Family medical insurance.

[DerekMarshall]

Hi guys and gals,

Where can I find quality medical insurance in Thailand, I live out in Roi Et. I would like to cover wife, daughter and if possible her son and me also (I am not a residency card holder currently on a, ED visa which will change to non immigrant o or something like that).

What company´s do you recommend. for 1) the family 2) me! I am a uk national but have not lived there for 15 years and a residency, permanent residency card holder for Spain, but not lived there for nearly 3 years!

Thank you kindly in advance.

[Sheryl]

If your wife, child and stepchild are Thai nationals, they are already covered under Thailand's universal health care system, most likely the "30 baht" scheme. (If your wife is employed then would be under the Soc Sec scheme). The "30 baht" scheme provides very thorough coverage (inpatient & outpatient) but does limit them to government hospitals and to the hospital for the district they live in, with access to higher level hospitals on referral. In the Roi Et area, one is actually best advised to stick to government hospitals, but by far the best one is the Khon Kaen University Hospital, a tertiary level facility which they would have access to under the "30 baht" scheme only if referred by their local hospital.

Given this, you might want to reconsider the need to insure them.

For yourself, insurance is necessary and type of visa is irrelevant.

If you do a search on this forum and also the Insurance forum you'll find many views and recommendations regarding health insurance. The largest one in Thailand and probably the best known is BUPA Thailand, which has a direct billing arrangement with most hospitals and which all hospital billing depts are very familiar with.

Whichever insurance company you go with, a few basics to keep in mind:

1. Stick to companies that primarily do health insurance. Many life insurance companies, banks etc. offer some sort of "health" insurance, typically these are of ridiculously low levels of coverage and people have had bad experiences with them.

2. Because there is universal health care coverage in Thailand for Thais, the insurnace market is fairly small and premiums are as a result comparatively high for level of coverage. The cost of outpatient coverage is seldom worth it -- premiums are huge and outpatient care in Thailand is pretty affordable. Most people find it best to stick to inpatient policy only. These usually cover day surgeries as well.

3. Very important: do not underestimate the level of coverage needed. Local insurance plans start at very low levels; what I would consider the minimum necessary (5 million baht per illness/injury) is for example the highest level plan available from BUPA. Do not get less than 2 million, and preferrably 5 million, in coverage. Even sticking to government hospitals it is quite easy to hit those levels in a catastrophic illness. Also, once you have a plan and over the years put in claims, it becomes difficult or impossible to raise your level of coverage (or the company may let you raise it, but exclude anything related to any prior claims). SO now is the time to establish a high level of coverage, while you are still healthy.