can I buy short-term health insurance before new policy?

[david_je]

My current policy expires in a few days and I'm not renewing due to surging premium. Since it's complicated, I'd like to take some time to find a new policy. I'm worried about being temporarily uninsured, though. Is there any short-term insurance I can buy for the gap, say for only a month or two? I plan to be mostly in Bangkok during that time. I'm early 60s expat. Thanks.

[Peter Denis]

You could buy travel-insurance on the fly. 

This covers both accidents/incidents needing immediate treatment, as well as re-patriation when required.

WorldNomads - not the cheapest, but good coverage and very transparent - allow to subscribe the day before (coverage from start-date chosen on receipt of payment) for any period ranging from 2 days to 1 year.

 

[david_je]

20 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

You could buy travel-insurance on the fly. 

This covers both accidents/incidents needing immediate treatment, as well as re-patriation when required.

WorldNomads - not the cheapest, but good coverage and very transparent - allow to subscribe the day before (coverage from start-date chosen on receipt of payment) for any period ranging from 2 days to 1 year.

 

Just to be clear -- I am already now in Thailand and I can buy it to cover me in Thailand, correct? Have you used them and for what and ever made claim?

I hold two nationalities; what difference does it make which I chose to apply? And why do they ask what state in US is my residence?

Application page has this. What does it mean?

"The coverages provided in the plan are secondary coverages. This Plan will pay its benefits first, but the amount of the benefits payable will be determined as if this Plan were the Secondary Plan. In this situation, our payment will be the limit of this plan’s liability."

Thanks.

[Peter Denis]

10 minutes ago, david_je said:

Just to be clear -- I am already now in Thailand and I can buy it to cover me in Thailand, correct? Have you used them and for what and ever made claim?

I hold two nationalities; what difference does it make which I chose to apply? And why do they ask what state in US is my residence?

Application page has this. What does it mean?

"The coverages provided in the plan are secondary coverages. This Plan will pay its benefits first, but the amount of the benefits payable will be determined as if this Plan were the Secondary Plan. In this situation, our payment will be the limit of this plan’s liability."

Thanks.

Yes, you can buy it on-the-fly from anywhere, and then specify the country/countries for which you want the travel-insurance to be applicable.

Your country of residence (in combination with the countries where you are travelling) will probably impact the premium to be paid (e.g. re-patriation from Thailand to US will for sure be more costly than re-patriation to Singapore / same goes for re-patriation from Mexico to Texas vs to New-York). 

Am not fully sure what the primary/secondary coverage clause means, but it is most probably that when you are already covered by another health-insurance policy that WorldNomads will pay the remainder (if any) of the claim not or partially covered by the other insurer, up to the limit your WorldNomads policy foresees.

>> When you have questions you can always contact them, and in my experience they answer very quickly.

I have used them for the non-covered days when I stayed longer in Thailand than what my annual travel-policy covered (trips of max 6 months).  But - luckily - have never had to make a claim.

[OneMoreFarang]

Travel insurance pays for short time problems. If you have i.e. a heart problem the insurance will try to bring you back to your home country where your regular insurance will pay for it. And after you are "back home" it's not their problem anymore.

 

If you are healthy then take it easy and make sure you don't get sick for a month. That should give you more than enough time to find a better insurance. But be careful, because maybe the one you have is the best you will get - even if you don't like it.

[madmen]

Important to note travel insurance won't cover a non tourist visa eg retirement extension 

[david_je]

For anyone who's bought World Nomads, seems on application, they only ask basic personal ID and address details and nothing on preexisting conditions or any medical questions at all. Can that be right? And is that the same for other similar policies mentioned in this forum -- insuremytrip (?), etc.?