Best Thai Health Insurance?

[sdweller]

My wife and I are moving to Bangkok in May, (and we are in our 50's), wondering what Health insurance companies anyone suggests?   Luma and AXA seem interesting?  Any advice is appreciated.

[4MyEgo]

15 minutes ago, sdweller said:

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Let AA Insurance Brokers shop around for reputable health providers for you, no charge as well.

 

I have two health care plans, sperate companies, one for me with pre-existing condition and one for the family, plus house and car insurance with them and they remind me annually that it's time to renew.

 

Highly recommend.

 

 https://www.aainsure.net/?gclid=CjwKCAjwgOGCBhAlEiwA7FUXkt1tFy1-R3Bcdy-qIW7UVLK9v8sCRoO0T-kUzYUhi2g8e4SZOy7j5BoC5iYQAvD_BwE

Edited March 22, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[Sheryl]

Agree, go through AA brokers. In your 50's, if no pre-exisitng conditions, you have a wide range of options. In additiopn to helping you choose, a good broker will assist with any claims issues that may arise later.

 

Please note that there is no such thing as "Thai health insurance". There are  health insurance policies issued by Thai companies, and there are also expatriate health insurance policies issued by companies based in a Western country that will cover you in Thailand. The latter are often  better value and will also usually come under a more favorable (for the client) regulatory framework.

 

A few points to consider and discuss with the broker as you choose:

 

1 - Direct payment arrangement with as wide a range of Thai hospitals as possible. You want insurance that will be accepted by basically any private hospital without you needing to pay up front and get reimbursed. Even if you can afford to do so, it is undesirable as it puts you in the middle of any disputes that may arise with the insurer and at the mercy of the hospital to get adequate documentation, forms filled out etc  for the insurer which Thai hospitals are notoriously bad at and would have little motivation for if already paid up front by you.

 

2 - Guaranteed lifetime renewal is essential if you are planning to grow old here.

 

3 - You do not want a policy that allows the insurer to raise rates based on individual claims history, especially if you will grow old here.  This criteria alone pretty well rules out Thai companies as Thai insurance regs allow this.

 

4 - Some policies offer deductible and/or copay options, some do not, so consider if that is desirable for you.

 

5- Outpatient cover is seldom worth having here, the added premium cost is considerable and outpatient care is pretty affordable here. However, make sure that the inpatient-only policy covers (i) day surgeries  (ii) outpatient cancer care and (iii) outpatient dialysis. Most do, but not all. Some also cover expensive scans (PET, CT, MRI) while others will do so only if related to a hospitalization. This is I think nice to have but not essential sibnce they are usually one-off costs, whereas it is essential to have cover for cancer care and dialysis as thosee costs really pile up.

 

Lastly you will want the broker's frank assessment of the insurer in terms of reliability. They can privately tell you if any of their clients have had issues with claims etc.

 

 

 

 

[Tuvoc]

I can recommend Pacific Prime brokers, they were very helpful for me. I took a policy with Cigna.

[Boomer6969]

10 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Outpatient cover is seldom worth having here, the added premium cost is considerable and outpatient care is pretty affordable here.

Absolutely not when you need advance imaging (MRI, PET-SCAN, etc.) or radiotherapy. So one must ensure that such services be covered. 

 

I spend an average of 100k yearly to monitor 3 conditions that may become life threatening and feel very lucky to have a full OPD coverage.

 

[JayClay]

5 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Absolutely not when you need advance imaging (MRI, PET-SCAN, etc.) or radiotherapy. So one must ensure that such services be covered. 

 

I spend an average of 100k yearly to monitor 3 conditions that may become life threatening and feel very lucky to have a full OPD coverage.

 

 

Indeed. I was ill advised by one of the brokers mentioned on this page to not bother with outpatient cover and it has cost me hundreds of thousands baht over the years.

[Makoshark]

I use LUMA after researching them all.

 

I am 71 and had severe back surgery in the USA 8 years ago, so my insurance is quite expensive.  While with Luma I also had kidney stone surgery and they paid 220,000 bht and covered it 100%.

 

I would be very careful on whom you select.  I chose Luma because they have an office near my house on Silom.  I am insured at 33 hospitals in Bangkok and all the top 5 hospitals.  also insured for 32 million bht.

 

Response time is very FAST.

 

 

[Fokkema]

Please contact AA Insurance. www.aainsure.net 

Offices in Hua Hin, Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya.

[Sheryl]

6 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Absolutely not when you need advance imaging (MRI, PET-SCAN, etc.) or radiotherapy. So one must ensure that such services be covered. 

 

I spend an average of 100k yearly to monitor 3 conditions that may become life threatening and feel very lucky to have a full OPD coverage.

 

 

Radiotherapy (and repeated scans like this) are usually for cancer and as I stated, most inpatient only policies cover outpatient cancer care.

 

Some inpatient only policies also cover scans even for other conditions.

 

It is nto necessary to have full OPD cover, with the attendant large increase in premium (typically 20-40%) in order to have the4se large-ticket items covered.

[lagavulin1]

21 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Let AA Insurance Brokers shop around for reputable health providers for you, no charge as well.

 

I have two health care plans, sperate companies, one for me with pre-existing condition and one for the family, plus house and car insurance with them and they remind me annually that it's time to renew.

 

Highly recommend.

 

 https://www.aainsure.net/?gclid=CjwKCAjwgOGCBhAlEiwA7FUXkt1tFy1-R3Bcdy-qIW7UVLK9v8sCRoO0T-kUzYUhi2g8e4SZOy7j5BoC5iYQAvD_BwE

Agreed. Very helpful. 

[Wazoo]

5 hours ago, Makoshark said:

I use LUMA after researching them all.

 

I am 71 and had severe back surgery in the USA 8 years ago, so my insurance is quite expensive.  While with Luma I also had kidney stone surgery and they paid 220,000 bht and covered it 100%.

 

I would be very careful on whom you select.  I chose Luma because they have an office near my house on Silom.  I am insured at 33 hospitals in Bangkok and all the top 5 hospitals.  also insured for 32 million bht.

 

Response time is very FAST.

 

 

You must be paying a fortune?