Need your advice: what is the best insurance for expats in Thailand?

[Ukraine]

I want to buy an insurance in Thailand for 12 months.

Which one do you recommend for an expat with a limited budget?

[stevenl]

Presuming you mean health insurance, check the bupa Thailand website.

[Suradit69]

Many threads have dealt with this:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/868482-how-to-choose-health-insurance-coverage/?p=10044373&hl=bupa

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/871623-bupa-thailand-experiences/?p=10092547&hl=%2Bmedical+%2Binsurance

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=12fab56da48f7fc4869b66597d8ba523&app=googlecse#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=health insurance

Most any "health insurance" here is really only hospital insurance that will cover inpatient care, not doctor visits or prescriptions. If outpatient coverage is offered it's uneconomic ... high premiums and limited payout.

For shorter time periods, you might be better off checking out travel insurance offered in your home country.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Suradit69

[DGS1244]

If medical cover needed the only sensible answer is to take out an extended travel insurance in home country. Still expensive.

[Inquisitorial]

Depending upon which country you are from, it may pay to check the travel insurance coverage offered by your local bank - for example in Australia most banks for the gold and platinum credit cards offer you free travel insurance - some require you to pay for your trip on the credit cards to activate coverage others just require you to activate coverage when you are travelling. 12 months maybe a stretch though.

[pchansmorn]

I would just use travel insurance, cheapest way to go. But if you want to buy medical, depending on your health, I would go with Thai Life Insurance they are the cheapest, they sell medical polices, we have there policy for hospital only, other things we pay cash for because it is so cheap here in Thailand. We are in are 60's and we pay 1200.00 dollars a year. Good Luck to you. Patrick

[doublephil]

My experience from UK is that a 1 year travel insurance policy becomes invalid if you are out of the UK for more than 6 months in any 12 month period. That does not mean 6 consecutive months - it means a total of more than 180 days in the 1 year period of the insurance policy. It may not apply to every policy available - but it has to all the ones I have ever checked. Therefore a local Thai insurance policy - despite being more limited in what it covers - would still be much better than finding out that you have no insurance at all because you didn't read the terms and conditions of the travel insurance carefully.

[Colabamumbai]

If medical cover needed the only sensible answer is to take out an extended travel insurance in home country. Still expensive.

Canadian friend just told me 2 months travel outside of Canada insurance $500.

[rethaier]

Look into joining the Pattaya expats club (you do not need to live in Pattaya to do this). They have a group insurance thru AXA I am 69 and pay 29,000 baht per year.

http://pattayaexpatsclub.info/

Edited November 30, 2015 by rethaier

[superal]

If medical cover needed the only sensible answer is to take out an extended travel insurance in home country. Still expensive.

Depends what you think is expensive . I have just paid £310 for 6 months which is a comprehensive travel policy including a £10,000,000 medical cover plus of course all the many other associated insured benefits How does Bupa compare on costs for this period for a 68 year old man without serious health problems or history ? I was not able to get extended insurance or cover for a year . However there are some companies who will but the ones that I found would not insure people over the age of 40 years . Also I had a short spell in an Issan hospital earlier this year and the same insurance company were excellent and very helpful and even paid me £25 per night ,over and above all hospital fees ,to meet any minor personal expenses .

So this is a well worth option for retirees who return to the UK regularly and not forgetting that you have to be in the UK when you buy the policy .

[Autonuaq]

Depending on your nationality.your home covers a lot with travel insurance.

Also your age is important.

Of all I have compared NZI is one of the best look at the website 'now compare' for example

Allianz- Aayutha or Bupa do not cover a lot.

OUT patient is very important to have insured because of the definitient when Inpatient is inpatient.

I have had a small accident and the cost where in total about 250.000 THB

The inpatient part was about 35.000 THB the rest out patient.

I have had insured inpatient, outpatient, dental and accident and so not a problem.

Problem I have had where before with Allianz- Aayutha (coverage not as wanted and very much problem in getting money back.)

Beside the have no OUT PATIENT for individuals only if you do with company.

beside some will do a medical check upfront and you have to wait on the results.

Personally I do recommend NZI and I did it with the broker below.

[email protected]

Christopher

WhatsApp us on: +44 7471 628627

Line us on our Line ID: www.nowcompare.com

WeChat with us on our WeChat ID: nowcompare

[sandyf]

My experience from UK is that a 1 year travel insurance policy becomes invalid if you are out of the UK for more than 6 months in any 12 month period. That does not mean 6 consecutive months - it means a total of more than 180 days in the 1 year period of the insurance policy. It may not apply to every policy available - but it has to all the ones I have ever checked. Therefore a local Thai insurance policy - despite being more limited in what it covers - would still be much better than finding out that you have no insurance at all because you didn't read the terms and conditions of the travel insurance carefully.

I have had several over the years and normally limited to 45 days in any one trip. The only one I came across that differed was Wexas at 90 days. Someone told me the Co-Op did one at 90 days but that is hearsay.

As you say, the detail is in the small print.

[fekman]

If youre healthy, don't buy it, as medical procedures are so cheap, they are almost free here. Only insure against major disasters. Otherwise, invest the money monthly in case you need it, instead of throwing it away on a policy youre unsure will payout in the event of a claim.

.

Remember, insurance companies are the pros. We aren't. They ran all the numbers, and only offer policies that will benefit THEM, not us.

[MadMuhummad]

Pretty poor advice there fekman. Hope for the best but plan for the worst! Many have gone the 'to hell with insurance route' and regretted it.

Each to their own but Thailand is not the kind of place you want to take chances with when it comes to health coverage and repatriation coats.

[Ulic]

The cheapest insurance is the one that will pay out on a claim. Read the fine print, do not lie

about existing medical conditions, understand the difference between having a condition,

and having a condition that is being treated successfully. ie. high blood pressure.

Coverage while riding a scooter, 50cc- 110cc, motorcycle license. Understand that

just because you have bought insurance it does not mean you are covered. They will

take your money and if you make a claim than they will go over the particulars.

ie. High blood pressure, stroke not covered, pre existing condition.

Talk to an experienced agent. Insurance companies make a lot of money and that is because

they try not to pay out on claims. Deny, deny, deny, is the mantra.

[colinneil]

Whats the best insurance easy.

Marry a government officer then it is free.

[PacificCrossInsurance]

Want easy to understand, straight answers in English?

Simply email [email protected] for immediate attention.

Done! Hope this answers your question.

[bazza40]

If you are over 70, medical insurance is ruinously expensive. Think the cheapest quote I saw was USD 7500 plus.

My strategy is to have an emergency fund of 500K baht readily available for medical emergencies. Touch wood, so far I haven't had to use it.

[ozyjon]

This topic has been done to death and i'm no closer

to nailing it, the problem i have with travel insurance

in my country is that i'm rarely there, to get travel

insurance i need to buy a return ticket, i'm a nomad

i only buy a one way ticket because i never know

where my next stop will be, so i'm limited, i think i will

investigate the expat club for more information.

[fekman]

Pretty poor advice there fekman. Hope for the best but plan for the worst! Many have gone the 'to hell with insurance route' and regretted it.

Each to their own but Thailand is not the kind of place you want to take chances with when it comes to health coverage and repatriation coats.

Thailand IS the place to take that chance. France, Monaco, Australia, Norway......those are places you may not want to take a chance.

[djlest]

do youself a favor if you are still relevantly young open yourself a bank interest account and put money in every year approx what you would for a travel insurance. Dont under any circumstance unless you are sick touch it, and hope that if you do get sick you have enough funds to cover you. Failing that put a lump in as mentioned above 500k and leave it....or add to it..
Benefits, you dont waste money paying for insurance you will never use or lining the pockets of a company that may not even pay out when you are sick, plus the money is there and growing for when you get older, just need to be disciplined and learn to forget about it.

[JLCrab]

Good advice above especially if you are planning on ever getting real sick only once.

[MadMuhummad]

Scary that everyone is willing to take that gamble. You all have a lot more confidence than I could ever have....

[PLM]

I'm still researching this topic myself.

For the time being, short term, I'm thinking travel insurance.

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on World Nomad Travel Insurance

Thanks

[JESSVANPELT]

you cant beat Bupa. go to there website select the coverage you want and then go to there office on Sukimvit road. hey are the best i just spent 3 days in Bangkok hospital and all I had to pay out of pocket is 112 baht.

My annual policy cost me 30k out patient only. and there coverage is anywhere in the world except the USA

[JESSVANPELT]

do youself a favor if you are still relevantly young open yourself a bank interest account and put money in every year approx what you would for a travel insurance. Dont under any circumstance unless you are sick touch it, and hope that if you do get sick you have enough funds to cover you. Failing that put a lump in as mentioned above 500k and leave it....or add to it..

Benefits, you dont waste money paying for insurance you will never use or lining the pockets of a company that may not even pay out when you are sick, plus the money is there and growing for when you get older, just need to be disciplined and learn to forget about it.

or ion you get a major illness on year one then your screwed.........the only way this works is if you have a million baht to bank and sit on

[rubik101]

If youre healthy, don't buy it, as medical procedures are so cheap, they are almost free here. Only insure against major disasters. Otherwise, invest the money monthly in case you need it, instead of throwing it away on a policy youre unsure will payout in the event of a claim.

.

Remember, insurance companies are the pros. We aren't. They ran all the numbers, and only offer policies that will benefit THEM, not us.

Medical procedures are so cheap? Which mythical, magical hospital have you been visiting? We need to know this place.

[stevenl]

If youre healthy, don't buy it, as medical procedures are so cheap, they are almost free here. Only insure against major disasters. Otherwise, invest the money monthly in case you need it, instead of throwing it away on a policy youre unsure will payout in the event of a claim.

.

Remember, insurance companies are the pros. We aren't. They ran all the numbers, and only offer policies that will benefit THEM, not us.

Medical procedures are so cheap? Which mythical, magical hospital have you been visiting? We need to know this place.

Yes, medical procedures are very cheap here at the government hospitals. In the private hospitals it is more expensive, but in general still a lot cheaper than medical care back home.

[elizabethay]

Wow so many threads on insurance here. Just wanted to make a comment that I've already posted in a few other places on this website. My husband and I bought a few different types of insurances on https://masii.co.th which is a Bangkok based site. The people at Masii were pretty easy to work with, and we actually saved about 8k baht versus what the local Thai insurance agency quoted us for car insurance and health insurance. Worth checking out

 

Also, thx to one of the ppl here at ThaiVisa, also learned that some credit cards (like some Amex... still trying to figure out) offer a nice free travel insurance every time you buy a plane ticket or hotel with their credit card. Pretty great deal if you ask me. Still trying to look into it. All the best from Bangkok, Lizzie

[JimboJ]

On 11/30/2015 at 3:51 AM, superal said:

Depends what you think is expensive . I have just paid £310 for 6 months which is a comprehensive travel policy including a £10,000,000 medical cover plus of course all the many other associated insured benefits How does Bupa compare on costs for this period for a 68 year old man without serious health problems or history ? I was not able to get extended insurance or cover for a year . However there are some companies who will but the ones that I found would not insure people over the age of 40 years . Also I had a short spell in an Issan hospital earlier this year and the same insurance company were excellent and very helpful and even paid me £25 per night ,over and above all hospital fees ,to meet any minor personal expenses .

So this is a well worth option for retirees who return to the UK regularly and not forgetting that you have to be in the UK when you buy the policy .

What was the company?