Irishman warns about proper health insurance after his ordeal in Thailand

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Irishman Warns about Proper Health Insurance after his Ordeal in Thailand

BELFAST – A British-Irish National Darren Vogan, 33, who was stranded in Thailand after a serious road accident have spoken of the ordeal and warned other travelers to be careful when taking out insurance.

Darren Vogan broke both legs and suffered injuries to the rest of his body when a truck smashed into his moped in Thailand in July.

However, Darren, who had been working there as a teacher since the New Year, was unable to return home for eight weeks and was left with a £25,000 bill for medical and travel costs after he was told his insurance had expired.

Darren has now returned home but is facing more surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

His right leg will have to be rebuilt and the other leg has to be pinned so he will have both legs in a cast.

Full story: http://www.chiangraitimes.com/irishman-warns-about-proper-health-insurance-after-his-ordeal-in-thailand.html

-- CHIANGRAI TIMES 2015-10-07

[Nicolas32]

His mum Collette said, “It was such a shock for us and we were desperate to get him home. We tried everything including the British Embassy but all they could do was provide a translator.

Waste of space the British Embassy .. Shame on them ..

[Pattaya28]

And the truck insurance ?

[Nicolas32]

And the truck insurance ?

The guy in the truck had no insurance sounds about bloody right .. to be honest with you ..

[Walter Travolta]

The title mentions that the injured guy warns about proper insurance?

His insurance had run out, so no insurance can certainly be called "not proper insurance"

[shirtless]

1. I took out travel insurance with covermore, and when i did need to claim i realized it didnt cover anything you really need to read the fine print, never use covermore

[taony]

• I took out travel insurance with covermore, and when i did need to claim i realized it didnt cover anything you really need to read the fine print, never use covermore

There aren't many that will cover things you might actually need.

[laislica]

• I took out travel insurance with covermore, and when i did need to claim i realized it didnt cover anything you really need to read the fine print, never use covermore

There aren't many that will cover things you might actually need.

Especially if you are over 70 and any treatment needed is likely to be a pre existing condition and therefore not covered!

[Inn Between]

I guess if he'd been teaching longer, he would have been in the Social Security system? I assume it takes some time after getting a work permit, tax no., etc. before that happens. I'll also assume that if he'd been in the system, all his medical needs would have been taken care of at a government hospital, allowing him time to heal properly and return home under more normal circumstances

(Let me make it clear that I'm not being facetious and implying he was working illegally.) I feel for the guy. What an awful thing to go through. I hope the healing (both physically and financially) goes well. I was curious about Social Security taking care of him until healed if he'd had it.

[Yahooka]

Moral of the story ? Be sure to read the small print in the insurance papers.

I wish a speedy recovery to this unfortunate gentleman.

[hawkeye76]

Important fact!!

9 out of 10 insurance companies, will not cover you if your driving a scooter/motorbike.

[doremifasol]

I wish him to fully recover.

Edited October 7, 2015 by doremifasol

[Andrew65]

His mum Collette said, “It was such a shock for us and we were desperate to get him home. We tried everything including the British Embassy but all they could do was provide a translator.

Waste of space the British Embassy .. Shame on them ..

I've had some quite good service from the British Embassy.

I you mean financial help, I don't blame them for not helping people. (how many people in the past were helped financially only for them to become a lot less grateful and more forgetful when they are safe & sound back home).

I believe that they will pass on money that is lodged in a bank in the UK for helping a relative, or for a body to be repatriated.

[Andrew65]

Important fact!!

9 out of 10 insurance companies, will not cover you if your driving a scooter/motorbike.

You mean medical insurance in Thailand if one has a motorbike accident?

[cmsally]

Important fact!!

9 out of 10 insurance companies, will not cover you if your driving a scooter/motorbike.

Absolutely right, and mostly only the very fastidious realise.

[craigt3365]

Important fact!!

9 out of 10 insurance companies, will not cover you if your driving a scooter/motorbike.

You mean medical insurance in Thailand if one has a motorbike accident?

Many insurance policies don't cover scooter accidents here. You really need to read the fine print. And in this person's situation, make sure you renew it on time.

Too many of these stories pop up. Best of luck to him.

[ezzra]

Two issues here, this advise will work with the backpacker's shoe string travelers, and with

the young crowd how come to Thailand thinking, ' I'm alright, it ain't going to happened

to me', other than that travel insurance, for little as a $100 a month, make a whole lot of sense....

[mihalis]

Sorry to hear this..

But why on earth would you travel anywhere on this earth without proper travel insurance, and to those silly comments about truck insurance, why would you rely on someone else having cover, stupid.......................................

British Embassy must be full of politicians....

[asdecas]

His mum Collette said, “It was such a shock for us and we were desperate to get him home. We tried everything including the British Embassy but all they could do was provide a translator.

Waste of space the British Embassy .. Shame on them ..

I've had some quite good service from the British Embassy.

I you mean financial help, I don't blame them for not helping people. (how many people in the past were helped financially only for them to become a lot less grateful and more forgetful when they are safe & sound back home).

I believe that they will pass on money that is lodged in a bank in the UK for helping a relative, or for a body to be repatriated.

I agree; while I take issue with the very expensive fees levied by the British consular service for everyday requests, I have no beef with their not providing gratis financial assistance to citizens who are foolish enough to neglect their adult responsibilities while abroad.

[jacko45k]

And the truck insurance ?

The guy in the truck had no insurance sounds about bloody right .. to be honest with you ..

I believe that if I hit and injured a Thai citizen, the police would not be letting me go anywhere unless me or my insurance would be covering his or her hospital bills.

I am not sure Mr Darren is the best person to be giving insurance advice, but good wishes for his recovery.

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Insurance is good advice, but if you're over 62, good luck, it's outrageous, so you pay or run the risk. Most of us, run the risk.

[craigt3365]

Insurance is good advice, but if you're over 62, good luck, it's outrageous, so you pay or run the risk. Most of us, run the risk.

I self insure, but have a savings account that would cover emergencies like this. Also, because I self insure, I don't ride scooters. Just not worth the risk.

[Suradit69]

His mum Collette said, “It was such a shock for us and we were desperate to get him home. We tried everything including the British Embassy but all they could do was provide a translator.

Waste of space the British Embassy .. Shame on them ..

I've had some quite good service from the British Embassy.

I you mean financial help, I don't blame them for not helping people. (how many people in the past were helped financially only for them to become a lot less grateful and more forgetful when they are safe & sound back home).

I believe that they will pass on money that is lodged in a bank in the UK for helping a relative, or for a body to be repatriated.

I agree; while I take issue with the very expensive fees levied by the British consular service for everyday requests, I have no beef with their not providing gratis financial assistance to citizens who are foolish enough to neglect their adult responsibilities while abroad.

"... who are foolish enough to neglect their adult responsibilities while abroad."

Exactly. This thread is full of advice that might seem appropriate to give children travelling for the first time, but telling adults they should have insurance and they need to understand the terms of the coverage for which they're paying seems incredible. Maybe throw in "look both ways before crossing a street" and "don't take sweets from strangers" as well.

Some people, especially those from the notorious nanny states, have never learned to take responsibility for their own lives. And expecting an embassy to have people on call to come 'round and wipe their bums is equally childish.

[technologybytes]

Its not fair to suggest that insurance will not cover you if you are riding a scooter.

Of course travel insurance will not, but this guy was a teacher and not a tourist.

Most decent accident policies (he could have bought one for 4000 baht) would have covered most, if not all, of his hospital costs.

Its important to have some accident cover, that way the whole bill is scrutinised by the insurance company even if you have to pay part of the bill, the total will be lower as they cannot get away with stupid irrelevant charges as they always do with uninsured patients.

[loppylugs1]

Insurance is good advice, but if you're over 62, good luck, it's outrageous, so you pay or run the risk. Most of us, run the risk.

Agree most or all will run the risk,but that risk can be mitigated to a large degree. Myself hit by vehicle ,got costings here in Thailand,flew to India via wheelchair ,fixed up at a small fraction of costs here. Never but never get anything fixed up in Thailand medically ,just jet ski thugs in white coats

[kuiburi]

British embassy not helping in this case is discrimination against ur own countrymen . The European governments spend about 36.000 euro's a year per refugee but are not able to help there own people .

[jalansanitwong]

In Australia this bloke would have no problems and a big compo cheque on the way. Third party medical insurance is a compulsory component of your annual registration fee . Simple as that.

Stay away from Asian roads.

[robblok]

British embassy not helping in this case is discrimination against ur own countrymen . The European governments spend about 36.000 euro's a year per refugee but are not able to help there own people .

Any idea how many people would then make use of the money from the government. Countless because why buy insurance as your government will pick up the bill.

The refugee's are not a good thing at all but two wrongs don't make a right.

[robblok]

In Australia this bloke would have no problems and a big compo cheque on the way. Third party medical insurance is a compulsory component of your annual registration fee . Simple as that.

Stay away from Asian roads.

My health insurance does cover motorbike accidents cover is up to a million $. Sure you pay for it but why not. Also my motorcycle insurance covers part of the accident (100.000bt only but at least its something) (first class bike insurance).

I have been riding bikes here for 8 years and so have many others. We don't all get in accidents. But I agree its more dangerous as driving a car (also own a car but prefer the bike because of the traffic). If you want to be 100% safe just stay in your home and don't go out.

Everyone makes his or her own assessment of risks and rewards. Can be a different outcome per person.

[stoli]

Moral of the story ? Be sure to read the small print in the insurance papers.

I wish a speedy recovery to this unfortunate gentleman.

The lawyers have made sure that reading the multiple pages of fine print will leave you with more questions than you started with......It is time for them to present the policy in plain English that it understandable to everyone. Even their own representatives don't understand the policy. The insurance company is accomplishing its goals.