davejones23 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) I was at Bangkok Bank today and saw a sign that said that foreigners that don't work in Thailand need to buy personal accident insurance if they want to open a new bank account. Prices start from around 1,200 baht for one year. Has anyone had to buy this insurance? Not sure whether this also includes existing customers who need a 2nd account, like a fixed term account. Edited June 9, 2014 by davejones23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 What branch was this? That is, location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 One suspects this a a "marketing" ploy trying to get you to sign up for the insurance policy....ask yourself this question what exactly are they insuring ? Your not taking credit off them, its your cash in bank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 They try the same shyt with Thai people, nothing more than aggressive marketing ploys. Nothing more than a "nice little earner", vote with you feet and tell them to ork bai. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejones23 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 What branch was this? That is, location? Head off on Silom Road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejones23 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Reminds me of when I applied for my first mortgage in UK many years. HSBC agreed to give me a mortgage on condition I take out about three different insurance policies that added about 50% to my monthly payments. That gave me a really good laugh. Took my custom elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I guess "need" can be taken several ways. Whole Life 1st Life Insurance Whole Life 1st 175 is all you need to protect yourself with life insurance with low premiums and flexible saving periods of 7, 10 or 12 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoli Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Go back and read the sign again. Slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yeap., it would be good to see exactly what the sign/note said. That is, specifically saying buying accident insurance is a requirement to open an account or just saying/implying when opening a new account that getting accident insurance might be a thing to do. There have been some posts decribing how some Kbank branches have really been pushing their higher priced debit cards which include accident protection... some posters apparently fell for the hard sell and took the higher priced card while others stood their ground and took the standard/lower cost/no insurance card. Sent from my Onda V971 tablet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I had to open an account with bangkok bank in phuket to have a direct deposit account for my social security checks from the U.S. This was about a year and one half ago. they told me the same thing; I had to first buy an insurance policy from them which was over 3,000 baht. I then checked with Ayudthya bank and Kasikorn to see if I could get my government checks there. they said that it could be done but it would take at least one month to have access to the money as they would have to send the check to the U.S. to be cashed (?) etc. so I was stuck and had to pay for an insurance policy that I didn't want with Bangkok Bank. It has since expired and I haven't had to renew it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I last opened a Bangkok Bank savings account in Dec 13 at the Silom/HQ branch which the OP identified. Absolutely no pressure to buy insurance or higher priced debit card which includes accident insurance. And I opened a fixed account last year at the Bangkok Bank Chaeng Wattana branch in the same building as Bangkok Immigration..once again absolutely no pressure to buy insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MW72 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I opened a basic savings account at the head office in Silom Road in April. I entered Thailand on a 30 day visa exemption. I had taken all of the documentation the website told me was required to open an account and the first thing I was told was that there was a new policy that I had to buy the insurance. They told me that if I had a one year visa I did not need to buy one year of insurance but as I was only in the country for 3 weeks I had to buy. I thought to myself that this is what the guys on Thai Visa mean when they say TIT . I told the GF that this was just a con to get me to buy insurance I didn't need. I told the bank employee that I had travel insurance and medical insurance but they insisted I had to buy to open an account. After I calmed myself down I realised I needed a bank account and the insurance was only about £22 in UK money so I bought it. The rest of the experience was really pleasant. They only looked at my passport. they did not ask to see any of the documentation I had brought proving my UK address or bank account. They didn't ask for proof of my Thai address. The best bit was that they give you your ATM card right there. Put it in a little card reader of some sort and you get to pick your own pin and take the card away with you. In the UK your card is posted to you and a pin posted separately which can take up to a week sometimes.so apart from the insurance bit I would say that I preferred opening an account in Thailand to opening one in the UK. It was far more efficient. If that was Thailand then I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarcane24 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I am retired and opened an account with Kasikorn Bank recently. All I needed was my passport. It may have helped that my Thai wife did all the talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshstiles Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Troll post.....read the sign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luk AJ Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I am very surprised you can open a bank account in Thailand without proof of residence and work permit or retirement visa. I am pretty sure a Thai will not be able to open an account in your country without above documents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Have never been asked for insurance to open an account. Have opened two without any such nonsense 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazdeb Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I opened an account a couple of weeks ago and was told I MUST buy the insurance to get the account even though I had my house lease and passport. The insurance cost me 5,400 baht but after being turned away from all the banks in the area because they all requested a work visa or retirement visa, which I don't have as I don't work and use a TR visa and go home every 6 mths to see my elderly parents, besides you need a bank account to get a retirement visa !!!! I checked on Bangkok bank website when I got home and states you only need a passport and house lease, which I had but they ignored. What can you do this is Thailand LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnievino Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I opened a baht account and a dollar account at Bangkok Bank in Udon Thani in February and was not asked to buy this insurance. I was on a 30 day tourist visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooloomooloo Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I am very surprised you can open a bank account in Thailand without proof of residence and work permit or retirement visa. I am pretty sure a Thai will not be able to open an account in your country without above documents! Not sure what a Thai in my native country has got to do with this thread. Anyway, I opened a Bangkok Bank account this time last year on a 30 day visa on arrival in less than an hour. All very efficient and have internet banking too and no mention of insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthai Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I opened my first Bangkok Bank account about 7-8 years ago, no need for any insurance at that time. Recently (about 3-4 weeks ago) I opened another Bangkok bank account. Nothing was said about any requirement for insurance and no request for my work permit. All they asked for was my passport. I opened this account at a different branch than my old account so nobody in this branch knew me so they had no idea if I had another account or not. So it looks like this is a marketing ploy. The banks are very aggressive about selling insurance. They call my wife all the time about investing and insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siampolee Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Basically ''a load of old cobblers.'' Below is the definition for those who may ask about the opening line. The use of cobblers meaning "nonsense" is so mild that hardly anyone these days is likely to be offended by it. Most people are probably unaware of its rhyming-slang association with ``balls'', and therefore take it at its face value as a more colourful synonym for ``nonsense''. The classic formulation "a load of (old) cobblers" seems to be particularly popular in the tabloid press http://www.collinsdictionary.com/ You do not need an insurance policy to open a bank account. Snake oil marketing techniques nothing more nothing less. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRXcCrBi-dVU5_EyQ3OPDOs-WykwpubJhlgfPq2PtfzyEpaRe65 Edited June 10, 2014 by siampolee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazdeb Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 <script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script> Basically ''a load of old cobblers.'' Below is the definition for those who may ask about the opening line. The use of cobblers meaning "nonsense" is so mild that hardly anyone these days is likely to be offended by it. Most people are probably unaware of its rhyming-slang association with ``balls'', and therefore take it at its face value as a more colourful synonym for ``nonsense''. The classic formulation "a load of (old) cobblers" seems to be particularly popular in the tabloid press http://www.collinsdictionary.com/ You do not need an insurance policy to open a bank account. Snake oil marketing techniques nothing more nothing less. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRXcCrBi-dVU5_EyQ3OPDOs-WykwpubJhlgfPq2PtfzyEpaRe65 I can show you the signed paper work to prove they insisted I open it. Maybe " snake oil " but no way would they open it with out purchase and as I had to open one that day for a transfer I had no choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Some bank branches probably feel if they press a farang to buy insurance in order to open an account that they won't complain to anyone of importance like some govt agency/official; therefore, press hard. And then some farangs would just think it's a law. country-wide banking practice, etc., and just think they got no choice but to buy the insurance. Why in the world should buying insurance be a requirement just to open a bank account other than to create more profit for banksters. Just another method to take advantage of and overcharge farangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nontabury Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I am very surprised you can open a bank account in Thailand without proof of residence and work permit or retirement visa. I am pretty sure a Thai will not be able to open an account in your country without above documents! Can in the UK. Even seen social workers accompanying illegal immigrants to the bank, to help and show them how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoshowJones Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 What branch was this? That is, location? Head off on Silom Road. I was in that branch, they asked me about accident insurance, I said no. I got my account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nontabury Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Slightly of topic. I also have a foreign currency account,GBP. In addition to my normal Baht A/c's. One time while in BKK I ran out of Baht, so I went into a local branch and asked them to make a transfer from the foreign A/C into my normal Baht A/c, Cannot do they said, impossible, I would have to return to my home branch, 800KL away. Anyhow to cut the story short, after I had spent nearly 1 hour trying to explain that I din't have the money to return home, they relented and agreed to do the transfer if I would purchase one of their Insurance policies, so I then managed to con them by saying I would seriously think about it. They then completed the transfer. Was this the bank's policy or was it due to many Thai's having a negative attitude in performing their work I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbalEd Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 This supposedly "required" insurance is not marketing ... it's nothing more than an illegal scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooloomooloo Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 This supposedly "required" insurance is not marketing ... it's nothing more than an illegal scam. Where's the illegality? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamnanT Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I've been banking with BBL for over a decade and while I've never been told that had to buy insurance, I have been subject to some medium-to-high pressure sales tactics. All bank staff are on commission and quota to shift these insurance products (whole life policies, structured life/savings products), as the profit margin to the bank is quite high. Appears to be seasonal - last quarter of the year is particularly bad, as they ramp up on LTF/RMF sales and try to piggy-back the junk on top. I've had the foreign exchange officer pitch me for 45 minutes when all I wanted to do was buy some euros for a trip. I clearly wasn't assertive enough in saying No the first 12 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 No, but the Bangkok Bank staff loves to sell customers – especielly foreigners – a PA-insurance, presume they get commission... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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