Why Get Local Med Insurance Over Travel Insurance?

[everydaysthesame]

I need to get medical insurance and have been looking at getting local medical cover here in thailand. for the last 2 years i have used travel insurance and only recently thought about having my insurance locally. However looking at the premiums it seems getting travel insurance from UK is cheaper and the cover is better.

for the equivalent of 13,500 baht I can get £3,000,000 (156,000,000 baht!!) medical cover and £2,000,000 personal liability (although personal liability doesnt cover motorbikes)

the medical cover i have been looking at here costs 29,000 baht and covers only 1,500,000 baht in medical expenses.

Why the huge difference? Am i missing something? is there an advantage to using local insurance that I have missed??

thanks

[ThaivisaInsurance]

I need to get medical insurance and have been looking at getting local medical cover here in thailand. for the last 2 years i have used travel insurance and only recently thought about having my insurance locally. However looking at the premiums it seems getting travel insurance from UK is cheaper and the cover is better.

for the equivalent of 13,500 baht I can get £3,000,000 (156,000,000 baht!!) medical cover and £2,000,000 personal liability (although personal liability doesnt cover motorbikes)

the medical cover i have been looking at here costs 29,000 baht and covers only 1,500,000 baht in medical expenses.

Why the huge difference? Am i missing something? is there an advantage to using local insurance that I have missed??

thanks

Where to start ………………. First if you are here on holiday then Travel insurance may well suffice but it will not cover you when you decided to live here.

One of the many benefits with a "local" medical policy is the fact the hospital will take you straight in, in an emergency, where a foreign companies policy they have to contact the company to get clearance.

[everydaysthesame]

I need to get medical insurance and have been looking at getting local medical cover here in thailand. for the last 2 years i have used travel insurance and only recently thought about having my insurance locally. However looking at the premiums it seems getting travel insurance from UK is cheaper and the cover is better.

for the equivalent of 13,500 baht I can get £3,000,000 (156,000,000 baht!!) medical cover and £2,000,000 personal liability (although personal liability doesnt cover motorbikes)

the medical cover i have been looking at here costs 29,000 baht and covers only 1,500,000 baht in medical expenses.

Why the huge difference? Am i missing something? is there an advantage to using local insurance that I have missed??

thanks

Where to start ………………. First if you are here on holiday then Travel insurance may well suffice but it will not cover you when you decided to live here.

One of the many benefits with a "local" medical policy is the fact the hospital will take you straight in, in an emergency, where a foreign companies policy they have to contact the company to get clearance.

thanks for reply... thought there must be more to it than first impressions..

I do live here. business, work permit etc.. maybe travel insurance isnt valid becasue of this... hmm. I still dont understand why the level of cover seems much higher on the cheaper UK based product which in addition is valid worldwide though .

think i need to speak to a broker.

[Cuban]

However looking at the premiums it seems getting travel insurance from UK is cheaper and the cover is better. Am i missing something?

Does your 'travel' insurance provide cover for a limited period of time (30-60 days) per trip or limit the number of trips per year, total of 90 days in one calendar year? I would be most surprised if the 'travel' cover would be valid in Thailand were they to know that your permanent address is also in Thailand.

If you read the policy detail - I think you might find a problem.

[torrenova]

Travel insurance does limit you for days etc. but it is whether you have to return home to the country where the policy is issued that is the question.