Can a tourist buy travel insurance locally?

[virtualtraveller]

Big Question. Can a tourist come here for a month and sign up to travel insurance locally to cover local hospital bills. This would be a solution for those in travel industry advising tourists not to cancel because they now have invalid travel insurance under coup situations?

[OOLEEBER]

Good question. I hope to see some useful replies.

[Morakot]

No. A travel insurance is normally not valid for the country where it is purchased. Even if it were it would still NOT be cover certain situations.

A travel insurance being invalid "under coup situations" is nonsense. Of course one will not be covered for something that e.g. directly results from acts of war, but it would not invalid the policy per se.

So no need to look for a replacement policy.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Morakot

[AAInsuranceBrokers]

Sorry if this sounds convoluted – the direct answer is no, one needs to take Travel Insurance before you leave, however we can supply insurance if you are travelling around Thailand i.e. not staying in one hotel for the holiday but touring Thailand.

Another option is PA (Personal Accident) which obviously covers one for accidents but not natural problem e.g. a heart attack.

[windosill]

I've used World Nomads before for my mother-in-law.

http://www.worldnomads.com/?gclid=CKjw5uWKy74CFbDJtAodtV0ANA

[louse1953]

You can buy internal insurance for a period up to 6 months and international for a year.Far cheaper than western countries but havent tried to claim yet,and we all know what insurance companies are like.

[louse1953]

Sorry if this sounds convoluted the direct answer is no, one needs to take Travel Insurance before you leave, however we can supply insurance if you are travelling around Thailand i.e. not staying in one hotel for the holiday but touring Thailand.

Another option is PA (Personal Accident) which obviously covers one for accidents but not natural problem e.g. a heart attack.

So the answer is yes.The above was typical insurance speak.

[Suradit69]

If you're talking about medical coverage (not things like flight cancellations or other non-medical issues), this BUPA page covers travel insurance and shows a Bangkok phone number you can call for details/terms/limitations.

http://bupa.co.th/en/individuals/travel-insurance/index.aspx#.U4QfjPmSySo

Edited May 27, 2014 by Suradit69

[fxe1200]

Pay your flight with your Mastercard an be insured automatically.

[uheuhe]

I have several times been using http://www.insuremytrip.com to find the best offer for some Cambodian friends visiting Thailand.

It has been working perfect, but of cause one need a incident before you know how well your insurer treat you.

It is easy to compare prices, and the paperwork and payment is made over the Internet.

[sellingmystuff]

Neither of these is Thai based, but I've used both to extend my insurance while already in Thailand:

http://www.coeconnections.co.uk

http://www.duinsure.com/travel_insurance/backpacker_travel_insurance

Strictly speaking, I know that doesn't help the OP, but they might be useful for others.

[Morakot]

I've used World Nomads before

Expect to get NO payout in case of a claim from this company. There are several review website that have flagged up this insurance company.

For a current list of reputable insurance company in Thailand see the attachment.

List_Travel_Medical_Insurance_April_2014.pdf

[Greg Nixon]

I would never buy health insurance for traveling unless i had regular health issues. Many people are covered through their employer - best to inquire. If you have not had a health issue for the past 10 years what are the odds of you having a health issue next month.

In Thailand i have been offered health insurance through my bank, but i am a resident here on a Thai Retirement Visa. I think an account is required.

Someone from my native country bought health insurance for $3500.00. The odds of you spending that much in Thailand on direct health costs are extremely low. If you have this kind of money in the bank, consider self insurance and save a fortune.

WHY WORRY ?

Either you are sick or you are well.

If you are well you have nothing to worry about.

If you are sick, you have only 2 things to worry about

Either you will get better or you will get worse

If you get better you have nothing to worry about

If you get worse, you have only 2 things to worry about.

Either you will live or you will die

If you live you will have nothing to worry about

If you die, you will have only 2 things to worry

Either you will go to heaven or you will go to hell

If you go to heaven , you have nothing to worry about

If you go to hell, you will be so busy shaking hands with friends, you won't have time to worry.

[riceyummm]

I would never buy health insurance for traveling unless i had regular health issues. Many people are covered through their employer - best to inquire. If you have not had a health issue for the past 10 years what are the odds of you having a health issue next month.

In Thailand i have been offered health insurance through my bank, but i am a resident here on a Thai Retirement Visa. I think an account is required.

Someone from my native country bought health insurance for $3500.00. The odds of you spending that much in Thailand on direct health costs are extremely low. If you have this kind of money in the bank, consider self insurance and save a fortune.

WHY WORRY ?

Either you are sick or you are well.

If you are well you have nothing to worry about.

If you are sick, you have only 2 things to worry about

Either you will get better or you will get worse

If you get better you have nothing to worry about

If you get worse, you have only 2 things to worry about.

Either you will live or you will die

If you live you will have nothing to worry about

If you die, you will have only 2 things to worry

Either you will go to heaven or you will go to hell

If you go to heaven , you have nothing to worry about

If you go to hell, you will be so busy shaking hands with friends, you won't have time to worry.

What you say may be true for illness (if you want to gamble on not getting sick) but you're not considering accidental injuries which are quite common in Thailand. Vehicle accidents in particular.

[SaintLouisBlues]

I have several times been using http://www.insuremytrip.com to find the best offer for some Cambodian friends visiting Thailand.

Thanks for that site, I found it very useful. I've been researching this topic extensively recently as I'm spending around three quarters of my time in Thailand and one quarter back home (NZ). While it's true that paying with a credit card will give you "free" travel insurance, it's not intended for someone who's mostly away from their home country - they are expected to be ordinarily resident in their home country. Definitely OK for tourists which was the OP's question

One policy disclosure I read even spells out "ordinarily resident in their home country" as "for the three months prior to departure overseas". That's also true of the most common travel insurance policies issued in my own country (NZ) for which you pay. From the comparison of the policies I could find on insuremytrip.com there seems to be no obligation apart from having a round trip ticket. Does anyone have any better information?

As for BUPA etc - their 6 month policy is way way way more expensive than a travel insurance policy I can buy at home or anything on insuremytrip.com, plus you can't get it once you're 70+ so not much use for the retirement visa crowd

My travel pattern = avoid Thailand in April and October, possibly padded out with a couple more weeks, so basically I'm looking at 4.5 - 5 months of travel insurance at a time. I want medical only and I can get that for (cheapest option) around $110 a month

[Sampradaya]

I've used World Nomads before

Expect to get NO payout in case of a claim from this company. There are several review website that have flagged up this insurance company.

For a current list of reputable insurance company in Thailand see the attachment.

Which company are you talking about? I would like to avoid them too. And then i will tell you about my experinece.

Do you know a website that gives reviews?

[Schimi]

Right on use your Mastercard

Pay your flight with your Mastercard an be insured automatically.

[wooloomooloo]

There's no accounting for taste.

If you are travelling then purchase comprehensive travel coverage from your country of residence.

Some will only take note once they've made a claim on a foreign policy that adds up to nil.

[Naroge]

Sure you can. I checked with both BUPA and LMG, and both offered local insurance for travelers already in Thailand. I would assume that almost anyone can do this. There is no logical reason why they should not. They want to have as many customers as possible to broaden their base.

[flipperphillips]

Does MasterCard not cover for a maximum 30 days in any trip?

[stevenl]

Sure you can. I checked with both BUPA and LMG, and both offered local insurance for travelers already in Thailand. I would assume that almost anyone can do this. There is no logical reason why they should not. They want to have as many customers as possible to broaden their base.

Yes, there is, with the most predoninant one: people looking for travel insurance on the spot seem to feel the need on the spot, and did not feel the need earlier. This means there are much higher chances with them needing the travel insurance than with others, who book it e.g. together with their plane tickets.