Which insurance for Thailand Pass?

[gejohesch]

This question has come up in recent posts but as part of wider discussions concerning the Thailand Pass. I think it would be a good idea to open a discussion addressing the insurance exclusively, so anyone concerned about it could immediately find the information without getting drowned in other comments re. the Thailand Pass. I have 3 points:

 

1 - The TGIA = Thailand General Insurance Association website, recommended by my local Thailand embassy : it does not allow to put in dates beyond December, rather useless therefore as I'm planning a trip to Thailand early January. Anyone has the same experience? I am still interested because I tested a fictive date in December and the quote was significantly lower than another insurance I have tried. I don't care too much about all the bells and whistles as long as it does the trick to obtain the Thailand Pass, so the cheaper, the better.

 

2 - I booked a return trip to Thailand with Emirates, which comes with an insurance cover from AGI for the entire duration of the trip (90 days). However, the certificate issued by AGI puzzles me a bit (see jpegs, red boxes). Section C "Medical and other Expenses" starts at the bottom of Page 1, with the mention "including for medical costs and evacuation incurred during the trip as a result of contracting COVID-19". This follows on Page 2 as "1 Emergency Medical Expenses" with "Coverage EUR 410.000" (obviously, that's 410,000 EUR and not 410 EUR!). To me, this seems to be what I need (and well over since the current requirement is a 50,000 USD coverage). BUT : I am not sure how that will be accepted when applying for the Thailand Pass. Anyone has experience with this?

 

3 - If the AGI certificate may prove difficult to pass through the Thailand Pass application, what would be good insurance alternatives?

 

Thinking about it, I actually have a 4th point:

 

4 - I am not myself what I would call a "genuine tourist", I have a lot of my life invested in Thailand, hence I grudgingly accept to go through all the hassle. With all the hoops to go through and the lack of clarity, plus the overhanging risk of the rules being changed at the drop of a hat, I really wonder how many genuine tourists will be so keen to go to Thailand?

 

 

[Usual Suspect]

I too are hoping to use Emirates/AIG insurance for my T/P application.  I have requested a personalised policy form, but as you rightly show..

a).. The Covid cover is not really highlighted (which I hear they want to see this).

b)  The policy is on more than a single page..(Have heard/read many difficulties arising from this)

   

 BUT..I have read on other forums more than once that this policy offered by Emirates/AIG Has indeed been accepted.. So on the basis of this I will try later using their policy/plan..?

[Enzian]

Relevant I hope:  if this becomes a discussion, could attention be given to what policies involve what age limits? Or go the highest? (I'm 81, almost 82.)

[KannikaP]

The 'free' insurance with Emirates begins when your return flight starts and finishes the moment you land back in Thailand unless you have a one-way ticket. So no good if you need insurance up to your next Extension date.

I looked at AXA and Tune yesterday for a trip to Dubai next week. The AXA application says that persons already in Thailand are ineligible

So I went for the Tune policy @ Bht3100 through Mr Prakan, all done & dusted within 30 minutes, insurance certificate included, sent it off to Thailand Pas and accepted.

[ezzra]

I think that the topic of "what is the best insurance to enter Thailand" for all kind of incoming travelers from the day trippers to the retirement visa holders and all in between,, a sticky would be a useful tool..

[internationalism]

emirates policy is enough.

their offer for free insurance ends this month.

For a covid letter write to [email protected] - thats just one page document for immigration.

[farang51]

8 hours ago, gejohesch said:

Coverage EUR 410.000" (obviously, that's 410,000 EUR and not 410 EUR!)

No, it is 410.000 EUR. In Europe, we use "." and not "," as a thousand delimiter. ????

 

8 hours ago, gejohesch said:

BUT : I am not sure how that will be accepted when applying for the Thailand Pass. Anyone has experience with this?

Several members have used it for the COE, it should be even easier to use it for the Thailand Pass, see below.

 

7 hours ago, Usual Suspect said:

a).. The Covid cover is not really highlighted (which I hear they want to see this).

It does not need to be highlighted any more. For the Thailand Pass, they want a general health insurance; they do not mention the need for it to cover covid. Any travel insurance should do as they, usually, cover for a lot more than 50K USD.

 

However, if you want to be covered in case you test positive and are transferred to a hospital, you better get an insurance that covers hospitalization for covid even if you do not have symptoms.

[farang51]

3 hours ago, farang51 said:

It does not need to be highlighted any more. For the Thailand Pass, they want a general health insurance; they do not mention the need for it to cover covid.

Hm, some places they do mention the inclusion of coverage for covid. Other places they do not.

[gejohesch]

8 hours ago, KannikaP said:

The 'free' insurance with Emirates begins when your return flight starts and finishes the moment you land back in Thailand unless you have a one-way ticket. So no good if you need insurance up to your next Extension date.

I looked at AXA and Tune yesterday for a trip to Dubai next week. The AXA application says that persons already in Thailand are ineligible

So I went for the Tune policy @ Bht3100 through Mr Prakan, all done & dusted within 30 minutes, insurance certificate included, sent it off to Thailand Pas and accepted.

Obviously we are not talking of the same thing. It's my mistake not to be clearer in my original message. What I have booked is return flights Europe-to-Bangkok and return Bangkok-to-Europe. With that, the insurance that comes with the booking starts from the day I take the flights to Bangkok, and finishes the day I take the return flights to Europe. That actually is clear on the jpegs I attached : "From xx-Jan To xx-Apr". Total duration is 90 days as I go with a Tourist Visa which is 60 days but will extend by 30 days (as I did with my earlier trip to Thailand this year).

[gejohesch]

6 hours ago, internationalism said:

emirates policy is enough.

their offer for free insurance ends this month.

For a covid letter write to [email protected] - thats just one page document for immigration.

Thanks. The certificate (or letter) I have (jpegs I attached) actually comes from [email protected]. It's 3 pages. I did not attach the 3d page as a jpeg because it only mentions the coverage article "8 Additional kennel or cattery fees" which I thought was not directly relevant to the issue. ????

[gejohesch]

3 hours ago, farang51 said:

No, it is 410.000 EUR. In Europe, we use "." and not "," as a thousand delimiter. ????

That's what I had understood, I would not imagine any insurance would give you coverage for 410 EUR!

 

3 hours ago, farang51 said:

 

Several members have used it for the COE, it should be even easier to use it for the Thailand Pass, see below.

OK, good to know. Thanks. 

 

3 hours ago, farang51 said:

 

It does not need to be highlighted any more. For the Thailand Pass, they want a general health insurance; they do not mention the need for it to cover covid. Any travel insurance should do as they, usually, cover for a lot more than 50K USD.

That's not what I read in the information provided by my local Thailand embassy. One of the docs they passed on to me is a 3 pages summary titled "Schemes for Entering Thailand (by Air Travel), effective from 1 November 2021". It is very clear 90% but, surprise surprise (this is Thailand....), is confusing when it comes to the insurance. I attach jpegs of Page 1 and Page 3 (Page 2 is additional stuff not relevant to insurance):

 

Page 1 : "Insurance : Non-Thai travelers need health insurance with min. coverage of 50,000 USD"

So, that's as you say. However, here comes the following:

Page 3 : "THAILAND PASS REGISTRATION (From 1 November 2021)

               1. STEP 1 Please prepare the following documents:

               1.4 Health insurance which covers treatment and medical expenses in relation to COVID-19, with a minimum coverage of 50,000 USD throughout the period of your stay in Thailand."

 

So here you have it, COVID-19 is explicitly mentioned. Confusion ..... again! ????

3 hours ago, farang51 said:

 

However, if you want to be covered in case you test positive and are transferred to a hospital, you better get an insurance that covers hospitalization for covid even if you do not have symptoms.

Good point. Someone said somewhere that some insurances may not work if only tested positive.

[gejohesch]

1 hour ago, farang51 said:

Hm, some places they do mention the inclusion of coverage for covid. Other places they do not.

Exactly. This is what I detailed above with the copies of the "Schemes" info I got from the Thailand embassy. Pages 1 and 3 (my jpegs) show in the wrong order in the message (the interface is not very helpful).

 

One would expect an official document addressing such a vital issue as tourism (some 20% of the GDP!) to come with 100% clarity, and especially w.r.t. the most burning issue of the moment, COVID-19. But TIT .... sigh! ????

Edited November 8, 2021 by gejohesch
adding a line

[CRUNCHER]

5 hours ago, gejohesch said:

That's what I had understood, I would not imagine any insurance would give you coverage for 410 EUR!

 

OK, good to know. Thanks. 

 

That's not what I read in the information provided by my local Thailand embassy. One of the docs they passed on to me is a 3 pages summary titled "Schemes for Entering Thailand (by Air Travel), effective from 1 November 2021". It is very clear 90% but, surprise surprise (this is Thailand....), is confusing when it comes to the insurance. I attach jpegs of Page 1 and Page 3 (Page 2 is additional stuff not relevant to insurance):

 

Page 1 : "Insurance : Non-Thai travelers need health insurance with min. coverage of 50,000 USD"

So, that's as you say. However, here comes the following:

Page 3 : "THAILAND PASS REGISTRATION (From 1 November 2021)

               1. STEP 1 Please prepare the following documents:

               1.4 Health insurance which covers treatment and medical expenses in relation to COVID-19, with a minimum coverage of 50,000 USD throughout the period of your stay in Thailand."

 

So here you have it, COVID-19 is explicitly mentioned. Confusion ..... again! ????

Good point. Someone said somewhere that some insurances may not work if only tested positive.

I agree. Confusion. I think what they mean in 1.4 is "...which includes treatment..", but this is not what they said.

[gejohesch]

6 minutes ago, CRUNCHER said:

I agree. Confusion. I think what they mean in 1.4 is "...which includes treatment..", but this is not what they said.

hmmm.... but what would be the difference between "which covers treatment" and "which includes treatment"??? Is that not the same thing?

 

The confusion, to me, is that at the top of the document, where you get a very crisp summary of the various entry schemes to Thailand, there is no mention of COVID, and it's only if you take the time to methodically read through Page 3 that you see a clear and non-ambiguous mention of it.

 

My conclusion of all that is that COVID coverage will be required as part of the insurance.

Edited November 8, 2021 by gejohesch

[CRUNCHER]

Covers treatment could be interpreted to mean only covid. Includes suggest full insurance part of which covers covid.

Semantics I agree, but this could easily cause confusion. From posts in other threads a few people still believe they only need covid insurance.

[gejohesch]

3 hours ago, CRUNCHER said:

Covers treatment could be interpreted to mean only covid. Includes suggest full insurance part of which covers covid.

Semantics I agree, but this could easily cause confusion. From posts in other threads a few people still believe they only need covid insurance.

Thanks for the clarification. That makes sense.

[landosmiles]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:19 PM, internationalism said:

emirates policy is enough.

As @KannikaP previously said:

On 11/7/2021 at 5:59 PM, KannikaP said:

The 'free' insurance with Emirates begins when your return flight starts and finishes the moment you land back in Thailand unless you have a one-way ticket. So no good if you need insurance up to your next Extension date.

I also got the Emirates/AIG Proof of Insurance document for my Thailand>US>Thailand flight (similar to the one from the first post in this thread although mine was 2 pages long).

Same as KannikaP's, it states that coverage ends on the day I arrive back in Thailand, so that would not be enough @internationalism?

[gejohesch]

15 minutes ago, landosmiles said:

As @KannikaP previously said:

I also got the Emirates/AIG Proof of Insurance document for my Thailand>US>Thailand flight (similar to the one from the first post in this thread although mine was 2 pages long).

Same as KannikaP's, it states that coverage ends on the day I arrive back in Thailand, so that would not be enough @internationalism?

I think there are 2 possibilities which should not be confused:

A) flights XXX-to-Thailand // return Thailand-to-XXX (or wherever else outside Thailand)

B) flights Thailand-to-XXX // return XXX-to-Thailand

 

That makes a difference for the use one can have for the AIG insurance that comes with booking with Emirates:

A) this is my situation. As per the title of the discussion, is that sufficient for the Thailand Pass? The answer is yes, it is sufficient. I obtained my TP within 2 or 3 days from applying, with the AIG (Emirates) insurance working fine, no question asked.

B) That's obviously your situation, and then no, the AIG (Emirates) insurance is not going to work for the TP application since its coverage stops when you land back in Thailand.

 

I think that makes everything clearer.