Health Insurance - AXA or LUMA or AIA or Cigna Global

[Sheryl]

AA brokers

 

www.aainsure.net

 

I have April insurance now. April global policy not April Thailand policy.

 

Very happy with it and also with the assistance from broket

 

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

 

 

 

 

[RBOP]

On 9/24/2019 at 2:49 PM, Sheryl said:

AA brokers

 

www.aainsure.net

 

I have April insurance now. April global policy not April Thailand policy.

 

Very happy with it and also with the assistance from broket

 

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

 

 

 

 

I use to be with aa. Found they made many mistakes from putting me in wrong age brackets to sending me someone else's policy (twice).  I dropped them and been using AXA International out of the UK but looking to change now again as every year they up the prices too much and have to fight with them to get a discount.  Last year I riddled them down to a 2% increase. This year they want 19% increase. Got them down to 7% so far but that's still too much of an increase. Looking at April Thailand Essential now which looks reasonably priced. 

[Sheryl]

AA is a broker not insurer so would not normally be mailing out policies...?

 

The main thing to be aware of with April Thailand is they don't renew past 90. If you are planning to stay here permanently that is a real worry as you don't want to lose your visa at an advanced age having been out of your home country for decades and in no position to repatriate.

 

On the plus side you can meet Imm requirements if they apply to you or later come to do so (i.e. spread to O visa).

[RBOP]

On 12/13/2019 at 7:40 PM, Sheryl said:

April Thailand is they don't renew past 90

OMG, that would be a miracle to live past 90 or even reach 90 for me????.  My SSO coverage hopefully will still work by then if I stay here that long. 

[Sheryl]

17 minutes ago, RBOP said:

OMG, that would be a miracle to live past 90 or even reach 90 for me????.  My SSO coverage hopefully will still work by then if I stay here that long. 

 

Don't be so sure.

 

It is quite common nowadays for men to live into their 90's (and womwn even past 10p) , and the older you already the longer your life expectancy.

[kiever]

On 3/22/2019 at 8:30 PM, Jingthing said:

What's wrong with the April my Thailand if it's for living in Thailand?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

On 3/22/2019 at 8:14 PM, Sheryl said:

 

Yes, I changed from Cigna to April for exactly this reason.

 

Make sure you get the international policy from  April global and  not the My Health Thailand policy.

 

You can get through AA brokers.

hello @Sheryl
 
i want to buy also april my healt thailand essential, because i live in thailand and i dont need international policy. please can you give me more details about your post ? what is the differences between international policy from  April global and  the My Health Thailand policy other than zones they covered ?

[Sheryl]

April Thailand will cover only up to age 90. April Int guarantees lifetime.

 

April Int comes under Thai insurance regulation rather than French/EU. Thai insurance regulatory framework is much laxer and for example allows insurers to raise rates on an individual basis due to having had a large claim or developed a chronic disease. Historically April Thailand has not done so but legally they can. Under Western insurance regs this can't happen.

 

April Int does their own underwriting i.e. they are the actual insurer.

 

April Thailand does not. They are underwritten by Thai insurer LMG.

 

These are the main differences.

[kiever]

I should be resident in Thailand more than 185 days for April insurances ?It is a requirement for Pacific cross. 

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, kiever said:

I should be resident in Thailand more than 185 days for April insurances ?It is a requirement for Pacific cross. 

For all the Thai based insurers you need to be in Thailabd ay least 180 days if the year

 

I don't think this would hold for an internatiomal expat policy (e.g. April Interbational) but best to check woth a broker to be sure 

 

However if here less than 6 months of the year and the rest of the time in your home country and already have health cover or free health care there why not just get a travel policy?

 

[kiever]

On 3/21/2019 at 9:01 PM, Sheryl said:

Though having outpatient cover for Thailand is usually a waste of money.

Why you think this ? I think mrt,  X-ray, blood tests and CT scans will not be cheap. Therefore I think I should have outpatient coverage as well. 
I live more than 6 month in Thailand already. I just asked 6 month condition for information. 
And I am wondering one more thing. If I don’t tell my past operations and surgeries to insurance company correctly  , how they can find out my medical past ? Insurances in Thailand can get information from overseas, from my home country ? 

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, kiever said:

And I am wondering one more thing. If I don’t tell my past operations and surgeries to insurance company correctly  , how they can find out my medical past ? Insurances in Thailand can get information from overseas, from my home country ? 

They ask you on the application form, I'm guessing once you make a claim they check your history in Thailand and back home (same as they do with a travel insurance claim). The downside of listing pre existing conditions going back many years (can be since birth..) is they can be excluded or additional premium needs to be paid.

 

A pre existing condition can also be something you have but aren't aware of

[kikka]

I was with  AXA PPP for around 10 years . After reaching 70 the annual policy which had been around the  £200 GBP mark per month began to rise at the rate of around £50 a month per year . The coverage was very good . The scheme was 'worldwide' , was easy to join and was easy to communicate and  maintain contact with . Luckily I never had to make a claim - and am now back in the UK so have let the policy lapse. 

[Sheryl]

9 hours ago, kiever said:

Why you think this ? I think mrt,  X-ray, blood tests and CT scans will not be cheap. Therefore I think I should have outpatient coverage as well. 
I live more than 6 month in Thailand already. I just asked 6 month condition for information. 
And I am wondering one more thing. If I don’t tell my past operations and surgeries to insurance company correctly  , how they can find out my medical past ? Insurances in Thailand can get information from overseas, from my home country ? 

Xrays and most blood work are quite affordable here.

 

Some inpatient only policies will cover CTs and MRIs (but not all).

 

Addition of outpatient cover substantially increases premiums, sometimes two fold. It is highly unlikely to be worth it and you will undestand this better when you look at premium costs with and without outpatient cover.

 

If you lie about anything on an application and it is discovered it will invalidate the whole policy.

 

Please contact a broker with all your questions. It is not reasonable to expect posters here to do a broker's job.

[kiever]

ok . thank you so much.

[stament]

On 8/26/2019 at 2:59 PM, expatvietnam said:

Hi,
I have been using Luma for a few month now (about 11 months) ????

If you live in SEA (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia), that's a pretty good insurance that expats recommend (personally I am in Ho Chi Minh) !

The coverage is great ???? (again mainly for SEA, not for Europe ????) and the price pretty good when you compare to others (I tried before MSH International and April).

⚠️ Check specifically what's the insurance policy if you drive a motorbike (or even as a passenger) ????, some of the popular insurance don't cover you if you are on a back of a 150cc bike (most of the Grab drivers in Vietnam ...)

Cheers

Will

Have you had to claim yet as I saw some negative reviews about this time taken and not paying for certain inpatient treatments.

[stament]

Thanks

[stament]

On 2/24/2020 at 9:28 AM, stament said:

 

Anyone had any positive or negative experiences with CIGNA or LUMA they'd be willing to share.

 

Thanks

[stament]

Does anyone have any idea what discount %s are generally given for multiple policies e.g. a family of 3 or 4?

 

 

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, stament said:

Does anyone have any idea what discount %s are generally given for multiple policies e.g. a family of 3 or 4?

 

 

It will vary by insurer. Some do not offer any discount.

 

Rather than asking TV membes to do a  broker's job for you, please work through a broker, they will be able to answer all these questions for you and give you comparative tables. they can also give franker feedback on specific companies than  is possible in a  public forum.

 

It does nto cost more to use a broker.

 

AA is good.  www.aainsure.net

 

 

[Why Me]

Hi Sheryl:

I value your opinion so decided to give April Intnl. a good look. I found this link for reviews:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/april-international.com

And many are not good. It is a small sample but wanted to run it by you.

 

Btw, I see a dropdown at one agent's site listing only April MyHealth HK and April MyHealth Thailand. You mentioned April Global. Take it that would be HK. Is that covered by EU laws then?

Thanks.

[Sheryl]

5 hours ago, Why Me said:

Hi Sheryl:

I value your opinion so decided to give April Intnl. a good look. I found this link for reviews:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/april-international.com

And many are not good. It is a small sample but wanted to run it by you.

 

Btw, I see a dropdown at one agent's site listing only April MyHealth HK and April MyHealth Thailand. You mentioned April Global. Take it that would be HK. Is that covered by EU laws then?

Thanks.

 

No, not HK. France and governed by EU laws. I got my policy through AA Brokers.

 

You will find pretty much only negative reviews, for anyone and anything, on trustpilot. People usually go there only when they have a complaint. If you are looking for an insurer that has no negative online reviews, does not exist. All the more reason to ask a broker. But needs to be a good broker with a lot of experience with expat health insurance.

 

One of the big advantages to going through a good broker is that they will assist with any issues in making claims.  I have gotten excellent support from AA brokers (i use Jenny there, [email protected]) and also had no problem getting claim covered by April.

[dadadede]

22 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

No, not HK. France and governed by EU laws. I got my policy through AA Brokers.

 

You will find pretty much only negative reviews, for anyone and anything, on trustpilot. People usually go there only when they have a complaint. If you are looking for an insurer that has no negative online reviews, does not exist. All the more reason to ask a broker. But needs to be a good broker with a lot of experience with expat health insurance.

 

One of the big advantages to going through a good broker is that they will assist with any issues in making claims.  I have gotten excellent support from AA brokers (i use Jenny there, [email protected]) and also had no problem getting claim covered by April.

Hi Sheryl,

The broker from AA told me there is little difference between April Int and April Th. Mostly in the days of coverage outside the resident country zone. He said the TH policy being part of April wont suffer of any weird raise. They have big raise eacch 5 years - ie 26-30 ; 31-35 etc

Did your broker suggested you otherwise or it is just according to your experience?

Thanks!

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by dadadede

[richard_smith237]

On 8/26/2019 at 2:59 PM, expatvietnam said:

Hi,
I have been using Luma for a few month now (about 11 months) ????

If you live in SEA (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia), that's a pretty good insurance that expats recommend (personally I am in Ho Chi Minh) !

The coverage is great ???? (again mainly for SEA, not for Europe ????) and the price pretty good when you compare to others (I tried before MSH International and April).

⚠️ Check specifically what's the insurance policy if you drive a motorbike (or even as a passenger) ????, some of the popular insurance don't cover you if you are on a back of a 150cc bike (most of the Grab drivers in Vietnam ...)

Cheers

Will

 

My Wife and Son were initially insured with MSH International, the same Policy is now LUMA, which I’m assuming was grandfathered in after LUMA took over SE Asia (or Thailand) operations? is this correct?

 

They’ve had minor claims for a couple of nights inpatient care (i.e. <50k baht) without issue, but no major claims as yet. The Policy covers them up to 32million Baht (in patent only). 

 

I’m a little concerned about what Sheryl wrote: 

On 3/21/2019 at 6:01 PM, Sheryl said:

Re the options you mention  I would personally advise against a Thai-issued policy  (which all of these except Cigna seem to be) and stick with international companies. 

 

 

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, dadadede said:

Hi Sheryl,

The broker from AA told me there is little difference between April Int and April Th. Mostly in the days of coverage outside the resident country zone. He said the TH policy being part of April wont suffer of any weird raise. They have big raise eacch 5 years - ie 26-30 ; 31-35 etc

Did your broker suggested you otherwise or it is just according to your experience?

Thanks!

 

The differences are:

 

1. April TH will drop you at age 90. No guarantee of lifetime cover. If you are not planning to live out your old age here this may not matter but for me it does.

 

2. April TH comes under Thai insurance regulations. These are much looser than EU regs and among other things goves them the right to raise premiums based on changes in your health or your claim history and you will find language to that effect in their policy.  Now historically they have not done this (unlike other Thai insurers) but they legally can.

 

3. April TH does not underwrite their own policies, the underwriter is LMG a a Thai company.  Hence they do not have as much control on the policy terms. April Int does their own underwriting.

 

4. Since April TH is basically hired by LMG to manage/administer their product there is also some possibolity that LMG might in future put someone else in that role.

 

On plus side, since April TH is actually LMG insurance it can meet Thai Imm requirements if you are on O-A visa or if insurance requoremebt is later extended to other visa types. Also avoid what can be several hour time lag in getting decisions on coverage. With the international policies the April TH office still handles things but has to get approval from France for some things.

 

[scubascuba3]

April Thailand also have a different application form than April International. April Thailand goes back a lot further for pre existing conditions.

 

AA should know that

Edited March 11, 2020 by scubascuba3

[dadadede]

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The differences are:

 

1. April TH will drop you at age 90. No guarantee of lifetime cover. If you are not planning to live out your old age here this may not matter but for me it does.

 

2. April TH comes under Thai insurance regulations. These are much looser than EU regs and among other things goves them the right to raise premiums based on changes in your health or your claim history and you will find language to that effect in their policy.  Now historically they have not done this (unlike other Thai insurers) but they legally can.

 

3. April TH does not underwrite their own policies, the underwriter is LMG a a Thai company.  Hence they do not have as much control on the policy terms. April Int does their own underwriting.

 

4. Since April TH is basically hired by LMG to manage/administer their product there is also some possibolity that LMG might in future put someone else in that role.

 

On plus side, since April TH is actually LMG insurance it can meet Thai Imm requirements if you are on O-A visa or if insurance requoremebt is later extended to other visa types. Also avoid what can be several hour time lag in getting decisions on coverage. With the international policies the April TH office still handles things but has to get approval from France for some things.

 

1) well I don't plan to live here for more than 2-3 years. So the 90years limitation is not my concern atm. But, now that you make me think about,  a good point of the International is that maybe I can shift coverage to another country without having to start from scratch (ie if any serious disease pops up in these 2-3 years, not risking to have them excluded when i move to another country)

2,3,4) very clear thanks!

 

No I am on B Visa, in case things change I think my company will adapt the current health coverage they provide us to conform this requirement.

 

this helped ????

 

[CamH]

Hello, personnaly I had Cigna Global, the premium including the maternity. I choose the Bangkok Hospital  in Koh Samui to give birth. I spoke with 3 or 4 differents poeple on the phone to know in direct billing was possible and tjey gave me different answers. I asked the hospital to dal with them and I found out that Cignal Global is BLACK LISTED in Bangkok Samui Hospital. So I had to ay upfront. And the customer is very unclear on some point, I was suppose to have a cober for the forst 90days of my new born, when I asked for it I've been told differents thing as well : "it is included in what you are paying", "you may have to pay a one thime fee to add the newborn" bit at the end they wanted to charge me more than twice the price of my monthly policy, and I never got a clear explanation except for "adding your newborn means having to ay for his cover" and they whanted to charged me from his date of birth even though I got all the papers and sent them after one months.