Good day,

I am looking to be a first time car buyer in Thailand, not necessarily new.

I believe there are 2 classes of insurance, one for new vehicles and another for used vehicles, is this correct? If so how does it work?

Also, if the vehicle has comprehensive insurance, can anybody drive it or do the drivers have to be named, i.e Prime driver and A.N.Other?

We will be living in Chaiyaphum but spending a lot of time in Bangkok so can anyone please recommend a reliable insurance company.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Every man and his Dog can drive it or it seems in my village.

May different kinds or levels of car insurance in Thailand. Try calling LMG insurance.. screw them down on their prices, as it's a massive competitive business..

all vehicles have to have compulsory government insurance, as well as 'road tax' ,on top of that if you choose to you can take out additional insurance for cars, class 1,2,2+,3,3+' the lower the number the better.

This insurace covers the car and all drivers, no claims discount is earned year on year, you can nominate drivers and can receive a discount.

Most new cars come with one year insurance but has to be included in the 'extras' that you negotiate at the time of purchase.

Buying second hand can be fraught with danger, undeclared accidents, flood damage, poorly mantained etc.

1st class insurance (cover no matter what) is only available on cars under a certain age, usually 7 years.

I go for 2+, but for you to make a decision, go to gluaygluay.com and have a search. All the different levels of cover come up and you will see the benefits and disadvantages of all. Repairs here are cheap, my motive for getting insured is that in an accident you get a representative of the insurance company tun up and deal with everything - I don't want to be negotiating with the crooks who decide who was at fault.

1st class insurance (cover no matter what) is only available on cars under a certain age, usually 7 years.

It's 10 years, 7 years is the start of requiring to have a vehicle check before paying road taxes. Steve187 outlines it well. Also, the insurance goes with the car so if the insurance is already paid on the car you buy you don't have to worry about it until expiration. But depending on the level of the cover you might want to bump the class up depending on the age, condition and price paid for the car.

Every man and his Dog can drive it or it seems in my village.

Thank you, good information!

Just about to buy 1st class from Thanachart Insurance, has anybody used them?

Just about to buy 1st class from Thanachart Insurance, has anybody used them?

It is important to check the location that accepts the said insurance. For example, I prefer to go to Thaiyarnyon at sukhumvit 87.. I also call my rep in charge of the insurance to ask if they will take said company or not.. It is important to build up relationship with the person handling your claim.

Have not used them.. but would not recommend.

Every man and his Dog can drive it or it seems in my village.

Thank you, good information!

Whether you want cover for any driver or only named drivers is entirely up to you.

My vehicle is insured for only me to drive and I get a significant discount on the premium for this. However, if some other person does drive it the insurance is still valid but with an extra 5000B excess on top of the deliberately higher excess I already have. All these options reduce my premium without significantly reducing the cover.

I suspect that in villages anyone and everyone will drive a vehicle because:

1) it probably isnt insured anyway

2) they believe that a few chants at the local Wat will prevent then from ever having an accident

3) if there is an accident they will just lie about who was driving