Hi There

 Was wondering what is the best way to go with health insurance here now that Im on a retirement visa?

 Now that covid is limiting movement around the world Ive recently acquired a retirement visa here and need to renew my health insurance. Before this I was getting travel insurance from my home country. Australia.

 I would appreciate and tips on which company and coverage is best to go with. 

 

 Cheers and thanks in advance.

It is ONLY when applying for a 1-year extension of stay for reason of retirement based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa, that Immigration requires you to have a Thai IO-approved health-insurance policy that meets their 400K/40K minimum coverage for in/out-patient care.

From what you wrote it looks the above is not the case for you, which means you are NOT limited to any immigration requirements when looking for health-insurance that best covers your needs.  Contacting AA Insurance brokers to help you with making the best choice (not limited to Thai insurers) is recommended.

@Sheryl can provide you with more info on that subject.

12 minutes ago, ScottyJ said:

Hi There

 Was wondering what is the best way to go with health insurance here now that Im on a retirement visa?

 Now that covid is limiting movement around the world Ive recently acquired a retirement visa here and need to renew my health insurance. Before this I was getting travel insurance from my home country. Australia.

 I would appreciate and tips on which company and coverage is best to go with. 

 

 Cheers and thanks in advance.

Dependes on how old you are and what benefits is important for you. Get en agent who sort things out for you, and gets you a few different to choose between. 

 

Check out Pacific Prime or any google search will give you hips of options for an agent company

 

https://www.pacificprime.com

I use AA insurance brokers here in Pattaya. 

Believe Sheryl recommended them a couple years ago on here. 

They also have offices in Bangkok and Hua Hin I see

https://www.aainsure.net/

×1 on AA brokers.

 

OP do you have an OA visa or an extension of stay based on a different visa type? Makes a big difference in terms of your options as for in country extension of stay where the original visa was OA you are required to have a policy from ine if 13 specific Thai insurers whereas if not then you can look at a much larger number of policies including ones from non-Thai companies (usually best).

 

Also what is your age? Many insurers especially Thai companies have pretty low maximum ages for enrollment.

Thanks for your replies. Im 53. I have a NON O visa which is now a 12 month retirenent visa. I will research your recommendations here.

 Thanks.

9 hours ago, ScottyJ said:

Thanks for your replies. Im 53. I have a NON O visa which is now a 12 month retirenent visa. I will research your recommendations here.

 Thanks.

So as mentioned in my earlier post, there is no need for you to subscribe to IO-approved health-insurance as it is not required when applying for a 1-year extension for reason of retirement based on an original Non Imm O Visa.

So don't limit your search for fitting insurance that meets your needs to Thai IO-approved insurer.  In many cases a policy issued by a foreign international insurer will provide far better value than the Thai policies offered by TGIA-insurers.

9 hours ago, ScottyJ said:

Thanks for your replies. Im 53. I have a NON O visa which is now a 12 month retirenent visa. I will research your recommendations here.

 Thanks.

Im at same age and same visanas you. I am looking at passport pass at the moment. Let me know what you find out. 

 

Anyone else have experience with passport?

 

https://www.passportcard.de/en

14 hours ago, ScottyJ said:

Thanks for your replies. Im 53. I have a NON O visa which is now a 12 month retirenent visa. I will research your recommendations here.

 Thanks.

 

in that case I would advise an internationally issued policy with direct payment arrangements with Thai hospitals. AA Brokers can  advise. You have a wide range of choices at your age,

 

Thai issued policies raise rates based on claims history and changes in health status (in addition to the usual age  related rate increases). This more or less undermines the whole purpose of insurance IMO and means you can be priced out if you later develop a chronic condition, the very thing you want to be insured for. Policies issued from a Western country are not allowed to do this as insurance regs are tighter there (the policy will come under the regulatory framework of the country it s issued from).

 

Most Thai policies also do nto guarantee lifetime renewal, only a few do. Another important consideration.

 

 

Thanks Sheryl. Very valid points. Ill look into AA Brokers.