Healthcare Insurance

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

36 minutes ago, nofarang said:

My insurance company is MUANG THAI LIFE INSURANCE, they offer health insurance combined with life insurance. (life insurance is just a small amount, I think it is due to company regulations). I entered at 71, two years ago, inpatient premium is 135.000 Baht, i have no preexisting issues. Premium is modestly increased every five years.

 

The company was founded in 1951 and "was the first life insurance company to be appointed under the royal patronage of King Bhumibol Adulyadej", Wikipedia. Where I live, the insurance company has a very helpful English-speaking representative. Anyone interested may send me a board mail.

 

Life insurers in Thailand offer life insurance with an endorsement that adds medical coverage. Typically a significant portion of the annual premium goes towards the life insurance component of the coverage. This is fine if you want life insurance coverage, but bear in mind that life insurance tends to be fairly expensive, especially for older people.

 

The limit of liability for medical expenses under a life policy is sometimes the same as the life insurance amount, which may make getting adequate limits for medical cover expensive. What limit does your policy provide under the medical cover endorsement? 

 

There is also another catch: Thai life insurers tend to offer only whole life policies. These are life policies with a cash value. This can present issues for Americans because the cash value counts towards the aggregate $10,000 FBAR filing threshold and may therefore require reporting. Not only that, but the investment or interest income paid by the insurer on the cash value, unlike US whole life policies, is taxable income under IRS regulations. Not all life insurers provide a sufficiently detailed breakdown of investment income for a policyholder to be US tax compliant.

 

Insurance agents are often only trained to sell the product of the insurer they represent and can't give you options from other insurers. They are also the legal agent of the insurer and have fewer obligations to provide advice or to look after the interests of the policyholder than an independent broker does.

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, nofarang said:

My insurance company is MUANG THAI LIFE INSURANCE, they offer health insurance combined with life insurance. (life insurance is just a small amount, I think it is due to company regulations). I entered at 71, two years ago, inpatient premium is 135.000 Baht, i have no preexisting issues. Premium is modestly increased every five years.

 

The company was founded in 1951 and "was the first life insurance company to be appointed under the royal patronage of King Bhumibol Adulyadej", Wikipedia. Where I live, the insurance company has a very helpful English-speaking representative. Anyone interested may send me a board mail.

At 71 I'd expect them to find pre-existing conditions when you claim, fingers crossed🤞 

[jori123]

Best and cheapest is just two hours away from bkk,anything and everything,India, calcutta saved my life early diagnosis of cancer,fraction of price Thailand,,about 140 pounds return

[scubascuba3]

49 minutes ago, jori123 said:

Best and cheapest is just two hours away from bkk,anything and everything,India, calcutta saved my life early diagnosis of cancer,fraction of price Thailand,,about 140 pounds return

Did you arrange everything in Thailand before you went?

[nofarang]

11 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

Life insurers in Thailand offer life insurance with an endorsement that adds medical coverage. Typically a significant portion of the annual premium goes towards the life insurance component of the coverage. This is fine if you want life insurance coverage, but bear in mind that life insurance tends to be fairly expensive, especially for older people.

 

The limit of liability for medical expenses under a life policy is sometimes the same as the life insurance amount, which may make getting adequate limits for medical cover expensive. What limit does your policy provide under the medical cover endorsement? 

 

There is also another catch: Thai life insurers tend to offer only whole life policies. These are life policies with a cash value. This can present issues for Americans because the cash value counts towards the aggregate $10,000 FBAR filing threshold and may therefore require reporting. Not only that, but the investment or interest income paid by the insurer on the cash value, unlike US whole life policies, is taxable income under IRS regulations. Not all life insurers provide a sufficiently detailed breakdown of investment income for a policyholder to be US tax compliant.

 

Insurance agents are often only trained to sell the product of the insurer they represent and can't give you options from other insurers. They are also the legal agent of the insurer and have fewer obligations to provide advice or to look after the interests of the policyholder than an independent broker does.

Thank you for your remarks.

I am covered up to 5 million Baht per inpatient hospitalisation per year.

No deductible.

 

[jerrymahoney]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

At 71 I'd expect them to find pre-existing conditions when you claim, fingers crossed🤞 

Since one has been subject to a detailed medical underwriting in order to get the life insurance in the first place, that there will be some 'newly discovered' condition upon submitting a claim is not the same as with the initial health insurer underwriting.

[jori123]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Did you arrange everything in Thailand before you went?

Need visa, about 40 pounds,knew where to go by scanning the web

sonascan  was recommended, truly well impressed,book hotels thru booking.com ,may go over next week for check up

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

48 minutes ago, nofarang said:

Thank you for your remarks.

I am covered up to 5 million Baht per inpatient hospitalisation per year.

No deductible.

 

 

That's a reasonable limit for the premium mentioned.

 

[scubascuba3]

23 minutes ago, jori123 said:

Need visa, about 40 pounds,knew where to go by scanning the web

sonascan  was recommended, truly well impressed,book hotels thru booking.com ,may go over next week for check up

Good, let us know how you get on, better still start a thread about it, many will be interested 

[buddy2010]

A good friend in Jomtien, with PACIFIC CROSS for 6 years.
Sum insured per year 5 mill. deductible 40.000.-THB 
Back pain last year, goes to the BKK hospital,
Diagnosis CYSTE.
Inpatient admission and surgery = approx. 180,000 THB
When planning the operation, they discover: difficult position of the cyst, a piece of bone has to be removed first.
New costs: 260,000 baht.
After the operation: Pacific Cross pays “only” 100,000 baht and deducts a 40,000 baht excess.
Conclusion: the insured person pays 200,000 baht himself.  Premium increase of 30%.
Then what is no exception here...the “notification” from the PC 
From now on the back is no longer insured!

[bradiston]

3 hours ago, jori123 said:

Best and cheapest is just two hours away from bkk,anything and everything,India, calcutta saved my life early diagnosis of cancer,fraction of price Thailand,,about 140 pounds return

Early diagnosis of cancer could be anything. An annual check up, for instance. Was it the treatment that cost a fraction of the Thai price? Weren't you insured?

[bradiston]

14 minutes ago, buddy2010 said:

A good friend in Jomtien, with PACIFIC CROSS for 6 years.
Sum insured per year 5 mill. deductible 40.000.-THB 
Back pain last year, goes to the BKK hospital,
Diagnosis CYSTE.
Inpatient admission and surgery = approx. 180,000 THB
When planning the operation, they discover: difficult position of the cyst, a piece of bone has to be removed first.
New costs: 260,000 baht.
After the operation: Pacific Cross pays “only” 100,000 baht and deducts a 40,000 baht excess.
Conclusion: the insured person pays 200,000 baht himself.  Premium increase of 30%.
Then what is no exception here...the “notification” from the PC 
From now on the back is no longer insured!

Wrlife... In the last month, 9 days inpatient treatment for cellulitis, 250,000 THB, covered. One night colonoscopy and associated treatment, 115,000 THB, covered. Waiting to hear about possible next procedures. Up to 30 days follow up costs, and all meds covered.

 

10,700 THB pm. Age 75. 2 year moratorium on Afib, now completed, so now covered. Good customer service on Thai number, non Thai CS personnel. To date, no complaints, but as they say in the investments trade, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. And of course, as always, YMMV.

[jori123]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Good, let us know how you get on, better still start a thread about it, many will be interested 

Soon as cancer detected in India,looked at treatment here in Thailand,gees arm and a leg and then some,got skates on,back to UK. At GP same day as arrival,gave me sr1,termination of life certificate ,treatment plans coming out ears. Oncologist states good for years now,fancied her too,I'm ok but radiation has taken it out of me,but kept my good looks thank buddha.it would have killed me by now if not detected early  .had another TURP op while there,In and out same day, but had anesthetic,kept in over night no bleeding and still randy,punch method used.must have cost NHS a fortune  .excellent place India cost wise brilliant 

[jori123]

3 hours ago, bradiston said:

Early diagnosis of cancer could be anything. An annual check up, for instance. Was it the treatment that cost a fraction of the Thai price? Weren't you insured?

No insurance,cost a fortune, cancer scan about ,(both ends ,)2000 baht in India then ,assesment of polyps 400 baht,but wanted more investigation on samples,about 2000 baht,was staged at 1, oncologist asked more than a few times how I knew

[jori123]

On 2/8/2025 at 10:21 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Good, let us know how you get on, better still start a thread about it, many will be interested 

If you go over take a handful of rupees,try not to use ATM,travel agents there give better than official x rate

[bradiston]

22 hours ago, jori123 said:

No insurance,cost a fortune, cancer scan about ,(both ends ,)2000 baht in India then ,assesment of polyps 400 baht,but wanted more investigation on samples,about 2000 baht,was staged at 1, oncologist asked more than a few times how I knew

My annual checkup at Jomtien Bangkok Hospital cost 5460 THB, with many tests and analyses and full reports and values, both above and below "norm". The doctor suggested I go for further consultation at BPH due to the findings in one test. The specialist recommended an overnight stay, and the subsequent procedures were covered by my insurers.

 

I don't see how flying to India with all the additional costs, is in any way preferable. And it seems you flew back to the UK  for your treatment on the NHS. This is simply incomparable to staying here in Thailand and following my insurers procedures, which are far from arduous, and having everything covered for 10,700 THB per month, with no additional travel and accommodation costs. My understanding was there are endless waiting lists for any treatment on the NHS, and you'd need somewhere to stay, which in London is not cheap. In short, your suggestion doesn't make any sense to me. I'm 75 with Afib but I'm covered for heart disease after a 2 year moratorium for up to $400,000 per year, or per treatments. The cost of my various hospitalisations has already exceeded my premiums. I've never before been hospitalised, in 73 years. YMMV.

[jori123]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

My annual checkup at Jomtien Bangkok Hospital cost 5460 THB, with many tests and analyses and full reports and values, both above and below "norm". The doctor suggested I go for further consultation at BPH due to the findings in one test. The specialist recommended an overnight stay, and the subsequent procedures were covered by my insurers.

 

I don't see how flying to India with all the additional costs, is in any way preferable. And it seems you flew back to the UK  for your treatment on the NHS. This is simply incomparable to staying here in Thailand and following my insurers procedures, which are far from arduous, and having everything covered for 10,700 THB per month, with no additional travel and accommodation costs. My understanding was there are endless waiting lists for any treatment on the NHS, and you'd need somewhere to stay, which in London is not cheap. In short, your suggestion doesn't make any sense to me. I'm 75 with Afib but I'm covered for heart disease after a 2 year moratorium for up to $400,000 per year, or per treatments. The cost of my various hospitalisations has already exceeded my premiums. I've never before been hospitalised, in 73 years. YMMV.

Flying to India, Calcutta is 2 hours away, Bout £140 return,flying back to UK,although arduous was worth it,  mri

scan ,£750 up to £1000 quotes in TH, in UK given like confetti, hospitalised UK on return twice,plus TURP op,plus £1500 tax free straight away and £110 a week tax free even pay here in Thailand,got high end accomodation thru past employment and docs seen  instantly,even a and.e seen straight away. Bottles of morphine given,no use of it,pour it down drain  I'm not paying.these stupid prices. My bloody arms were black with blood taking,but here now,was encouraged to return to the th more than a few  times by NHS staff

. NHS gave £3000 just for taxi fares every day for 5 weeks to cancer hospital,although they state cancer free,I'm wary of it's return I'm 78

[bradiston]

12 hours ago, jori123 said:

Flying to India, Calcutta is 2 hours away, Bout £140 return,flying back to UK,although arduous was worth it,  mri

scan ,£750 up to £1000 quotes in TH, in UK given like confetti, hospitalised UK on return twice,plus TURP op,plus £1500 tax free straight away and £110 a week tax free even pay here in Thailand,got high end accomodation thru past employment and docs seen  instantly,even a and.e seen straight away. Bottles of morphine given,no use of it,pour it down drain  I'm not paying.these stupid prices. My bloody arms were black with blood taking,but here now,was encouraged to return to the th more than a few  times by NHS staff

. NHS gave £3000 just for taxi fares every day for 5 weeks to cancer hospital,although they state cancer free,I'm wary of it's return I'm 78

And completely insane it would seem.

[jori123]

5 hours ago, bradiston said:

And completely insane it would seem.

Wait until you are 78,see how those insurance rates are then

[jori123]

18 hours ago, jori123 said:

If you go over take a handful of rupees,try not to use ATM,travel agents there give better than official x rate

If you do go over Calcutta is not a vastly scattered city,any hotel will be close at hand ,go look at Queen  victoria memorial,white marble,,huge,road side barbers are superb, never had shaved so well, impressed 💯,,but always ask price first. Booking .com,stay 4 Star,5a bit over the top,but cheap,keep eye on taxi meter

[jori123]

Dup

4 minutes ago, jori123 said:

If you do go over Calcutta is not a vastly scattered city,any hotel will be close at hand ,go look at Queen  victoria memorial,white marble,,huge,road side barbers are superb, never had shaved so well, impressed 💯,,but always ask price first. Booking .com,stay 4 Star,5a bit over the top,but cheap,keep eye on taxi meter

 

[jori123]

On 2/8/2025 at 8:05 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Did you arrange everything in Thailand before you went?

Yes,but booking a head was cheaper,.than just showing up.anyway I'm thinking of making a trip out of it bkk to Goa ,train ride first class,it's cheap to caicutta,think around 1000 baht,40 hours then scanned again at scan centre,makes for a break .lived there years ago,only white guy there,could tell some tales,Indian guys knew I was white man,wanted to watch me perform 

With their wives ,usually not my taste,but I thought of england all the time

 

 

Utta

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, jori123 said:

Yes,but booking a head was cheaper,.than just showing up.anyway I'm thinking of making a trip out of it bkk to Goa ,train ride first class,it's cheap to caicutta,think around 1000 baht,40 hours then scanned again at scan centre,makes for a break .lived there years ago,only white guy there,could tell some tales,Indian guys knew I was white man,wanted to watch me perform 

With their wives ,usually not my taste,but I thought of england all the time

 

 

Utta

Why aren't you at the khumb mela?

[OJAS]

On 2/9/2025 at 1:55 PM, jori123 said:

Flying to India, Calcutta is 2 hours away, Bout £140 return,flying back to UK,although arduous was worth it,  mri

scan ,£750 up to £1000 quotes in TH, in UK given like confetti, hospitalised UK on return twice,plus TURP op,plus £1500 tax free straight away and £110 a week tax free even pay here in Thailand,got high end accomodation thru past employment and docs seen  instantly,even a and.e seen straight away. Bottles of morphine given,no use of it,pour it down drain  I'm not paying.these stupid prices. My bloody arms were black with blood taking,but here now,was encouraged to return to the th more than a few  times by NHS staff

. NHS gave £3000 just for taxi fares every day for 5 weeks to cancer hospital,although they state cancer free,I'm wary of it's return I'm 78

 

Whilst you may well be physically able to make such exotic trips at the moment, despite your age, it does not always follow that this will still be the case at some point in the future.