Irishman warns about proper health insurance after his ordeal in Thailand

[Dibbler]

The accepted Thai way to deal with a situation where the person causing the road accident has no insurance is to 1) hire a lawyer to sue the company he works for, and if that fails 2) hire someone to make the driver pay up. Either way you'll pay for your medical bills. His Embassy should have advised him about 1).

[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 .

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.

Honestly Rob , I have no idea how many people would try to take advantage and not get a travel insurance if travelling abroad .

I think not to many people get into serious medical trouble like this bloke did .

Little bit of namchai on the embassy's side would be the right thing IMHO .

[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.

Honestly Rob , I have no idea how many people would try to take advantage and not get a travel insurance if travelling abroad .

I think not to many people get into serious medical trouble like this bloke did .

Little bit of namchai on the embassy's side would be the right thing IMHO .

Honestly I think you underestimate this hugely. You read so many sob stories here and if it is known that the Embassy helps with medical cost you can be sure many of the people here that are having a hard time with funds will lapse their insurance and think that if something happens the embassy takes up the bill. Kinda like how the refugees come to the west because we are too generous.

Never underestimate how many people love to abuse the system also white Englishmen, they are as rotten as white Dutchmen and immigrants. We all take advantage of the system if we can. I am well insured but if I get older like reach the ages of the average Thaivisa poster my premiums will be higher too. If i had less money and the Dutch embassy would bail out Dutchmen I would certainly think about not taking insurance.. because the embassy would always help.

[Matthew2027]

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?

BUPA have an Accident Only insurance, not expensive and as far as I remember Motorbike accidents are covered.

[loppylugs1]

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.

Honestly Rob , I have no idea how many people would try to take advantage and not get a travel insurance if travelling abroad .

I think not to many people get into serious medical trouble like this bloke did .

Little bit of namchai on the embassy's side would be the right thing IMHO .

Honestly I think you underestimate this hugely. You read so many sob stories here and if it is known that the Embassy helps with medical cost you can be sure many of the people here that are having a hard time with funds will lapse their insurance and think that if something happens the embassy takes up the bill. Kinda like how the refugees come to the west because we are too generous.

Never underestimate how many people love to abuse the system also white Englishmen, they are as rotten as white Dutchmen and immigrants. We all take advantage of the system if we can. I am well insured but if I get older like reach the ages of the average Thaivisa poster my premiums will be higher too. If i had less money and the Dutch embassy would bail out Dutchmen I would certainly think about not taking insurance.. because the embassy would always help.

So the black Englishmen are not rotten,or are as rotten to the core,which is generally more the case

As you state insurance,especially in Thailand where Topsy prevails it just grows and grows The more the robbing and cheating Thai Medical profession become so do the premiums for treating ,or more likely rewarding these so called jet skiing all robbing doctors in Thailand

[micmichd]

Unfortunately there's lots of cases when private health insurances don't pay anything at all. Like all diseases they label as "conditions".

I have paid probably millions of EUR taxes to the German goverment, and of course I expect something in reward for the credit they took from me.

German Embassy is part of German goverment, it is their well-paid duty to help me out in case of an accident.

It's called SCAM if you pay for something in advance and get nothing in reward.

Edited October 7, 2015 by micmichd

[Johnniey]

• 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!

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

[pizzachang]

Check with your provider about coverage in Thailand. Even though insurance is usually a good thing, the overall record of insurance settlements is more negative than positive(IMO). USA Medicare does not cover medical expenses outside the USA. I find that odd to say the least.

[NCC1701A]

I have Bupa insurance in Thailand. 89,000 Baht a year, I am 59.

Scooter and big bike accident coverage is 50% of normal medical issues.

so of the 5 million Baht coverage, they will pay 2.5 million for scooter and motorcycle.

0% for STD. They aren't stupid.

Please be careful in this Mad Max of a country while you are drinking, smoking and boom booming yourself to death.

[Jimbo2014]

They havnt knocked him up for the damage to the truck yet - TIT

[loppylugs1]

• 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!

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

More than quite a few I'm sure,just depends how active the 70 year old is

[whatproblem]

If the truck driver not have insurance then his truck should be seized and sold to pay costs ,but he's Thai and this is Thailand

[NCC1701A]

• 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!

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

not too many. but i do know of two here in Hua Hin. And many 65 year old's on scooters and motorcycles here.

Hey, it is a challenge just to walk around here at any age without getting killed.

[micmichd]

I have Bupa insurance in Thailand. 89,000 Baht a year, I am 59.

Scooter and big bike accident coverage is 50% of normal medical issues.

so of the 5 million Baht coverage, they will pay 2.5 million for scooter and motorcycle.

0% for STD. They aren't stupid.

Please be careful in this Mad Max of a country while you are drinking, smoking and boom booming yourself to death.

Bupa will probably pay 50% of your hospital bill, eg 500 kb out of 1 Mb. You might have to pay the remaining 50% no matter how much it is. So an accident might be your financial ruin, even if you have a private health insurance.

Expats in pensioners in Thailand should be allowed to remain in the social health insurance system (NHS, Medicare or whatever) to which they most probably have contributed before. Everything else is asocial.

[loppylugs1]

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!

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

not too many. but i do know of two here in Hua Hin. And many 65 year old's on scooters and motorcycles here.

Hey, it is a challenge just to walk around here at any age without getting killed.

If its" not too many" then there's not a lot of over 70s here then. I'm not there yet ,but everyone known to me over 70,even 80s are riding around on bikes

[jimstar1]

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 am Coverd by Southern Cross Travel Insurance N Z I am 64 I get 6 Months at a Time the Cost $325 Access $100

!2 months ago accident on bike badly injured leg Cover was great every thing paid for All Hospital First class flights from Chiang Mai to Auckland First Class Transfers to BKK Hospital Bangkok First class Accom Bangkok also flew friend from N Z to Bkk gave him Accom so he could accompany me home Now this was not expensive at all and they have covered me again for this trip

Check them out on line

[Srikcir]

A good backup to global health insurance is an international credit card with high credit.

It is easy to keep and doesn't expire until you cancel or never have any activity.

[madmitch]

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.

Insurance policy language has simplified over the years but plain language policies just don't work. Legal terminology can be better for both parties in the event of a dispute as it's tried and tested and can speed up a settlement or otherwise. In general, coverage and exclusions are quite clear, though you may need to skip through a whole load of seemingly unimportant verbiage in order to find the exclusions.

In this instance, the guy didn't renew his policy and no insurer will pay a claim outside the period of coverage.

Finally you are right about agents. In Thailand, for example, they are selling policies after a couple of days training and therefore have minimal or no understanding of the terms and conditions.

[jimstar1]

I am Coverd by Southern Cross Travel Insurance N Z I am 64 I get 6 Months at a Time the Cost $325 Access $100

!2 months ago accident on bike badly injured leg Cover was great every thing paid for All Hospital First class flights from Chiang Mai to Auckland First Class Transfers to BKK Hospital Bangkok First class Accom Bangkok also flew friend from N Z to Bkk gave him Accom so he could accompany me home Now this was not expensive at all and they have covered me again for this trip

Check them out on line

[Expat1]

Insurance is a wonderful thing and no doubt needed however, after having had 2 close friends die over the years in road accidents while they rode motorcycles my recommendation is to keep good insurance and stay the F' off of motorcycles in this country.

[Kerryd]

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

More than quite a few I'm sure,just depends how active the 70 year old is

Sheesh - my 75 y.o. dad bought a Harley (Sportster) shortly after moving to Thailand (rode it twice then sold it, then bought a small 200cc Kawasaki and a 110cc Yamaha with sidecart). I know a couple guys in their mid-60s still riding Harleys (Fat Boys, Road Kings and Ultra-Glides - not light bikes - my Softail is about 275 kgs (620 pounds) dry weight and the Road Kings/Ultras are a fair bit heavier).

Not to mention all the old farts roaring around on scooters, often with their significant "other" on the back.

(Personally, I have "Class A" insurance for my motorbike as well as the standard mandatory "government" insurance. Additionally I also have a "motorcycle insurance" policy issued through my bank. I also keep my "visa extension" money locked in a term/fixed deposit account which, in the event of an emergency, I could also use.)

[yellowboat]

Met a beautiful blond French woman at the airport all battered and bruised and on crutches about a year ago. Met a beautiful English woman at the airport all battered and bruised and on crutches about nine months ago. Met a beautiful Taiwanese woman at the airport all battered and bruised and on crutches about 7 months ago. They all were injured because ? Yes, they were on motor bikes in Phucket, Pattaya or Koh Samui.

My friend father died a few years ago taking a motorcycle in Pattaya. He was retired.

Was in Koh Samui for business. One of the people, an American, we were working with got killed coming to work on his motorbike .

It seems that your chances for survival increase dramatically if you do not ride a motor cycle in Thailand.

[robertson468]

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 ..

Why is the British Embassy a waste of space - because they would not provide a hand-out due to his negligence? Money for the Embassy comes from everyone's taxes, which means people like me and I do not intend to fund someone else's stupidity. Wake up people and be responsible for your selves.

[micmichd]

Insurance is a wonderful thing only if it helps when you need it.

I paid for *social* health security when I had a good job, in fact I paid the maximum.

"social" means you pay when you are young and take when you are old, that's how social security systems are calculated.

Get the difference?

[Kerryd]

The real "moral of the story" here is don't let your insurance expire !

"after he was told his insurance had expired."

He had been teaching "since the New year" so that means less than a year, which means he never bothered renewing his insurance when it came due.

He was quoted as saying "I didn’t realize I was supposed to renew the policy every month. " <deleted> ? Was he living (and working) on Travel Insurance ?!?!?!

That is the only kind of insurance I can think of that would have to be renewed every month and I suspect it wouldn't cover him for anything that happened while he was living and working somewhere and not "travelling".

I can see his work-issued insurance policy not covering this as many of them (like the ones we had while working in Afghanistan) don't cover anything that doesn't happen "on the job".

The fault here is not with the insurance companies. It is not their responsibility to make sure you get the proper kind of policy and then keep it up to date (though the companies I deal with are good at letting me know when it is time to renew my policies it is still up to me to actually renew them in a timely fashion). If you decide to try and use the wrong kind of insurance policy (i.e. living and working on while on a Travel Insurance policy) and then you don't even keep that up to date, it's not the insurance companies fault.

[NCC1701A]

How many 70 year olds are riding motorbikes in Thailand ?

not too many. but i do know of two here in Hua Hin. And many 65 year old's on scooters and motorcycles here.

Hey, it is a challenge just to walk around here at any age without getting killed.

If its" not too many" then there's not a lot of over 70s here then. I'm not there yet ,but everyone known to me over 70,even 80s are riding around on bikes

yes i was just trying to be agreeable. Hua Hin is a town full of 65 plus year old's racing around on scooters and big bikes. i just met a 78 year old last night and we have a 87 who has a 25 year old girlfriend. you know, the usual. not sure if he drives the scooter or if she drives.

[springheeled jack]

I feel sorry for Darren a very traumatic experience indeed and it shows how quickly you can run into debt in this country , I advise everybody people who have insurance to check the small print otherwise you could be in serious trouble , you cant summons a thai its not allowed it wouldn't be a viable proposition if you could the majority of thais don't have much money?

[Paul Laycock]

I had insurance with AIA had two strokes and was told I had the wrong type of stroke, no payout except for hospital fees and drugs.

[eggers]

Think most comments are missing the point regarding this person's insurance. According to the article, "........after he was told his insurance had expired." So the issue is not about coverage, but that you have valid travel insurance. Whether would have been covered whilst riding a motor cycle, is questionable & most likely an out for the insurer!

As a side issue, it's almost impossible to get long term health cover once you turn 66 yrs, & as others pointed out, travel insurance has 'limited coverage" dependent on age & current health.

[SiSePuede419]

Of course, everyone here knows to buy a THAI medical Insurance before age 60, because if you try to start a new policy at 60+, they won't insure you.

Correct?