Health Insurance Renewal

[Mike Teavee]

My Heath insurance (Pacific Cross "Visa Friendly" policy) is due for the 1st renwal in 2 weeks & I would expect to be on my 3rd or 4th reminder by now but haven't had anything from Pacific Cross or Mr Prakan who was the insurance agent that I used to get the policy. 

 

Is this normal & if so, should I approach Mr Prakan or Pacific Cross to get a quote/sort out the renewal? 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

MTV 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Mike Teavee

[Sheryl]

If you need/want to retain this policy you definitely need to contact broker or insurer and arrange payment.

[G Rex]

I would suggest you contact them  - possibly you have fallen through the cracks - or check spam.

They contact me regularly - I pay quarterly , and they send my first reminder 4 to 6 weeks in advance

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Don't leave anything to chance. Contact the broker through whom you arranged your policy and start the renewal process.

 

There is always a danger in allowing a policy to lapse. If it does, you may need to apply as a new applicant. This carries the risk of having to take a physical exam that may lead to the insurer excluding additional medical conditions, increasing the premium or even possibly denying coverage completely.

[Mike Teavee]

Thanks guys, I'm used to be harrassed by insurance companies when it comes to renewal time so hadn't thought about this until it struck me that it's my Birthday in 2 weeks time & the policy is due for renewal the day before..

 

Have contacted Mr Praken as they were very helpful when it came to getting/selecting the policy.

 

 

Thanks Again

 

 

MTV 

[howerde]

I have a Pacific Cross policy, taken directly with them, and only get the renewal notice once, same for my FWD policy neither sent constant reminders, like in the UK

[Mike Teavee]

28 minutes ago, howerde said:

I have a Pacific Cross policy, taken directly with them, and only get the renewal notice once, same for my FWD policy neither sent constant reminders, like in the UK

Can I ask how long before the renewal date that you got your notice?

 

I did inform Pacific Cross about my address move but didn't tell my Broker so I'm wondering whether the broker has sent a renewal notice to my old address & obviously I wouldn't have recieved it - I would have expected an email and/or phone call by now though but TiT and things do tend to get done at the last minute.

 

 

 

[howerde]

2 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Can I ask how long before the renewal date that you got your notice?

 

I did inform Pacific Cross about my address move but didn't tell my Broker so I'm wondering whether the broker has sent a renewal notice to my old address & obviously I wouldn't have recieved it - I would have expected an email and/or phone call by now though but TiT and things do tend to get done at the last minute.

 

 

 

about 6 weeks for both, then nothing more, i make a note and renew  about 2 weeks before, both send a medical questioner as well, pacific cross now cover me for prostate issues and cataracts after 2 years no idea why as i have never had issues with these.

[howerde]

14 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Can I ask how long before the renewal date that you got your notice?

 

I did inform Pacific Cross about my address move but didn't tell my Broker so I'm wondering whether the broker has sent a renewal notice to my old address & obviously I wouldn't have recieved it - I would have expected an email and/or phone call by now though but TiT and things do tend to get done at the last minute.

 

 

 

IT could have gone to the broker, i wanted to pay mine from a bank account in Thailand but pacific cross could not tell me if my UK debit card would be used as in previous years, they told me to wait and see if my UK card was used( it  was), seemed odd they could not know how my payment was going to be taken

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

10 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

 

 

I did inform Pacific Cross about my address move but didn't tell my Broker so I'm wondering whether the broker has sent a renewal notice to my old address & obviously I wouldn't have recieved it - I would have expected an email and/or phone call by now though but TiT and things do tend to get done at the last minute.

 

 

 

A broker has an obligation to notify a client of an upcoming renewal and will often send out reminders at least a month in advance. If a policyholder uses a broker, the insurer will usually send a renewal notice to the broker, not the policyholder. It is quite possible that the broker sent a letter by post to your old address. I have also heard that there have been issues with backroom operations due to work from home and other Covid-related issues. Best to update your address and work with your broker on the renewal.

[4MyEgo]

17 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

but haven't had anything from Pacific Cross or Mr Prakan who was the insurance agent that I used to get the policy. 

I receive email notifications from my broker AA Insurance Brokers on all my insurance policies about 4 weeks before the policy is due, and they also ask me to check my address details before they send the policies to me in the mail once I have paid either them or the insurer direct, depending on the insurers instructions.

 

Perhaps your broker could do with a wake up call as it is the 21st century and email is the preferred way to get in contact with people these days.  

[JimHuaHin]

I agree with most of the earlier posts.

 

You need to contact them!! Now!!!

 

My policy expires in late June; I usually contact them on 1 April to start the renewal process (fully aware that things slow down for about a week due to Songkran).  If there are any problems, they can usually be dealt with before I need to extend my visa.

 

The Pacific Cross renewal process usually takes about 6 weeks, as another poster has noted.

 

About a week or so after I get renewal confirmation, I go to Immigration to make sure that Pacific Cross have updated my policy on the Immigration computer system.

 

Good luck.

[Tracyb]

I had the same problem with this company.  Several attempts to contact the agent were unsuccessful.  I went to another insurance company and bought coverage.  Once I had the new policy I wrote to the company and explained I wasn’t renewing my policy with them because of their poor customer service. THEN they began falling all over themselves with apologies and entreaties to give them another chance.  Good riddance to them.

[Mike Teavee]

It looks like I was 1 day premature with my query & Mr Prakan sends renewal notices out exactly 2 weeks before it's due as I got an email from them at 8:30am this morning advising me that my policy is due for renewal. 

[It's either that or they actioned the email that I sent to them on a Sunday afternoon before 8:30am on a Monday morning!]

 

Very straightforward to renew, just sign one form, pay the money & send it to them (which was exactly how it was when setting the policy up last year) so again I'm happy with the service I get from them & would recommend them to others (if for nothing else than their website offers a great way to check out different insurance policies). 

 

Thanks again for all the comments  

[Mike Teavee]

2 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

I agree with most of the earlier posts.

 

You need to contact them!! Now!!!

 

My policy expires in late June; I usually contact them on 1 April to start the renewal process (fully aware that things slow down for about a week due to Songkran).  If there are any problems, they can usually be dealt with before I need to extend my visa.

 

The Pacific Cross renewal process usually takes about 6 weeks, as another poster has noted.

 

About a week or so after I get renewal confirmation, I go to Immigration to make sure that Pacific Cross have updated my policy on the Immigration computer system.

 

Good luck.

Wow 6 weeks!!! - Were there any changes to circumstances that caused it to take so long as It only took 3-4 days for me to get the initial policy so am expecting confirmation that it's been renewed within the next couple of days.

 

I'm lucky in that I'm on a Non-Imm O so don't need the insurance for extension purposes but I did go with the "Visa Friendly" policy (minus the Out-Patients) as it provides the 3.5 Million THB COVID cover needed to re-enter Thailand.

[Mike Teavee]

For anybody who's interested, this popped up in my Youtube feed today...

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Since this topic is not directly related to visas or extensions of stay I am moving to the insurance forum.

[ploy96]

Hi mike

 

I'm a staff at Pacific Cross Health Insurance. I would like to apologize for any mistake that happened. can you contact us via [email protected] / [email protected] (Mr. Prakan's email) or [email protected] (a staff who taking care of Mr.Prakan Broker). they will provide a renewal notice to you asap. 

 

looking forward to hearing from you.

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, ploy96 said:

Hi mike

 

I'm a staff at Pacific Cross Health Insurance. I would like to apologize for any mistake that happened. can you contact us via [email protected] / [email protected] (Mr. Prakan's email) or [email protected] (a staff who taking care of Mr.Prakan Broker). they will provide a renewal notice to you asap. 

 

looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your post, I emailed Mr Prakan on Sunday afternoon to say that I hadn't recieved a renewal notice & got a renewal notice/qote from them early Monday morning (I suspect I would have recieved this anyway if I had have waited another day). 

 

Paid the renewal premium/provided them with the signed renewal form on Monday morning & by 1:30 pm they emailed me to say that my renewal has been processessed & I should recieve the documents in the post. 

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post a reply.

 

 

Regards

 

 

MTV

[ploy96]

Dear Mike 

 

noted that, thanks for your feedback.

 

Have a nice day ????