Insurance for Driving Thai Girlfirends Car

[nrasmussen]

19 minutes ago, scorecard said:

***** This case is in Thailand ***** .

Obviously. However, my comment was meant for the poster that gave wrong info regarding EU. My apologies if that wasn't clear.

[Pdavies99]

On 10/20/2022 at 9:45 AM, Pdavies99 said:

Sorry to say, but rather wrong, for instance, in the EU and particularly the UK the insurance is specific to named drivers and named cars.....of course there are exceptions.

As I stated there are exceptions!

[Pdavies99]

23 hours ago, nrasmussen said:

Perhaps true for some EU countries, but Denmark is an EU member and insurance there is for the car.

As I stated there are exceptions!

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Motor insurers in Thailand do give the option to insure on the basis of named driver only, for which they typically give a discount on the premium. This may or may not be the case in other countries, but for the OP's purposes that is irrelevant.

 

Thailand is a bit of an outlier in motor insurance anyway because true third party liability insurance is not mandatory. The Por Ror Bor scheme is a no-fault medical expense, death and disability scheme, somewhat similar to personal accident cover, with very low limits and no cover for claims by third parties for damage to vehicles or medical expenses above the small limit provided. Make sure you're also satisfied with the TPL limits as they are often fairly low.

 

Read your policy to see what is says about authorized drivers. If still in doubt, contact your broker or the insurance company and get their response in writing.

[it is what it is]

 

do as you'd do at home, just give the insurer a quick ring. if other drivers are not covered, and unless you have a claims history, it's usually quite cheap, depending on the vehicle, to add another driver. next.

[it is what it is]

4 hours ago, Steve80 said:

I am from the UK, where the insurance is on the driver and the car, and realise it is different everywhere in the world. With this being the first time I have checked this, I was unsure what the situation for Thailand is.

 

I was also unsure if being on a foreign driving license and IDP (Non Thai) would also have any exclusions or special requirements on standard car insurance that could prevent me from driving.

am from the UK, where the insurance is on the driver and the car,

 

yea, but it's dead easy to get other named driver/s included, i'm on my brother's and mate's insurances and vice versa. sometimes the premium even goes down when you add a driver.

[puchooay]

41 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

They are like most cars,  have 4 wheels and such.

 

Doesn't really help with the conversation.

 

I was trying to work out how you can save 100k on 4 policies when my policy is only 15k. 

 

 

[eisfeld]

7 minutes ago, puchooay said:

Doesn't really help with the conversation.

 

I was trying to work out how you can save 100k on 4 policies when my policy is only 15k. 

 

 

Because you have one of the cheapest. I have motorbikes whose policy costs more than the one for your car. Saving 25k per year on a policy doesn't sound outrageous.

 

But it's offtopic anyways. To be a bit more ontopic, OP: most policies in Thailand as previously mentioned are on the car no matter the driver. Insurance companies do offer discounted policies for named driver only so if you want to be sure either check the policy (needs reading and understanding of Thai) or easier: have your GF ring the company.

[nrasmussen]

27 minutes ago, Pdavies99 said:

As I stated there are exceptions!

 

My mistake. I misread your post as being a blanket statement regarding EU with exceptions outside the union. Sorry for the confusion.

[puchooay]

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

Because you have one of the cheapest.

Not at all.

 

Most people I know pay around the same. For a car that is, the topic of this thread.

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

Not at all.

 

Most people I know pay around the same. For a car that is, the topic of this thread.

Well that's not surprising. Most people have cars that are on the cheaper side of things. Obviously more expensive cars cost roughly proportionally more to insure. But let's not get too much into this because the topic is actually if the OP is covered while driving his GFs car.

[puchooay]

52 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Obviously more expensive cars cost roughly proportionally more to insure.

Hence my original question.

 

 

[kwilco]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:20 AM, Peterw42 said:

OP, its the car that's insured anywhere in the world, That's why its called car insurance and not driver insurance, Thailand is no different.

The default for any car insurance is usually any authorized driver, with possible exemptions for under a certain age, learners etc.

As others have said, check the policy, but unless its a specific policy that only covers the owner of the car, it should operate as any other car insurance.

In the UK it's the driver that's insured for a particular vehicle. 

Once you start changing vehicles and drivers the cover can become a lot less. My UK insurance covers me for my car and only 3rd party of other vehicles.

 

In Thailand I could allow others to driver temporarily and I was never 100% sure how fully they were covered.

 

Thailand cars carry very basic insurance that is paid for when you tax the vehicle yearly. Tis only covers the bare minimum. If you have a full insurance policy then they may expect to be notified of other regular drivers.

 

I would suggest to the OP that they talk to the insurance company - or their agent to get a full explanation.

My 4x4 with noted mods was insured for just over 10,000 baht per annum which remained about the same for years due to rises in cost against no claims bonus. I never had a major claim - a few small dings that were dropped when the other party realised I had full insurance and was capable of challenging any trumped up claims. 

I use AXA who were great - Originally it was some company called Safety Insurance, but I gave up with them shortly fter changing vehicles as their customer service was appalling.

AXA had bail bond, roadside recovery and windscreen included.

 

I think if they are a regular second/other driver, they will be expected to add their name to the policy

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Well that's not surprising. Most people have cars that are on the cheaper side of things. Obviously more expensive cars cost roughly proportionally more to insure. But let's not get too much into this because the topic is actually if the OP is covered while driving his GFs car.

the way a car is insured is an assessment of how much they could potentially cost an insurance company....they take into account the value of the car and the statistics regarding frequency of claims, age of drivers etc.

 

An imported KD car ca cost a fortune is replacement parts and they often have to be shipped in individually. and they have duty to pay on them

They can also cause a lot of third party damage and their drivers may also be more likely to claim. - just a windscreen can cost two or three times the price of a car made in Thailand.

[pedro01]

Both our cars are insured for named drivers. Not sure why - but that's the best deals we could get on renewals and with the best no claims.

 

But it's pretty cheap to add a driver. 

[Will B Good]

On 10/20/2022 at 11:40 AM, StevieAus said:

I have found in recent years that most of the big companies, banks etc including my insurer have people who speak pretty good English.

I have found you have to listen carefully and speak slowly.

I do admit that as my Thai is very very basic it is handy to have the wife who speaks the National Thai, Lana and good English to assist.

What's Lana?

[StevieAus]

On 10/23/2022 at 12:23 PM, Will B Good said:

What's Lana?

I may not have spelt it correctly but it’s the “ local language” they speak in the North.

[kwilco]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:20 AM, Peterw42 said:

OP, its the car that's insured anywhere in the world, That's why its called car insurance and not driver insurance, Thailand is no different.

The default for any car insurance is usually any authorized driver, with possible exemptions for under a certain age, learners etc.

As others have said, check the policy, but unless its a specific policy that only covers the owner of the car, it should operate as any other car insurance.

In the UK it's the driver that's insured for a particular vehicle. It takes into account the driver's record - convictions claim etc. So did my Thai insurance as I got no claims bonus.

Once you start changing vehicles and drivers, the cover can become a lot less. My UK insurance covers me for my car and only 3rd party of other vehicles.

In Thailand I could allow others to driver temporarily and I was never 100% sure how fully they were covered. I'm pretty sure that the cover offered was less. 

All Thai cars carry very basic insurance that is paid for when you tax the vehicle yearly. This only covers the bare minimum. If you have a full insurance policy then they may expect to be notified of other regular drivers.

I would suggest to the OP that they talk to the insurance company - or their agent to get a full explanation.

My 4x4 with noted mods was insured for just over 10,000 baht per annum which remained about the same for years due to rises in cost against no claims bonus. I never had a major claim - a few small dings that were dropped when the other party realised I had full insurance and was capable of challenging any trumped up claims. 

I use AXA who were great - Originally it was some company called Safety Insurance, but I gave up with them shortly after changing vehicles as their customer service was appalling.

AXA had bail bond, roadside recovery and windscreen included.

I think if they are a regular second/other regular driver requiring full cover, they will be expected to add their name to the policy

 

  

[Will B Good]

20 hours ago, StevieAus said:

I may not have spelt it correctly but it’s the “ local language” they speak in the North.

Ha!.....Well there you go......my wife of 16 years says she can speak it!!!