10 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Valid point - a good while back, I did have insurance premiums increase because I had made a claim that year (for a windscreen replacement - it was an expensive car) - I simply changed insurance companies and received a premium based on the value of the car.

So, a company 'might' try and recover costs by increasing the premium, but a potential policy holder can shop around and they are not asked if about accidents etc - they are simply given quotes based on age / value of the car,

So, when applying for insurance, is there no question on the form similar to , "Have you made any insurance claims in the last 3 years" for example? Is that correct?

Correct - thats not a question I get asked when going through the process of renewing insurance.

I have regular broker, who shops around, finds a few options - provides me with the options and we select the insurance for that year, if the renewal quote with the same insurer is good, we remain with that insurer.

10 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I think the price 'on average' covers this... i.e. a young driver will have the same insurance premium as an older driver (usually) - they tend not to evaluate the risk of the driver in the same way they do in the West.

So good drivers pick up the bill for bad drivers. Given many drive whilst intoxicated in Thailand, it hardly seems a fair system.

I'd agree with you - that premiums for a driver who has never had an accident might be higher than they would IF a similar algorithms applied in the West are used - but - I would not want that, for there may be 'higher' costs associated with being a foreigner driving here in such cases as the algorithms may associate us with being higher risk due to not being so familiar with local driving characteristics'...

Note: Its also not 'fair' in the West - change your job title or career and your insurance premium changes (for the better or worse) - a friend became a 'project manager' years ago - same company, same travel time, same work hours etc - but his insurance premium increased 20% because he was placed into a higher risk category.

For the most part - I think insurance premiums here are reasonable.

When I pay 25,000 baht per year for a 1.8 Million baht car - I think thats ok.

Thats £600 a year for a £43,000 car - I've no real complaints about cost of vehicle insurance in Thailand, whether considered fair or otherwise.

12 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

So, when applying for insurance, is there no question on the form similar to , "Have you made any insurance claims in the last 3 years" for example? Is that correct?

So good drivers pick up the bill for bad drivers. Given many drive whilst intoxicated in Thailand, it hardly seems a fair system.

I might go as far as to say foreign divers will pick up the tab too. I suppose a dash camera is the best idea.

On 1/17/2026 at 10:56 PM, jacko45k said:

I might go as far as to say foreign divers will pick up the tab too. I suppose a dash camera is the best idea.

Yes. It's well known a dash cam is the only way to ensure honest police work. 🤣

On 1/17/2026 at 12:54 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Correct - thats not a question I get asked when going through the process of renewing insurance.

I have regular broker, who shops around, finds a few options - provides me with the options and we select the insurance for that year, if the renewal quote with the same insurer is good, we remain with that insurer.

I'd agree with you - that premiums for a driver who has never had an accident might be higher than they would IF a similar algorithms applied in the West are used - but - I would not want that, for there may be 'higher' costs associated with being a foreigner driving here in such cases as the algorithms may associate us with being higher risk due to not being so familiar with local driving characteristics'...

Note: Its also not 'fair' in the West - change your job title or career and your insurance premium changes (for the better or worse) - a friend became a 'project manager' years ago - same company, same travel time, same work hours etc - but his insurance premium increased 20% because he was placed into a higher risk category.

For the most part - I think insurance premiums here are reasonable.

When I pay 25,000 baht per year for a 1.8 Million baht car - I think thats ok.

Thats £600 a year for a £43,000 car - I've no real complaints about cost of vehicle insurance in Thailand, whether considered fair or otherwise.

With the amount of accidents on the road here, and with Thailand having a terrible road fatality rate, and given what you have posted about your experience with car insurance here, it's difficult to see how motor vehicle insurance companies here can make a profit. It appears drivers just shuffle around between insurance companies after every accident in order to keep the same premium prices, yet, they are terrible drivers.

5 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

With the amount of accidents on the road here, and with Thailand having a terrible road fatality rate, and given what you have posted about your experience with car insurance here, it's difficult to see how motor vehicle insurance companies here can make a profit. It appears drivers just shuffle around between insurance companies after every accident in order to keep the same premium prices, yet, they are terrible drivers.

I recall reading an article in the Bangkok Post more than a decade ago which argued that the way insurance operates in Thailand can, paradoxically, encourage accidents rather than prevent them. The central claim was that, in the absence of a meaningful excess, insured drivers have little personal incentive to avoid minor collisions, while uninsured drivers assume that any damage will ultimately be covered by the insured party’s policy.

That argument has a certain surface appeal, but it is incomplete. It overlooks scenarios where both parties are uninsured - situations in which the financial consequences can be severe, unpredictable, and borne entirely by the individuals involved. It also underestimates the psychological and practical costs of an accident - time lost, inconvenience, potential injury, police involvement, and the risk of escalation - factors that even fully insured drivers would prefer to avoid.

Insurance in Thailand does still feel as if its in its infancy when compared with how it operates in much of the West, where cover is typically tied to a specific, named driver for a specific vehicle, rather than to the vehicle alone. That said, the recent requirement for named drivers on EV policies suggests that the system is evolving, albeit at a slow pace. Personally, I rather prefer the vehicle-based model used here, as it aligns more closely with how cars are actually used within families.

As a final point, I do not subscribe to the idea that Thai drivers are inherently poor drivers. Most people drive competently and defensively enough. The problem is that a small minority are genuinely reckless, and it is this highly visible group that shapes broader perceptions and fuels generalisations. Those few are not just mildly careless, they are spectacularly careless, and their behaviour disproportionately colours our overall judgement.

Having driven here for over two decades, I do observe more outright stupidity on the roads than I would expect to see in the UK, for example. However, I have only been involved in three accidents during that time, which does prompt an uncomfortable but fair question - would the outcome really have been any different had I spent those same years driving in Britain instead?