Travel Insurance, Do Any Thai Insurers Pay Overseas Hospitals Direct?

[thonglorjimmy]

I'm looking for insurance for my partner and I to travel to Europe for a month in the summer.

Looking at the T&C's of all the companies I've researched so far they all seem to want you to pay your hospital bills first and then (try) and claim on your return to Thailand.

Is this the norm in Thailand, I'm used to insurers in other countries liaising with hospitals in the case of a medical emergency and then paying directly, but this doesn't seem to be the case here.

Whilst I've never actually had to claim, I'm concerned that I could be stuck in some European hospital if one of us had a medical emergency, without the means to pay, whilst the insurers waited for us to return home.

Thanks

[gerryBScot]

Yeah I had this problem following hospitalisation in The Philippines recently; I reported my circumstances immediately and asked the (Thai) company to guarantee my fees to the hospital; their promotional material certainly said this was something they could do..... sort of common sense peace of mind thing you would offer. I even suggested they should send out a local agent to check me out. They ignored this request so I took it as a no. I paid the bill and submitted my claim and I am happy to say they reimbursed it in full. First time I ever made a claim for anything on a travel insurance policy in 35+ years of travelling and I was mightily relieved they did. I'd like to know if you do find a company that will make such a commitment.

[thonglorjimmy]

No, I gave up trying to find a Thai insurance company that would give me the peace of mind I was looking for.

Since asking the question I got an email from Amex offering travel insurance, thinking an international brand like this would offer decent cover, especially for the price they were quoting, I contacted them, their website gave no details, they also confirmed that they have a pay yourself and claim later policy.

In the end I purchased my travel insurance from World Nomads who will in the event of a medical emergency liaise with the hospital and settle medical bills direct.

I have to say I was pretty surprised that Thai Insurance Companies have this policy, usually well hidden in their blurb, and I do wonder what would really happen if somebody was taken seriously ill overseas with the expectation that their insurance company would actually take care of them.