Choosing Health Insurance

[JoePai]

These kinds of discussions all hinge on the DETAILS...

I just got through with the annual renewal of my medical insurance. Before deciding, I reviewed the premiums and coverage details for pretty much all of the major expat medical insurance providers...and talked to a number of independent brokers.

I wanted inpatient and outpatient coverage, inpatient hospital coverage of at least 8,000 baht per day for room portion. The policy I ended up with fully covers me in Thailand and most other non-Europe and non-North America countries. For the latter, it's emergency coverage only. For me age 50, it worked out to about $110 U.S. per month.

I had LMG for the last two years. And, because of a singular, one episode problem I had with them this past year, I had zero intention of renewing with them. But after comparing all the other providers and the details of their policies, I couldn't find anything better than their Maxi-Care policy.

I found a lot of other policies that covered less for less or more money. I found a few policies that covered more, but their increased prices far exceeded the increased coverage they would have provided. So basically, I didn't find anything else that was even close to LMG in VALUE... what you get for what you pay.

And to top it off, when I talked with other independent brokers about not wanting to renew with LMG and looking for something better, after explaining what I wanted from my coverage... they basically told me... LMG is going to be the best value you're going to find...

So...its another year with LMG and MaxiCare.

As I'm currently evaluating options for providers other than my current BUPA, can you make any suggestions for which brokers you found helpful, and how I might contact them?

Very simple - all I do is contact Thai Visa Insurance - always reliable and good service !

[Tim207]

Very simple - all I do is contact Thai Visa Insurance - always reliable and good service !

What puts me off TV Insurance is their lack of information available without filling out a quote form. I understand that to get an exact quote some specifics may need to be adjusted for but the base policy coverages and premiums could be posted for people to get an idea what is on offer and how much it will cost (approximately) for different age groups. I know of atleast one website that does this so it is do-able. I don't want to fill out a form and then wait for someone to contact me (or not) just to get an idea of costs and coverages of different options. With the relative accessibility of information in the computer age, anyone requiring me to give them my contact information before they will tell me what something costs makes me shy away. I am not saying TVI is trying to hide anything, just that it is the vibe I get when someone needs to know my contact information before they can give basic information.

Years ago I contacted TVI and never got a response. I didn't follow up (but should have). My daughter subsequently contracted dengue fever and after the 30 baht government hospital botched her treatment, I ended paying the bill for Bangkok hospital. Lesson learned, she now has excellent insurance but not through TV since I am good at procrastinating if something can't be done when I am motivated to do it.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Tim207

[MJo]

I use William Russells insurance now for 1 yrs . , the coverage is real good for what you paying for ! ., I cant see any better insurance company ? If there is just tell me then i change

I pay 85 USD every month and have coverage up to 500.000 USD .,

I just got WR "silver" coverage for my daughter, USD 60 per month and covers up to 1.2 million USD. And the cover is worldwide which is important for me. It is also claimed that WR is the best paying company around with claims, depending on the source their payment ratio is around 92%.

Also to be noted that WR was the only one who was willing to cover young child as stand alone without one of the parents being their policy holder.

For price and coverage i found Aetna/Goodhealth to be in same level but they require at least one of the parents to subscribe as well which i did not want to do it as in our case both are covered by good group plans from employer.

I found a ok locally based broker who handled it all for me without much hassle, if you want contact details just PM me.

[vagabond48]

I looked at WR last year. I remember that they had an excellent policy with very good pricing and payable in US dollars. Although I forgot the specifics, I didn't like the insurance company that was underwriting their health insurance policy. For me, it was important to have coverage that is underwritten by a well rated strong insurance company. One of the reasons why some insurance policies are much lower is because they are underwritten by smaller or unknown companies. One that I know is headquartered somewhere in the West Indies.

My non-scientific 2 satang.

Edited October 21, 2009 by vagabond48

[funlovinkid]

Can you provide a little more information about LMG (like how to get in touch with them)? I've been using B*PA for the past three years, my policy is due for renewal, and I'm interested in exploring other options before I get too old to switch providers (I'm 53). Thanks.

Here is their number. 66-263115824

Thanks!

[funlovinkid]

I use William Russells insurance now for 1 yrs . , the coverage is real good for what you paying for ! ., I cant see any better insurance company ? If there is just tell me then i change

I pay 85 USD every month and have coverage up to 500.000 USD .,

I just got WR "silver" coverage for my daughter, USD 60 per month and covers up to 1.2 million USD. And the cover is worldwide which is important for me. It is also claimed that WR is the best paying company around with claims, depending on the source their payment ratio is around 92%.

Also to be noted that WR was the only one who was willing to cover young child as stand alone without one of the parents being their policy holder.

For price and coverage i found Aetna/Goodhealth to be in same level but they require at least one of the parents to subscribe as well which i did not want to do it as in our case both are covered by good group plans from employer.

I found a ok locally based broker who handled it all for me without much hassle, if you want contact details just PM me.

Yes, please, if you were happy with the broker, I'd be interested to know how to reach him/her. Many thanks!

[samran]

I looked at WR last year. I remember that they had an excellent policy with very good pricing and payable in US dollars. Although I forgot the specifics, I didn't like the insurance company that was underwriting their health insurance policy. For me, it was important to have coverage that is underwritten by a well rated strong insurance company. One of the reasons why some insurance policies are much lower is because they are underwritten by smaller or unknown companies. One that I know is headquartered somewhere in the West Indies.

My non-scientific 2 satang.

Even though I am with WR, that is an excellent point and consideration.

In our case though, WR have paid out promptly every time.

- They covered 80% of all maternity costs at Samtivej (pre and post) for my second child (we had to be insured 12 months). Talking 150,000K all up....

- Fully covered airfares for my wife to fly home to NZ on the death of a close relative (paid up on the high fare that was available only at short notice). 50 to 60K all up...

- Automatically covered me when i had to go into for 'emergency' treatment as a day patient at Samitivej a few weeks back (about 18,000 baht).

So I'd vouch for them...

[MJo]

- They covered 80% of all maternity costs at Samtivej (pre and post) for my second child (we had to be insured 12 months). Talking 150,000K all up....

Nice, if you don't mind what plan you had? This is something i've been considering as it is highly likely there will be one or two more little ones if any means possible.

[samran]

- They covered 80% of all maternity costs at Samtivej (pre and post) for my second child (we had to be insured 12 months). Talking 150,000K all up....

Nice, if you don't mind what plan you had? This is something i've been considering as it is highly likely there will be one or two more little ones if any means possible.

My wife went on the Gold plan. You have to have to be on it for 12 months before the cover you for materinity costs.

So, effectively, if you want the birth itself covered, don't get pregnant till about month 4 of your cover.

We aimed to do that but didn't end my wife didn't end up getting pregnant for about 14 months after we took out the insurance. As a result, all the pre-visits were covered, including the expensive 2 x 12,000baht RH negative injectons she needed to get.

One of the key selling points for us was that they also cover the child for 28 days after the birth..good if there is any emergency proceedures needed to be done (which has happened to a couple of friends). One friend had a million baht bill.

[MJo]

Thanks Samran, this 28 days after birth coverage is what i'm after as well. Not so much on paying the birth costs but as anything can happen for the wife and for the kid is better to be covered proper.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

The best deal is with LMG as the baby is covered free for the remained of the parents policy so it could be for many months depending on when the policy was renewed.

[MJo]

LMG has $700 - $800 range per year full international coverage up to $1M or more ?

[ThaivisaInsurance]

LMG has $700 - $800 range per year full international coverage up to $1M or more ?

Yes, LMG's parent has up to US$2m with full International cover - please feel free to email Thai Visa Insurance for the full details.

[MJo]

I did few days ago but LMG was not included as option i believe. Not that it matters, got a good enough deal for WR.

[funlovinkid]

I use William Russells insurance now for 1 yrs . , the coverage is real good for what you paying for ! ., I cant see any better insurance company ? If there is just tell me then i change

I pay 85 USD every month and have coverage up to 500.000 USD .,

I just got WR "silver" coverage for my daughter, USD 60 per month and covers up to 1.2 million USD. And the cover is worldwide which is important for me. It is also claimed that WR is the best paying company around with claims, depending on the source their payment ratio is around 92%.

Also to be noted that WR was the only one who was willing to cover young child as stand alone without one of the parents being their policy holder.

For price and coverage i found Aetna/Goodhealth to be in same level but they require at least one of the parents to subscribe as well which i did not want to do it as in our case both are covered by good group plans from employer.

I found a ok locally based broker who handled it all for me without much hassle, if you want contact details just PM me.

Can you give me the contact information for the broker you used?

[funlovinkid]

It's easy to google up "William Russell" exoat health insurance, and read about their exclusion of pre-existing conditions. It doesn't sound so good if you've had heart attacks or cancer. I'm looking at the website for HTH insurance, and it might be better. You can google up "HTH global citizen expatriate insurance." As I read it, there's only a 6 month period for exclusion of pre-existing conditions (and that can be waived if you had "creditable coverage" before you signed on). The rates don't seem terrible, depending on the deductible that you select. I don't know how much the rates will go up as we age, though.

It's all a puzzle to figure out. One has to read the fine print carefully.

What people need to understand is that there are two major types of pre-existing conditions, those that are considered to be "curable" (or healable) and those that are considered to be "not curable", though, controllable.

Curable conditions can be covered after a period of healing. Cancer falls in the category of curable, if the doctor finally certifies that all of the cancer has been totally removed and you have gone for 5 to 7 years without any reoccurance, many insurance companies will cover you for cancer, including some in Thailand. Not skin cancer, though.

Diabetes, Hypertension and high cloistral are controllable but not considered to be curable. Since a heart attack has the potential of weakening the heart for life, that falls in this category also.

So, yes, read the fine print very carefully; but you should have some understanding of health insurance when you do.

Tony:

Wondering if you might be able to get in touch with me about a new health insurance policy for myself. I can give you the specifics online, via email, or over the phone, but I'd like to get your input quickly, if possible, as my existing policy is about to expire. How can I reach you? Many thanks!

[choppychugger]

Just got a reasonable quote from William Russell on there GLOBAL HEALTH ESSENTIAL PLAN for my partner son and myself. $ 156 per month.

Very good respnse to emails and all round very helpfull.

Choppy

[motdaeng]

does anyone have experience with "HealthCare International" for expact:

healthcareinternational.com/international-insurance-products.php

they have also a partner office in thailand :

swissinsuranceonline.com/eng/index.html

any comments appreciated, thanks

[vagabond48]

does anyone have experience with "HealthCare International" for expact:

healthcareinternational.com/international-insurance-products.php

they have also a partner office in thailand :

swissinsuranceonline.com/eng/index.html

any comments appreciated, thanks

It looked very affordable on the surface but as of 1 1/2 years ago they were underwritten by a small west indies insurance company. Being over 60, I can't offer to jump ship because the insurance company turns out to be weak, my opinion only.

If I was well under 60, I probably would have investigated it further.