I posted some questions on expat health insurance not too long ago.  Now I am considering the insurance underwriting type, ie. full medical vs moratorium.

 

While each type has its own pros and cons, full medical underwriting seems to be more straight forward to me.  I declare my medical history during the application process and all the exclusions and inclusions are spelled out upfront.  However, for moratorium, there is no review process involved; although I can get insurance right away, I won't know exactly what is excluded until I make a claim.

 

Do any of you purchase the moratorium type of insurance?  Can you share your experience of the claim filing process and the outcome?

Many problems have been reported on this board from people with moratorium policies. They are definitely to be avoided IMO for exactly the reason you say - you do not know whether something will be covered until there is a claim. (Thai insurer4s in particular are quite "creative" in deciding something was pre-exisitng...but even international insurers may surprise you).

 

The only reason I can think of for getting a  moratorium policy would be if you simply could not get cover any other way due to pre-existing conditions (i.e. if all insurers offering full underwriting rejected you). But it is still a big gamble.

 

It takes a bti longer to get a policy will full underwriting issued but well worth it.

9 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Many problems have been reported on this board from people with moratorium policies. They are definitely to be avoided IMO for exactly the reason you say - you do not know whether something will be covered until there is a claim. (Thai insurer4s in particular are quite "creative" in deciding something was pre-exisitng...but even international insurers may surprise you).

 

The only reason I can think of for getting a  moratorium policy would be if you simply could not get cover any other way due to pre-existing conditions (i.e. if all insurers offering full underwriting rejected you). But it is still a big gamble.

 

It takes a bti longer to get a policy will full underwriting issued but well worth it.

Well, it makes sense now why the few sales reps I interacted with were quite eager to sell me the moratorium policy!

 

Sheryl, thank you for your input.  They are highly respected, as always!  They have helped me tremendously in avoiding many traps in this long journey of looking for the right expat insurance.

The other thing I would add is to be sure to complete the medical questionnaire in full and honestly.

 

With full medical underwriting if issued by an insurer based in a Western country you are assured that anything not stated as an exclusion in the policy will be covered unless it is later found that you omitted  or concealed something relevant. In that case not only might a claim be denied but entire policy could be voided. 

I am confused why you did΄nt ask your compatriots in the Consulate of your country where they are ......insured?

Do you plan to get sick and stay in Thailand where medical mafia eat the money of healthy insured people?

When money in a situation is involved I trust no one health care provider because we are not talking about doctors but "professionals".