Health insurance with pre-existing conditions

[deptrai]

Age 55.  I have some pre-existing conditions and have been rejected by three insurers so far.  Cigna Global Silver (rejected "after careful consideration" within 10 minutes of application), AXA SwitchCare4 & Allianz Beyond 6. I was expecting them to exclude coverage for any cardiac related events due to my hypertension, high cholesterol & relatively high calcium score, but they all outright rejected me.

 

One of the widely recommended brokers from various Facebook groups suddenly stopped responding to my emails the moment after I sent her my list of pre-existing conditions. 

 

Are there other companies that are more likely to accept me, with exclusions?  I’m especially concerned with coverage for cancers, which I have no history of.

 

The three policies I applied for all have maximum annual limits of at least 30,000,000 THB.  Am I more likely to be accepted for a policy with lower maximum limits?  I’d be satisfied with a 15,000,000 THB annual limit.  If it was all that was offered, I may even purchase a 10,000,000 THB policy.

 

I won’t consider WrLife and can afford to self-insure in Thailand until US Medicare age (65) but would rather not.

[JoePai]

Have you tried AA - I use them and they've proved good  https://www.aainsure.net/VIP-505

[JJ-Thailand]

On 2/18/2025 at 12:54 AM, deptrai said:

Are there other companies that are more likely to accept me, with exclusions?

I was contacted by a broker that recommended Regency Assurance, he said that they were likely to accept my application but exclude my pre-existing conditions.

[deptrai]

On 2/27/2025 at 10:31 PM, JoePai said:

Have you tried AA - I use them and they've proved good  https://www.aainsure.net/VIP-505

 

No, but I'll give them a try.

[Jingthing]

What good is U.S. Medicare if living in Thailand?

[deptrai]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What good is U.S. Medicare if living in Thailand?

None.  I'm returning to USA when age 65.

[BillyBid]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

What good is U.S. Medicare if living in Thailand?

 

Many of us living in Thailand self insure and keep medicare as a backup.  It gives us the option of returning to the US for treatment if needed.

[jerrymahoney]

That presumes you are well enough and 'fit to fly' even to the airport in Bangkok.

[BillyBid]

40 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

That presumes you are well enough and 'fit to fly' even to the airport in Bangkok.

 

Yes, of course.  As I said, many of us self insure--keep a very substantial reserve of cash available to pay for any emergency treatment needed.  But keep medicare as an option.

[jerrymahoney]

And many of us have insurance. While self-insurance is always an option, there is then never an option to have a claim paid for more than you put in.

[BillyBid]

52 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

And many of us have insurance. While self-insurance is always an option, there is then never an option to have a claim paid for more than you put in.

 

Insurance is not an option for those of us with pre-existing conditions or that may need advanced medical care not available in Thailand.

[jerrymahoney]

So, you don't have any insurance. You have a 'reserve' for any emergency prior to your getting yourself back to US assuming the 25 hour or so flying time is possible.

[BillyBid]

7 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

So, you don't have any insurance. You have a 'reserve' for any emergency prior to your getting yourself back to US assuming the 25 hour or so flying time is possible.

 

As I said, I self insure.  Call it a reserve or whatever word you want.  In any case, I have funds set aside far in excess of the typical insurance policy coverage limit in Thailand.  That's what many people who can't get insurance do.

[Isaan sailor]

I self insure, with enough Baht to use in an emergency, and the rest, if needed, would come from US based credit cards, backed by stock sales.

[BillyBid]

4 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

I self insure, with enough Baht to use in an emergency, and the rest, if needed, would come from US based credit cards, backed by stock sales.

 

My strategy also.  No need to keep a lot of cash in Thailand this way.

[jerrymahoney]

Thanks. Self - insurance as commonly used here is not insurance as there is no shared risk -- which was the bedrock of insurance as founded at the Lloyd's coffee house in the late 1600's.

[BillyBid]

9 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

Thanks. Self - insurance as commonly used here is not insurance as there is no shared risk -- which was the bedrock of insurance as founded at the Lloyd's coffee house in the late 1600's.

 

Everyone already knows what self-insurance and insurance mean.   It's pointless to explain the technicalities of common words.

[jerrymahoney]

Well there are 2 reasons people on here go for self-insurance:

1. is that they have some medical condition which prevents them from getting health insurance, and

2. Those that want to let you know how much smarter they are than the actuaries at Lloyd's (where almost all health insurance policies eventually end up).

[BillyBid]

26 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

is that they have some medical condition which prevents them from getting health insurance, and

 

That is what this thread is about.  Read the OP.  Many of us have pre-existing conditions that prevent us from getting health insurance in Thailand.  Count yourself as a lucky one if you can get insurance in Thailand.

[jerrymahoney]

OK I am lucky. But I first got medical insurance in Thailand 20 years ago when I didn't have any disqualifying pre-existing conditions.

One thing the self-insured folks say they either have a reserve or have otherwise access to a lump sum cash.

I don't. My finances are geared to the 65K retirement extension so paying an annual premium is OK but I would have a difficult time especially on any timely basis coming up with major lump-sum cash.