Hi everyone, 

 

I am grateful for this community. 

 

I am 33 Canadian living in Bangkok. No dependents at this moment.  I have a UK inpatient only insurance policy domiciled in the UK with 3000 usd deductible and less than 1000 usd in price based on the advice from this community. 

 

I read the horror stories about insurance premiums being so high For people 60 or higher that most people have to self insure.  

 

I do not know even use insurance. I rather use the premiums to invest in myself or the stock market. I do not see the value of insurance now.  It is not providing me and others value at all.

 

I do not ride motorbikes due to accidents and use public transportation. 

 

I try to eat healthy but it is hard lol 😆 

 

I believe all diseases can be cured naturally with diet, exercise, and fasting.  I avoid pharameticals like the plaque. 

 

I can go to a good public hospital. 

 

 I talk to a financial advisor. I told him when I reach 60s or higher, insurance will be too expensive that I might have to self insure. He told me if I self insure, contribute monthly to all in one etf and withdraw it to pay for medical treatment.  I am not sure if his advice is good. 

 

If you were in your 20s or 30s again, what would you do differently when it comes to insurance? 

 

What kind of investments will be good to look at if I want to self insure myself in the future? 

 

Thanks all for your help 

 

You haven't said how much savings you have so it's impossible to know if self-insuring is for you or not, but if you truly believe that "all diseases can be cured naturally with diet, exercise, and fasting" then why do you even have insurance now? 

I save around 500 usd per month. I am a teacher. 

 

I should of wrote most diseases can be cured naturally. I cannot edit the original post. 

 

Accidents can happen though. I know health insurance does not only cover for health issues but accidents too. 

 

Thanks brother

Self insurance is great until you have an event requiring a large medical payment.  After that if you are broke or low you will wish you insured with a company.

1 hour ago, global expat said:

I save around 500 usd per month. I am a teacher. 

 

I should of wrote most diseases can be cured naturally. I cannot edit the original post. 

 

Accidents can happen though. I know health insurance does not only cover for health issues but accidents too. 

 

Thanks brother

 

You still haven't said how much savings you have to fund this self-insurance program.

 

Are we supposed to guess how long you've been saving this "500 usd per month"? Is this month 1 or 100? If you have no savings then self-insure isn't a realistic option.

On 9/24/2025 at 5:14 AM, global expat said:

Hi everyone, 

 

I am grateful for this community. 

 

I am 33 Canadian living in Bangkok. No dependents at this moment.  I have a UK inpatient only insurance policy domiciled in the UK with 3000 usd deductible and less than 1000 usd in price based on the advice from this community. 

 

I read the horror stories about insurance premiums being so high For people 60 or higher that most people have to self insure.  

 

I do not know even use insurance. I rather use the premiums to invest in myself or the stock market. I do not see the value of insurance now.  It is not providing me and others value at all.

 

I do not ride motorbikes due to accidents and use public transportation. 

 

I try to eat healthy but it is hard lol 😆 

 

I believe all diseases can be cured naturally with diet, exercise, and fasting.  I avoid pharameticals like the plaque. 

 

I can go to a good public hospital. 

 

 I talk to a financial advisor. I told him when I reach 60s or higher, insurance will be too expensive that I might have to self insure. He told me if I self insure, contribute monthly to all in one etf and withdraw it to pay for medical treatment.  I am not sure if his advice is good. 

 

If you were in your 20s or 30s again, what would you do differently when it comes to insurance? 

 

What kind of investments will be good to look at if I want to self insure myself in the future? 

 

Thanks all for your help 

 

 

Good morning!

 

Firstly, it does sound as if a good in patient plan that covers hospitals of your choice in Thailand may be suitable for your circumstances, although, bear in mind if something does happen (and, as living beings, the longer time goes on the chance transitions from "if" to "when"), bills can rocket very quickly - we see this over and over again and the pricing is driven by the hospitals and the prevailing situation, not the patient.

 

You mentioned you could go to a good public hospital, and that may be suitable from a treatment perspective, however one of the issues you may face is communication. Many people come to us for help because they need to access the private network in part for that peace of mind of knowing speed of treatment is available, but also because the private hospitals cater for the global community meaning language is rarely a barrier.

 

If you did want to speak to someone privately about this, and even if you only want an opinion on how suitable your UK domiciled plan is for Thailand, please feel free to drop us a line - we'd love to help with information if needed. Please go ahead and schedule a call with one of our team if that meets your needs.

 

Thank you, and have a great day ahead!

 

The AA Team

Personally if you are healthy, non smoker, i would risk self insure. $500 a month for the next 40 years would give a very nice buffer.  Of course you might be the 1 in a 100 unlucky who has a heart attack. As you have seen from other posts premiums after 75 are unaffordable which is when you actually need cover.

Tough one, and I'm anti health ins. unless having known issues.   Never paid for healthcare ins.  

 

Although, hitting 33 yrs old, realized not young anymore (mindset at the time), took a job that provided health insurance, that I really never needed, except of injuries on the the job ... go figure.

 

Retired 13 yrs later, and still never bought into health ins, and now 71 come December.   So 20-33, then 45/46 to 70, saved all those premium payments, while not having.  Not literally, but since not part of my monthly expenses, available for investing.

 

Now way ahead on that financial curve, and really can't get that sick, or would spend that much for a wee bit more comfortable couple of years.

 

BUT, when older, you do need an 'oops fund', readily available, especially if no safety net where you live, such as TH.  Even if having ins, as some simply reimburse, and the hospital may want money up front before doing anything that isn't life saving, but essential for good life.