I live in rural Thailand where it is no secret that alot of the drivers don't have a driving license. I don't drive a motorbike but from time to time I will be a passenger on my wife's family's bikes (they are insured but refuse to get a license as it's "normal")

 

 

 

My question is if they ever had an accident and they didn't hold a driving license would the insurance company pay the medical costs ? And would they still pay mine as a passenger ?

 

 

 

 

Insurance companies have entire departments dedicated to rejecting claims, what would you expect in the circumstances described?

6 minutes ago, Chad91 said:

My question is if they ever had an accident and they didn't hold a driving license would the insurance company pay the medical costs ? And would they still pay mine as a passenger ?

Yes they would, government minimum only covers 40kbht in medical fees though.

But most unlicensed villagers don't bother to tax or insure their M/cs either.

You'll need to contact your health insurance company and get them to confirm in writing, check T&Cs see if anything in there.

 

i checked my travel insurance once and i was only covered as pillion if motorbike rider was fully legal with licence and not over limit

As a general rule insurance companies will of course not pay for any damages resulting from illegal usage which includes riding without a license. Refusing to get a license when it's so easy and cheap is... how to put it nicely... not very smart. Now if they have just the compulsory insurance with minimal cover the question becomes if they will actually check for the license. The one time I saw someone submitting a claim they did, but that was not upcountry.

Another reason never to get on a motorbike in Thailand unless you have a death wish.

the compulsory insurance barely covers anything 30,000 baht maximum

first class insurance for small bikes is rare

 

For peace of mind, a personal accident is cheap

7 hours ago, Keep Right said:

Another reason never to get on a motorbike in Thailand unless you have a death wish.

Life is better with a motorbike,  i never liked being pillion on a taxi bike, helmets are rubbish and don't fit, most people don't wear, so the quicker you stop that the better

9 hours ago, digbeth said:

first class insurance for small bikes is rare

PCX and CRF First Class since new.

How you figure it is rare ?

My 2013 Forza, bought in 2019 second hand, is on First Class.

Rare - Hardly

13 minutes ago, seedy said:

PCX and CRF First Class since new.

How you figure it is rare ?

My 2013 Forza, bought in 2019 second hand, is on First Class.

Rare - Hardly

And how many other person you know, who have first class insurance on their bikes?

Only because you always had first class not mean other do the same... till now mean 1 person had first class!
So this could still be rare....

If the bikes are taxed it means they have compulsory insurance, which also pays if the rider is drunk or doesn't have a license: https://www.rvp.co.th/ClaimQA_en.php

As you can see the limit is 30k if at fault, 80k if not at fault, so for you as pillion it should always be 80k.

 

15 minutes ago, seedy said:

PCX and CRF First Class since new.

How you figure it is rare ?

My 2013 Forza, bought in 2019 second hand, is on First Class.

Rare - Hardly

Just because you have it doesn't mean it's not rare. I doubt more than 1% of motorbikes in Thailand have first class insurance, so it's definitely rare.

1 hour ago, HampiK said:

And how many other person you know, who have first class insurance on their bikes?

All the people I know - foreigner - keep First Class.

Why would you not ? Height of Folly to not be insured to cover those "Oh S---" moments

1 hour ago, FriendlyFarang said:

 I doubt more than 1% of motorbikes in Thailand have first class insurance, so it's definitely rare.

Thai people - most likely the majority just have basic, but they also have Gov't health care.

And if they swipe a Merc - well, can't get blood out of a stone.

Me - I never want to find out - hence 10 million coverage.

11 hours ago, eisfeld said:

As a general rule insurance companies will of course not pay for any damages resulting from illegal usage which includes riding without a license. Refusing to get a license when it's so easy and cheap is... how to put it nicely... not very smart. Now if they have just the compulsory insurance with minimal cover the question becomes if they will actually check for the license. The one time I saw someone submitting a claim they did, but that was not upcountry.

Yes, but the topic is passengers, which don't need a license.

 

I never checked, but assume same as for the driver- helmet, legal m'bike, driver has license, not drunk, limit on m'bike cc.

11 hours ago, eisfeld said:

As a general rule insurance companies will of course not pay for any damages resulting from illegal usage which includes riding without a license. Refusing to get a license when it's so easy and cheap is... how to put it nicely... not very smart. Now if they have just the compulsory insurance with minimal cover the question becomes if they will actually check for the license. The one time I saw someone submitting a claim they did, but that was not upcountry.

That will totally depend on the insurance company. I have first hand experience having an accident as a passenger on a motorbike driven by a driver without license. They payed for both the driver and me as well as damage on the bike. That was the Thai standard insurance. So, @BritManToo you are perfectly correct!

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Life is better with a motorbike,  i never liked being pillion on a taxi bike, helmets are rubbish and don't fit, most people don't wear, so the quicker you stop that the better

Being on the pillion of a moto taxi going at 80 kmph riding on both road and pavement to get around parked vehicles, vehicles turning and pedestrians certainly puts life into perspective! 

11 hours ago, Keep Right said:

Another reason never to get on a motorbike in Thailand unless you have a death wish.

I have use of family moto's but never to travel on them either as rider or pillion unless I can't avoid it. All the family ride in T shirts, shorts and flip-flops. It's going to happen one day and I fear someone is going to be in a terrible mess. 

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Yes, but the topic is passengers, which don't need a license.

No he said he is riding pillion on bikes ridden by people who have no license and the question was does insurance still pay in that case. CMI probably does but any other kind of insurance probably wont and CMI has extremely limited cover.

 

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

That will totally depend on the insurance company. I have first hand experience having an accident as a passenger on a motorbike driven by a driver without license. They payed for both the driver and me as well as damage on the bike. That was the Thai standard insurance. So, @BritManToo you are perfectly correct!

Thai Compulsary Motor Insurance does not cover damage to vehicles so I must doubt your story.

 

5 hours ago, FriendlyFarang said:

If the bikes are taxed it means they have compulsory insurance, which also pays if the rider is drunk or doesn't have a license

It does have coverage if the driver is at fault and I guess the CMI was introduced to provide mainly coverage for other people or rather the population at large and they knew full well that many don't have a license or are drunk so silently accept that. Since they force everyone to pay a few hundred baht per year and the coverage is extremely low it's easy to just pay out with no checks.

5 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Thai Compulsary Motor Insurance does not cover damage to vehicles so I must doubt your story.

You can doubt it as much as you want. What I am telling is a fact.

6 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

You can doubt it as much as you want. What I am telling is a fact.

the govt compulsory insurance doesn't include vehicle damage, 30k+ med cover

5 hours ago, seedy said:

PCX and CRF First Class since new.

How you figure it is rare ?

My 2013 Forza, bought in 2019 second hand, is on First Class.

Rare - Hardly

It is very rare in rural Thailand areas where people don't even bother to get a license -- which is where OP refers to

13 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

You can doubt it as much as you want. What I am telling is a fact.

You might think of it as a fact but I still doubt it. The compulsory insurance scheme just covers health issues of people. It doesn't cover damage to property, now that is a fact. They either had some other insurance or you misunderstood something.

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

You might think of it as a fact but I still doubt it. The compulsory insurance scheme just covers health issues of people. It doesn't cover damage to property, now that is a fact. They either had some other insurance or you misunderstood something.

Same insurance that you pay for at DLT every year. No, I did not misunderstand anything. It happened, but then they might have made an error in that case.

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

the govt compulsory insurance doesn't include vehicle damage, 30k+ med cover

 

I am just posting what happened in my case, and that made me understand that it covered. Still that is what happened.

11 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

I am just posting what happened in my case, and that made me understand that it covered. Still that is what happened.

Nah it's a misunderstanding, some other insurance covered it

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

Same insurance that you pay for at DLT every year. No, I did not misunderstand anything. It happened, but then they might have made an error in that case.

Insurance companies sell other coverage than just compulsory one at the DLT here.

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Nah it's a misunderstanding, some other insurance covered it

Do you find it hard understanding, what I am writing? There was no other insurance, period!

22 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Do you find it hard understanding, what I am writing? There was no other insurance, period!

you don't seem to be able to read black and white, see the compulsory insurance above and see what's covered, not your vehicle, for 500 baht it won't include it 555

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

the govt compulsory insurance doesn't include vehicle damage, 30k+ med cover

This is shocking ????. That means if someone hits me with a car or bike, I could end up with a financial nightmare. But you may be able to get compensation from the driver IF he has money. Will make sure only luxury cars hit me ????. 

22 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

This is shocking ????. That means if someone hits me with a car or bike, I could end up with a financial nightmare. But you may be able to get compensation from the driver IF he has money. 

Yes, unless you have your own proper insurance.