chinese scooters. Very reliable too.

Edited February 23, 2019 by emptypockets

[overherebc]

18 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Where is"here;?

Make a wild guess.

[Benmart]

11 hours ago, fruitman said:

Speak for yourself mate....for me they are idiots.

Name callers are usually describing themselves in many ways. I am happy that the man was not killed nor hearing your scrouge like babble.

[ballpoint]

3 hours ago, howbri said:

Moral; STAY OFF MOTORBIKES.

Another one who doesn't get it.  The moral is stay on motorbikes.  It's coming off them that hurts.

[ttrd]

1 hour ago, jaiyen said:

I very much doubt any travel insurance covers you for an accident on a motorbike. Read the small print. Same as personal insurance doesn't cover you for  bikes, diving, flying,etc. or anything more dangerous than sitting still.

Its true up to a certain point. Small print may say that you are required to have a valid driving license in your home country for the veichle you rent/buy or borrow in another country in addition to that you use proper safety Equipment and as well that you dont violate the Law by drunk driving and so on ...

 

It should also be noted that an ordinary travelinsurance can have exceptions for injuries in connection with particulary risky activities such as parachuting, bungee jumping and other air sports activities also rock climbing and scuba diving.

 

With other Words, do not perform activities that you are not familiar with, autorizhed -nor certified for in your home country (despite additional Insurance coverage) and as well keep within legal limits at all time then you should be covered in the most situations … 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by ttrd

[overherebc]

3 hours ago, blookhead57 said:

you don't learn to ride  bike until you have come off a few times.

You don't learn how to drive an F1 car until you've hit the barriers a few times either. It's called learning your own and your vehicles limits.

[overherebc]

4 hours ago, dcnx said:

It’s called the Normalcy Bias. It’s a thing.

Yep.

Like this. ????????????

Edited February 23, 2019 by overherebc

[JackGats]

We had a discussion about travel insurances not so long ago when a girl broke her neck jumping into a swimming pool. The consensus was then that insurances don't cover motorbike accidents.

[Jean Laurent]

As I have just experienced on the contrary, when you live in Thailand and you pay your plane ticket on the site budgetair.fr by a visa card set to an European bank for example to spend a month in a European country, if you have subscribed an insurance for your trip in the package, you are in for a big surprise. The insurance here AIG when you declare a disaster, the insurance company will then establish a special rule, that no resident outside Europe can be covered by the insurance policy even if he has paid the premium! if it's not theft, what is it?

[zleo99]

10 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Huh?  I just checked my policy and I'm covered up to $1.2 million annually for hospital costs associated with illness and/or accidents.

I would like good insurance, so please would you mention who your insurance is with, the policy name and how to contact them? Many thanks.

[chicowoodduck]

First thing on my To Do List is purchase travel insurance when making the leap across the pond to LOS....I tend to sleep better when I do.....lol...????

[KhaoYai]

Not a case for Travel Insurance - as has been mentioned, most travel insurers and some expat health insurers do not cover riding motorcyles.  It certainly tells me I was right to make sure I have 1st class bike insurance rather than just the compulsory insurance that is required to comply with the law.

[zleo99]

10 hours ago, j8k said:

Brits can get travel insurance up to 18 months, and many companies offer extensions to that too! Really no excuse, but of course feel for the guy and hope he recovers, medically and financially.

 

Expecting the school to cover is folly too!

Please recommend this insurance company and product to us. We are newbies and would like to be adequately insured. Many thanks.

[zleo99]

10 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

 

My daughter has been working as a teacher, her insurance through the school was very poor. I ended up buying her a decent policy for my own peace of mind, it cost me just over 19K for 12 months.

please give details. i would lke my daughter to have good insurance. is 19k in thb? many thanks.

[zleo99]

10 hours ago, balo said:

SInce he lives here , I am pretty sure he owns it. 

 

Like so many other foreigners who lives and works here, most of them can afford a bike, but not a car when your monthly income is under 50k baht . 

 

I just don't understand why they don't use their brain, being a teacher and all that. Insurance is not expensive here. 

 

 

 

 

Please recommend the insurance that teachers should get: company, policy, contact details if possible, Many thanks.

[stanleycoin]

7 hours ago, howbri said:

Moral; STAY OFF MOTORBIKES.

No. 

[balo]

39 minutes ago, zleo99 said:

Please recommend the insurance that teachers should get

I am not a teacher , I can only recommend what I personally have experience with.

 

AXA accident insurance 

https://www.axa.co.th/en/AXA-Smart-PA-Good-Life

 

AETNA (ex BUPA) Health insurance :

https://www.aetna.co.th/en/

 

[Skallywag]

Something my health insurance guy told me is that there is a separate policy for "accidents" called accident insurance. 

 

I have an annual inpatient health care policy with AIA. 

 

My  "health insurance" policy only covers personal health problems; heart, cancer, diabetes, etc... (not accidents)

 

Something people who ride motorcycles or participate in dangerous activities should look into with their provider I would think

[TumblinDice]

What the heck is an NI man?

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, TumblinDice said:

What the heck is an NI man?

Northern Ireland

[jabis]

4 hours ago, zleo99 said:

Please recommend the insurance that teachers should get: company, policy, contact details if possible, Many thanks.

Depending on passport country - Muang Thai Life insurance - affordable including emergency repatriation, but you have to a) speak & read thai or b) have a very trusted person to negotiate your way thru to get the coverage desired.

[simon43]

...Muang Thai Life insurance

 

As has been pointed out on numerous occasions, please check the fine print of any insurance policy issued by a Thai company.  Many have the legal right to refuse to renew your annual policy if you have made a claim in the previous year, or can individually 'price you out' by raising the renewal premium only for you.

 

Insurance policies that are issued by overseas (UK, European) companies, such as BUPA International, Healthcare International, Davidshield, Cigna etc are not allowed by law to penalise you if you make a claim, and must renew your policy each year on the same terms as everyone else in your age band, (although your policy may have individual medical exclusions or a higher premium to cover pre-existing conditions that were put in place when you first took out the policy).

[crouchpeter]

Travel insurance warning as NI man loses leg after Thailand motorbike accident
By Sarah Scott
 

Mike Johnston in hospital in Thailand
 
Mike Johnston, 30, was teaching in Thailand when he was involved in the accident earlier this month and had to have his left leg amputated
 
A Co Antrim man is recovering in hospital in Thailand after doctors were forced to amputate his leg following a motorbike accident.
 
Mike Johnston, 30, was teaching in Chumphon, in southern Thailand, when he was involved in the accident earlier this month.

His parents Michael Johnston and Jillian Clements flew out to be at their son's side but due to his insurance policy lapsing, the family have had to pay tens of thousands for his medical care.
 
Full story: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/travel-insurance-warning-ni-man-15873271
 
Belfast Live: 2019-02-23
 
 
RELATED: Health insurance from Thaivisa Health Protect
 

I've lived here for about 20 years.Have Thai annual travel insurance covering 90 days each trip. Broke my arm in France last year, skiing. Ins. paid over 100,000β without any quibbling. Also have accident insurance here. Dog bite, and, bicycle accident with 3 broken ribs .Didn't cost me a penny. Had hernia op. done at Police Hospital. Only paid Thai rate. (because married). The cost was about the same as the hospital excess in Oz!
Even something like a bypass op. here is still affordable if you don't use the private hospitals.
.

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