Keeping the travel insurance valid while driving S.East Asia

[Henderson]

Hi,

In case of an accident, Travel insurance is only valid if the following occurs:

1. Car is registered and insured

2. Driving license is valid

I would HIGHLY appreciate if someone can let me know who do I contact (exactly which companies/government agencies) in the following countries : Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in order to get my Thai car insured.

I don't care about the amount which will be paid in case of an accident, just need to make sure that I have insurance in the country so my travel insurance can remain valid.

Also, would like to know in which countries (if any) I can simply use my Thai/International driving license and in which I must convert it to local license, how to do it exactly and for how long is the license valid.

Too many conflicting reports so help is very much needed:

http://pattayatoday.net/news/latest-edition/thailand-driving-licence-valid-throughout-asean/

http://pattayatoday.net/news/latest-edition/update-on-thai-driving-license/

There might have been changes in recent weeks/months so the old posts might no longer be valid.

I appreciate your comments.

[Tomtomtom69]

Insurance for Laos can be purchased at all international border checkpoints - all of them will allow you to take your Thai car across and there's no need to pre-purchase any insurance. Insurance General du Laos or IGL is as good as any I think.

Cambodia is a bit of a mess. Not all border crossings will allow foreign registered vehicles in without prior approval. Those that will allow you in with a Thai or other foreign registered vehicle include: Hat Lek/Koh Kong, Ban Pakkard/Prom (Pailin) and Chong Chom/O'Smach. Don't try any others because you might not be able to get your Thai car in, although exiting at any other crossings either for Thailand or Laos (NOT Vietnam though) should be OK. Apparently motorcycles can also enter through Aranyaprathet/Poipet but I'd still recommend any of the other 3 crossings just in case. Basically the insurance situation in Cambodia is bleak - it's not available for foreign registered vehicles at the border BUT you can probably arrange something in advance through a Phnom Penh based agency who could then insure your vehicle in advance starting from when you arrive. But as mentioned you need to arrange it in advance.

For Vietnam, insurance is available either on the Lao or Vietnamese side of the Lao/Vietnam border sometimes only in the nearest town and possibly needs to be purchased 1 year at a time as I found out. BUT Thai cars ordinarily can't enter Vietnam at all without going on a pre-arranged tour, which would include all insurance arrangements. When I went to Vietnam by car (driving from Bangkok to Dalat via Laos) I drove a Lao registered vehicle in. These days cars registered in any country other than Laos may find entering Vietnam very difficult indeed, especially if attempting to enter independently without a tour. Even Cambodian cars can no longer easily enter Vietnam, perhaps because Vietnamese cars have never been able to easily enter Cambodia. There have been many reports of refusals by Vietnamese customs for Cambodian cars attempting to enter Vietnam from Cambodia. For the time being, only commercial vehicles registered in either Vietnam or Cambodia including international buses can easily cross the border between the two countries in either direction but even then generally speaking only international buses are seen driving further than about 10km from the border as from my own observations Vietnamese trucks don't even travel further inside Cambodia than the border region.

Hopefully things will change by the time of the implementation of AEC 2015 next year but that's currently very unclear and nothing has been specifically mentioned so far about allowing more smooth procedures for crossing ASEAN borders by private car or motorcycle other than existing agreement continuing to be honored although in principle AEC aims to remove the current barriers, so perhaps it's implied. However, in the absence of any document that states what the rules will be like all we can do is adopt a wait and see approach.

As far as international/local driving licences are concerned: for Laos, a Thai license is fine. According to the Thai LTD, officially one should be in possession of a 5-year Thai driving licence to drive abroad, including in neighboring states since the 1-year licence is only temporary, but in practice even the 1-year Thai licence will suffice for Laos and should be perfectly valid there even in the event of an accident. I have used my 1-year Thai licence for driving in Laos and both the police and the rental car agency I rented from accepted my licence. However, an international driving permit if you have one will be safest. Bring it along but remember it must be accompanied by a licence either from Thailand or another country as it doesn't operate as a stand alone document.

For Cambodia, local licenses can easily be obtained, 1-year at a time by showing your current unexpired foreign licence, providing a passport photograph, copy of your passport and entry stamp/visa and paying the fee. International driving permits may/may not be accepted by police though AVIS car rental currently accepts IDPs but NOT Thai licences as stand alone documents. In any case they recommend obtaining a Cambodian licence and can assist in the process. Strictly speaking you may not be covered until such time that at least a temporary Cambo licence (which can take up to 3 days) has arrived but in practice if you drive your Thai car across the border from Thailand an international driving permit should be OK. Keep in mind that Cambodian customs might like to insist you only drive in the border province you entered the country in, however, in practice you can go wherever you want. Just tell them what they want to hear and be on your way.

For Vietnam, drivers of Lao vehicles don't necessarily need a Viet driver licence but it helps if ever you are stopped by the police. If you are able to bring your car into Vietnam, you should be OK licence wise. Vietnam customs is a fickle beast so once you're inside the country and driving a foreign registered vehicle, the license you hold will be paid little attention - Viet customs doesn't care about your licence but much more about the car you are attempting to bring in for temporary purposes. Note that officially international driving permits are not valid in Vietnam and you're supposed to obtain a local one (I possess a Vietnamese driving license) but in practice you may be unofficially allowed to drive in Vietnam using an IDP if your vehicle is Lao or otherwise foreign registered (for driving a locally registered car you would definitely need a Viet licence). Since Thai vehicles can only enter Vietnam on a tour (if at all) all of what I have just stated is irrelevant unless you drive a Lao registered vehicle in and in fact one rental car company in Laos allows you to do so. That's how I drove to Vietnam - by renting one of their cars.

My Viet licence was issued on the basis of another foreign licence I gave them - actually my Chinese licence. It therefore has the same validity (6 years) and was a bit pricey (about $220 in Dong) but worth it if like me, you tend to travel to Vietnam quite often and actually want/need to drive there.

[Henderson]

Tomtomtom69, WOW, thank you so much for your reply, it is very clear and comprehensive!

[surinderek]

A well documented and usefull bit of infomation.