Can I get Thai health insurance while on a tourist visa?

[Cameroni]

Hi, I entered Thailand on a visa waiver on 2nd March and am currently applying for an ED visa which I am told will come through on 20th April or thereabouts. 

 

Up until 15th March I had a good medical insurance for travel from my home country, however, this has now expired. I went to see a local Thai AXA agent and she told me I would have to live in Thailand 120 days BEFORE I can get insurance with AXA. The agent suggested another company that would insure me now but I would have to pay one year of premiums in advance, no monthly payments.

 

Does anyone know if I can get Thai medical insurance on a visa waiver? Do I really need to wait 120 days before I can get health insurance? Any tips on good insurance companies or plans are very welcome. Thank you.

 

[Celsius]

So, you had a travel insurance. What insurance are you exactly hoping to get while on a tourist visa? You will need a long term visa to apply for a medical insurance here. 

 

Now, someone will jump in and say I got no clue what I am talking about there are plenty of companies that will insure you including the bargirl aka real estate agent aka insurance borker. Yes, you will get insured and once you need to make a claim good luck with it.

 

 

[Cameroni]

Yes, there are companies that will insure you on a tourist visa. The AXA agent suggested one, but indeed I am not sure if this is legal or worth the cost.

 

So if I wait until 20th April and have my ED visa and then go and get insurance will I get it or do I have to wait 120 days since the broker said I have to live in Thailand 120 days before I can get local insurance. Is this true?

Edited March 22, 2023 by Cameroni

[scubascuba3]

I would first ask your original travel insurance company whether you can extend, sometimes allow that. Also check with AA Insurance brokers may have something 

[Celsius]

1 minute ago, Cameroni said:

So if I wait until 20th April and have my ED visa and then go and get insurance will I get it or do I have to wait 120 days since the broker said I have to live in Thailand 120 days before I can get local insurance. Is this true?

 

I don't know this, but when you do make a claim at the hospital they really put all your documents under the microscope and if there is something does does not match in the fine print you will be denied. That includes stamps inside your passport.

 

As the guy above me suggested, you can try extending your original travel insurance. I really would not bother with Thai insurers right now and definitely DO NOT go on facebook groups where a hubby in Isaan found an amazing new career for his bored wife brokering insurance for Farang sheep. Also you should know that even when you get covered (after 120 days) there is a 1 month waiting period with most insurers before you can even make a claim. 

 

 

 

 

[Cameroni]

Thanks, they said clearly prior to booking that I cannot extend, but I sent them a message and asked what can be done.

 

Not loving the idea of not having any medical insurance for a month. Given the driving here.

[hadock]

 

not sure this will fit for you, depends on your age, if you are very young then there will be for sure cheapper solutions

 

i am insured with this company since 3 years, price is 97 euro a month for the basic plan, no matter what gender or age (max 66). Maximum insurance relationship is 5 years, you can pay and cancel monthly.  

 

https://www.bdae.com/en/health-insurance/expat-flexible

[Cameroni]

That looks brilliant, thank you so much hadock. Allianz are charging more than 280 Euro a month.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

I don't think any Thai insurer will offer monthly payments. You'll need to pay one year up front to get medical insurance here.

 

I think life insurers are fairly strict about only insuring people who have longer-term permission to stay. If you spoke with an agent for Krungthai-AXA, then you were probably talking with someone about a life insurance policy with a medical coverage extension.

 

It may be easier to get a medical insurance policy from a non-life company as their products will not have a cash value and may not necessarily come under the same AMLO scrutiny as life policies. AXA also has a non-life operation here, so it is possible you spoke with one of their agents and that they also have restrictions on their non-life products.

 

I suggest you work with a good insurance broker to see if there is an acceptable solution for you. I don't recommend that you go direct to insurers.

[Cameroni]

Etaoin, indeed this Lady had a shirt with Krungthai Axa and said she normally sells life insurance, so I am pretty sure it is as you say.

 

She did not seem terribly knowledgeable about medical health insurance at all and kept sending texts to the office when I asked questions.

 

In any event, I checked with AXA direct on their website and an agent there told me that it is irrelevant what type of visa I have, as long as I have a Thai address and stay for more than 182 days in Thailand. So this contradicted what the broker told me. She seemed to say I can only sign on once I have the ED visa, but the agent from the website said that is not required.

 

Anyway, the option hadock suggested, a German insurer with awesome coverage for 3600 Baht a month looks very tempting. The only downside appears to be that it is limited to 5 years only, whereas if I sign up with AXA I can be with them beyond 5 years. Plus if there is an occasion where I am in hospital I suspect AXA Thai will pay quicker than the "foreign" insurer, even if they are German and super efficient. I am just waiting for AXA to confirm no visa is required in writing and what their quote is.

 

Absolutely brilliant advice from everyone here, thank you everyone who bothered to advise.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Cameroni

[scubascuba3]

3 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Etaoin, indeed this Lady had a shirt with Krungthai Axa and said she normally sells life insurance, so I am pretty sure it is as you say.

 

She did not seem terribly knowledgeable about medical health insurance at all and kept sending texts to the office when I asked questions.

 

In any event, I checked with AXA direct on their website and an agent there told me that it is irrelevant what type of visa I have, as long as I have a Thai address and stay for more than 182 days in Thailand. So this contradicted what the broker told me. She seemed to say I can only sign on once I have the ED visa, but the agent from the website said that is not required.

 

Anyway, the option hadock suggested, a German insurer with awesome coverage for 3600 Baht a month looks very tempting. The only downside appears to be that it is limited to 5 years only, whereas if I sign up with AXA I can be with them beyond 5 years. Plus if there is an occasion where I am in hospital I suspect AXA Thai will pay quicker than the "foreign" insurer, even if they are German and super efficient. I am just waiting for AXA to confirm no visa is required in writing and what their quote is.

 

Absolutely brilliant advice from everyone here, thank you everyone who bothered to advise.

If you have an ED visa you may be able to get personal accident insurance, again try a broker such as AA, i have the Axa 200k baht medical expenses per accident, 6500 baht a year, or buy double policy for 500k medical, that's about the best you'll find here

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

4 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Etaoin, indeed this Lady had a shirt with Krungthai Axa and said she normally sells life insurance, so I am pretty sure it is as you say.

 

She did not seem terribly knowledgeable about medical health insurance at all and kept sending texts to the office when I asked questions.

 

In any event, I checked with AXA direct on their website and an agent there told me that it is irrelevant what type of visa I have, as long as I have a Thai address and stay for more than 182 days in Thailand. So this contradicted what the broker told me. She seemed to say I can only sign on once I have the ED visa, but the agent from the website said that is not required.

 

Anyway, the option hadock suggested, a German insurer with awesome coverage for 3600 Baht a month looks very tempting. The only downside appears to be that it is limited to 5 years only, whereas if I sign up with AXA I can be with them beyond 5 years. Plus if there is an occasion where I am in hospital I suspect AXA Thai will pay quicker than the "foreign" insurer, even if they are German and super efficient. I am just waiting for AXA to confirm no visa is required in writing and what their quote is.

 

Absolutely brilliant advice from everyone here, thank you everyone who bothered to advise.

I would suggest you look closely at the coverage provided by the German company at the equivalent of thb3,600 per month. The premium seems a bit low to me for meaningful medical insurance unless you are very young (under 40) and/or are taking a significant deductible. Sounds more like travel insurance, which isn't the same as medical. 

[HauptmannUK]

You might want to look at Safety Wing for insurance whilst you get established here.  www.safetywing.com

[Cameroni]

25 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If you have an ED visa you may be able to get personal accident insurance, again try a broker such as AA, i have the Axa 200k baht medical expenses per accident, 6500 baht a year, or buy double policy for 500k medical, that's about the best you'll find here

Thanks Scuba. I will check out AA now.

 

21 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

I would suggest you look closely at the coverage provided by the German company at the equivalent of thb3,600 per month. The premium seems a bit low to me for meaningful medical insurance unless you are very young (under 40) and/or are taking a significant deductible. Sounds more like travel insurance, which isn't the same as medical. 

Good advice. I think you are right, this insurance is conceived as a maximum 5 year digital nomad insurance.  They keep cost down by only allowing those under 67 to be insured on this policy and they charge everyone the same premium regardless of age. Their proper worldwide medical insurance for longer term is 170 Euro a month.

 

Nevertheless the 5 year policy for 3600 Baht looks very good on paper. You can see it here.

 

https://www.bdae.com/en/health-insurance/expat-flexible

 

Inpatient and Outpatient covered 100 percent.

 

Medicine, Dental and Ambulance also covered 100 percent. 

 

It is almost too good to be true for 3600 Baht.

 

What worries me is this policy Thai hospitals have of not giving care until the procedure is approved by the insurer. If I am with AXA I can see that approval being given very quickly, whereas with this German company it will obviously be more long winded since they have no operations in Thailand.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Cameroni

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

8 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Thanks Scuba. I will check out AA now.

 

Good advice. I think you are right, this insurance is conceived as a maximum 5 year digital nomad insurance.  Their proper worldwide medical insurance for longer term is 170 Euro a month.

 

Nevertheless the 5 year policy for 3600 Baht looks very good on paper. You can see it here.

 

https://www.bdae.com/en/health-insurance/expat-flexible

 

Inpatient and Outpatient covered 100 percent.

 

Medicine, Dental and Ambulance also covered 100 percent. 

 

It is almost too good to be true for 3600 Baht.

The 3,600 baht quote may be for very low limits and for a very young insured, so I would take that with a grain of salt. Once you provide your age and select reasonable limits, you may get a different quote.

 

BDAE is an insurance broker, not an insurance company and I could not find the identity of the insurance company actually providing this coverage. I would want to know who the insurer is as well. I also could not find a copy of the actual insurance policy stating full terms and conditions, again something I would want to read before binding coverage.

[Cameroni]

Thanks Etaoin, the terms and conditions are actually there for download if you scroll down on that page.

 

https://www.bdae.com/en/health-insurance/expat-flexible

 

They charge the same whatever the age, even 6 year old children have to pay the 3600 Baht, I checked.

 

They are an insurer, not a broker by the way, at least that's what it says on their site.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

3 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Thanks Etaoin, the terms and conditions are actually there for download if you scroll down on that page.

 

https://www.bdae.com/en/health-insurance/expat-flexible

 

They charge the same whatever the age, even 6 year old children have to pay the 3600 Baht, I checked.

 

They are an insurer, not a broker by the way, at least that's what it says on their site.

BDAE is definitely an insurance broker, not an insurance company.

 

I can't find the full policy wording, which is what I mean by the terms and conditions. I can only find a schedule of benefits and descriptions of cover, not actual policy wording. The "Forms and Documents" page does not provide a link to download policy wording as far as I can tell. If you have a link to the webpage where I can download the actual policy wording, please provide and I'll take a look.

 

Flat premiums for policyholders of all ages does not seem consistent with medical insurance, so I would certainly wish to see full details of policy wording. I'm not concerned with 6-year-old children, more with 60-year-olds.

 

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Here you can see the ownership structure of BDAE:  https://cms.law/en/deu/news-information/msh-international-advised-by-cms-on-successful-acquisition-of-majority-stake-in-bdae-group. These companies are insurance intermediaries (brokers), not insurance companies.

[Cameroni]

The full policy terms and conditions are on the page I sent you earlier, you just have to scroll down.

 

https://www.bdae.com/images/products/flexible/docs/en/Flexible_Insurance_documents.pdf

 

It looks like you are right that they are a broker, since the policy states that the insurer is Allianz. 

 

I saw the ownership of MSH before, but since they had prizes as insurer in the media I had assmed they were the insurer, but looks like they use Allianz as the underlying insurance company.

 

Looks even more legit now. Thanks for looking at this.

[jvs]

Op,have you already got a bank account?

Some banks offer (accident)insurerance when you open an account.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

36 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

The full policy terms and conditions are on the page I sent you earlier, you just have to scroll down.

 

https://www.bdae.com/images/products/flexible/docs/en/Flexible_Insurance_documents.pdf

 

It looks like you are right that they are a broker, since the policy states that the insurer is Allianz. 

 

I saw the ownership of MSH before, but since they had prizes as insurer in the media I had assmed they were the insurer, but looks like they use Allianz as the underlying insurance company.

 

Looks even more legit now. Thanks for looking at this.

Thanks for the link. 

 

I've had a quick look at the policy wording and it does appear to be medical insurance and not travel. The insurer is part of the Allianz group, so it should be professionally run and properly capitalized.

 

The indication of 97 euros per month is likely to be for a plan with low limits and may not be sufficient. You'll want to check this. I suspect that once someone fills out the application form and submits medical history, age and selects a plan with adequate limits, the premium will go up. I'm not yet convinced that Allianz would charge a flat premium regardless of the age of the insured, but if it is the case, then that's fine.

 

It does look legit and is likely to be a better option that what you could get from a Thai insurer.

[Cameroni]

3 hours ago, jvs said:

Op,have you already got a bank account?

Some banks offer (accident)insurerance when you open an account.

Yes, I have one already, I got it in 2019 and kept it funded. They never closed it. I should check if I got some insurance with it but I doubt t.

[Cameroni]

2 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Thanks for the link. 

 

I've had a quick look at the policy wording and it does appear to be medical insurance and not travel. The insurer is part of the Allianz group, so it should be professionally run and properly capitalized.

 

The indication of 97 euros per month is likely to be for a plan with low limits and may not be sufficient. You'll want to check this. I suspect that once someone fills out the application form and submits medical history, age and selects a plan with adequate limits, the premium will go up. I'm not yet convinced that Allianz would charge a flat premium regardless of the age of the insured, but if it is the case, then that's fine.

 

It does look legit and is likely to be a better option that what you could get from a Thai insurer.

I also find it really strange they charge a flat fee to anyone regardless of age. Still tempted to take this one if Axa don't give a good quote.

[Regyai]

On 3/22/2023 at 5:36 PM, scubascuba3 said:

If you have an ED visa you may be able to get personal accident insurance, again try a broker such as AA, i have the Axa 200k baht medical expenses per accident, 6500 baht a year, or buy double policy for 500k medical, that's about the best you'll find here

Sounds interesting. I have sadly endured several days engaged in a puerile and wasteful exchange with AA who could, however prompted, only persist in coming up with ludicrously pitiful levels of accident medical expenses cover. Your 500K whilst not remarkable, has half a chance of making a dent in a hospital bill after a calamity on the roads.

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Regyai said:

Sounds interesting. I have sadly endured several days engaged in a puerile and wasteful exchange with AA who could, however prompted, only persist in coming up with ludicrously pitiful levels of accident medical expenses cover. Your 500K whilst not remarkable, has half a chance of making a dent in a hospital bill after a calamity on the roads.

They are average at best, probably same all agents, on renewal they offered me a rubbish option, i told them a better one which they subsequently offered, so independent research required