Thailand Extends Riot Insurance For Foreign Tourists Through March

[webfact]

Riot Insurance for Foreign Tourists Extended Through March

The Cabinet has resolved to extend the riot insurance program for foreign tourists to the end of March.

Deputy Government Spokesman Watchara Kannikar said the Cabinet gave the green light to the Tourism and Sports Ministry to continue the riot insurance program until March 31.

The program, which offers an automatic 10,000 US$ riot protection insurance to foreign tourists along with their visas, is aimed at boosting the tourism industry, which was gravely affected by the political turmoil last year.

Watchara said discontinuing the program now could damage tourist confidence.

Earlier, the Budget Bureau proposed that the program be discontinued, in order to save 232 million baht on the premium costs.

The campaign carries a budget of 918 million baht.

However, after discussions with the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the state budgetary office observed that since the program is due to expire on March 31 according to the contract, a withdrawal might not be worthwhile.

-- Tan Network 2011-01-19

//This article was edited by Admin. The insurance cover mentioned in the OP was 10.000 Baht, based on an earlier article it is 10.000 US$

[Soutpeel]

Forgive me for sounding cynical at the goverments generous extension of the riot insurance, but dont the problems in Thailand normally occur in the run up to Songkran in the first two weeks of April ??....

Just an observation

[housepainter]

Riot Insurance makes having a holiday so much more attractive. Just think, now when you get both legs blown off by an exploding grenade as you leave the Emporium heading for the skytrain you get a free stay in Bumrungrat Hospital, a bowl of fruit, free bouquet of flowers and ......................... wait for it ................... 10 k US dollars pay out.

Why, that's 5 k a leg!

My sister's just had a baby so of course I emailed her asking why not come over so she can grab some of the bargain. I mean, babies die so easily in bomb blasts, so if she came here she'd be covered. I know she's thinking of flying to the US and staying in a Manhattan apartment, but you show me any riot cover.

The Thais are such thoughful people; they invite you to the riot and pay expenses too. Now that is marketting Amazing Thailand.

[Nisa]

I can see tourists lining up now to come to Thailand because of the safety confidence Riot Insurance adds.

And how does this insurance program come out to an almost 1 Billion Baht Budget???? Do they really expect to pay a full 300,000 baht claim to 3300 farangs? As I understand it is medical and not property insurance. How many Farangs were hurt in the last uprising? What are they expecting now?????? And how do they save 232 Million by discontinuing the program early? Does it take that much to run a program where nobody is currently making claims?

The only thing I can think of is the government actually hired an insurance company (maybe a relative of a leader) to cover the costs rather than self-insuring which would have made a heck of a lot more sense in terms of simply covering up to $10k worth of medical bills for those farangs injured during the riots. I also suspect their may be a clause in there that says Farang is not covered if participating in the riots or ignoring orders to stay out of certain areas.

[jonclark]

I can see tourists lining up now to come to Thailand because of the safety confidence Riot Insurance adds.

And how does this insurance program come out to an almost 1 Billion Baht Budget???? Do they really expect to pay a full 300,000 baht claim to 3300 farangs? As I understand it is medical and not property insurance. How many Farangs were hurt in the last uprising? What are they expecting now?????? And how do they save 232 Million by discontinuing the program early? Does it take that much to run a program where nobody is currently making claims?

The only thing I can think of is the government actually hired an insurance company (maybe a relative of a leader) to cover the costs rather than self-insuring which would have made a heck of a lot more sense in terms of simply covering up to $10k worth of medical bills for those farangs injured during the riots. I also suspect their may be a clause in there that says Farang is not covered if participating in the riots or ignoring orders to stay out of certain areas.

Good point. I actually wondered the same myself - How would you claim? I'd also be interested to see how many claimants have been paid. Purely because it seems like an ideal way to skim money. As far as i know no tourists have been directly injured by riots. Wouldn't it be odd if there were a a couple of dozen claims that had been processed?

[mca]

Watchara said discontinuing the program now could damage tourist confidence.

I'm more of the school of thought that continuing riot insurance could damage tourist confidence.

[jayjay0]

Well my boy is coming for sangkhran and could care less about there insurance plan. He has a good one that covers him all over the world.

Gotta agree to continue the plan is to keep it fresh in every ones mind. Let it die a normal death. Tourists are starting to come back after the airport closures should Thailand strive to keep that fact alive in the minds of tourists. I think not.

[Soutpeel]

Well my boy is coming for sangkhran and could care less about there insurance plan. He has a good one that covers him all over the world.

Must be good one then, first time I have come across a travel insurance policy which covers , most dont cover civil unrest, civil wars, kidnapping plus a whole host of other exclusions

[dumpling]

This is just a misspelling what they meant was '"RIOT ASSURANCE"

Riot assurance, or RA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a riot, to service or facilitate, to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production of protests. RA cannot absolutely guarantee the production of quality protesters.

Two principles included in RA are: "Fight for purpose" - the protester should be suitable for the intended purpose; and "Right first time" - mistakes should be eliminated. RA includes regulation of the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products and components, services related to protest and riots, and management, production and inspection of protests.

Quality is determined by the protesters, clients or customers, not by society in general. It is not the same as 'democracy' or 'accountability'. Low so protesters can be considered as having high quality if the protesters determine as such.

a tip of my hat to Wikipedia

and the definition for Quality assurance

[kuffki]

They keep talking about this insurance, yet no word at all about where to make a claim, how to make a claim, who to contact to make a claim or what the conditions are.

Just as a matter of interest i tried to call and ask a few government hotline numbers and putting aside that almost all could hardly speak any English, none of them had any idea what i was on and what i was talking about.

[kuffki]

Well my boy is coming for sangkhran and could care less about there insurance plan. He has a good one that covers him all over the world.

Must be good one then, first time I have come across a travel insurance policy which covers , most dont cover civil unrest, civil wars, kidnapping plus a whole host of other exclusions

Actually none cover civil unrest or wars and that's wordwide.

[geriatrickid]

Well, it reassures the travel agencies that are booking the packages. I'm sure the Europeans that were terrified in Tunisia would have appreciated having such a plan. BA and charter companies were still flying tourists into Tunis as the mass protests started and have now come under heavy criticism along with tour operators like Thomas Cook. The airline and the travel agencies will no doubt receive complaints and demands for compensation for the Tunisia fun.. They have to be concerned about potential trouble spots now.The riot insurance no matter how weak or flawed gives them a bit of comfort and facilitates business as usual.

And yes, I agree Songkran is riot season. The vacation days, the free flowing booze, the relaxed atmosphere all contribute to a weakened civil control. I wouldn't be surprised to see more stupidity this April, since it is the 1 year anniversary to of last year's events. Bangkok is one place I wouldn't want to be in April.

[hyperdimension]

The program, which offers an automatic 10,000 US$ riot protection insurance to foreign tourists along with their visas

That seems to say that as long as we have a Tourist Visa, we are covered. So if in the case that we are injured during rioting and are sent to hospital and are asked whether we have insurance, we can simply show the Tourist Visa in our passport.

I have a feeling though that showing your Tourist Visa is not going to convince the hospital that you are covered. you may then have trouble proving that you have enough money to pay for surgery. I hope I am wrong and that hospitals are well-informed about this program.

[Nisa]

The program, which offers an automatic 10,000 US$ riot protection insurance to foreign tourists along with their visas

That seems to say that as long as we have a Tourist Visa, we are covered. So if in the case that we are injured during rioting and are sent to hospital and are asked whether we have insurance, we can simply show the Tourist Visa in our passport.

I have a feeling though that showing your Tourist Visa is not going to convince the hospital that you are covered. you may then have trouble proving that you have enough money to pay for surgery. I hope I am wrong and that hospitals are well-informed about this program.

I would think the vast number of actual tourists coming to Thailand are not on a Tourist Visa but the 30-Day exempt entry. Point is I assume it covers anybody here visiting but who knows and good point you and somebody else made it terms of how this is handled in terms of payment and with the hospital.

[ginjag]

I can see tourists lining up now to come to Thailand because of the safety confidence Riot Insurance adds.

And how does this insurance program come out to an almost 1 Billion Baht Budget???? Do they really expect to pay a full 300,000 baht claim to 3300 farangs? As I understand it is medical and not property insurance. How many Farangs were hurt in the last uprising? What are they expecting now?????? And how do they save 232 Million by discontinuing the program early? Does it take that much to run a program where nobody is currently making claims?

The only thing I can think of is the government actually hired an insurance company (maybe a relative of a leader) to cover the costs rather than self-insuring which would have made a heck of a lot more sense in terms of simply covering up to $10k worth of medical bills for those farangs injured during the riots. I also suspect their may be a clause in there that says Farang is not covered if participating in the riots or ignoring orders to stay out of certain areas.

The last paragraph sounds pretty much what I was thinking more than likely true. I meen what on earth are these people going to drum up next, unbelieveable.