Health Insurance

[allebasi]

Hi, can anyone advise me on the best medi care to get. Im 35yo, in good health but fully aware of the dangers of living here and want peace of mind to no that if the s##t hits the fan im covered.

Thanks

[cnxkoolpunt9]

Check out the following health insurance providers: BUPA International, Cigna and Aviva. One of the main differences among them is the bureaucracy in completing claim forms. Cigna has received good reviews on this point. Years ago in Chiang Mai, I carried BUPA health insurance and was satisfied with the service. I'm not familiar with Aviva insurance but it's also listed as one of the popular carriers. Be sure to do some research yourself to discover which is the best health coverage for your situation.

[KhunOr]

Depends on your circumstances and by the sound of it you are more concerned about having an accident than getting sick, right?

If that's the case I'd go for BUPA for medical insurance and take their Ruby level without OPD (which has sufficient cover for most decent hospitals for most possible illnesses) PLUS take out an additional accident insurance with Bangkok Insurance. You can buy that for just 2,620 baht for 100,000 baht of accident cover that is for car AND motorbike accidents (no deduction for motorbike). Both companies are happy for you to take out the insurance with the other. You can choose which to use in the unfortunate case you have to use them one day and (if accident) can use the BIC policy to top up the BUPA when that runs out.

Note that BUPA guarantee to cover you for life so long as you've been a member for a few years before age 60. You might not think about that now at age 35, but something to keep in mind as other insurers have an age cut off point.

[kamalabob2]

Look into BUPA Platinum 2 million baht coverage or the BUPA Platinum 5 million baht coverage for IN PATIENT. It will still cover you for accidents, still cover out patient follow up procedures if you had an inpatient operation. All of the top PRIVATE HOSPITALS in Thailand do direct billing with BUPA, but even the smaller private hospitals that do not have direct billing will admit you for treatment, and allow you to pay direct upon discharge, and in my two "claims" experiences with BUPA in the past three years, it took 8 days or less to have the money deposited into my Thailand Bank account. It costs NO MORE, to choose medical insurance through a licensed bi-lingual insurance broker, so you would be well advised to see the level of service offered by long established brokers in Thailand. Just ask the insurance billing department staff of any major private hospital which bi-lingual insurance broker they observe keeping clients happy. You can easily compare insurance policy coverage in Thailand, since by law, the policies have to be available in both English and Thai. Not sure I would want 2 different insurance companies for the same claim. One company might not have the same goals as the other, similar to a two different companies covering your auto. In patient coverage for our one year experience did not "pencil out". I had bought that coverage AGAINST the advise of my insurance broker. You might also look into the "wealthy Healthy" plans offered by "Thai Health Insurance".

Edited December 1, 2012 by kamalabob2