BUPA $$$

[manfredtillmann]

I agree it would be great if one could maintain the travel insurance policy. It does cover much more.

But, I looked into it and most do not cover beyond 3 months. If a company does, let me know. They will ask about your dates of travel, etc.

Yes, you can keep try renewing, but they will check things out and may claim fraud and not pay as in my case not truly traveling, but living in a foreign country.

I share your concerns about ongoing renewability with travel insurance providers like World Nomads.

But FWIW, when noodling around their website, I filled in my info for a policy quote and just picked an arbitrary 4 month travel period, and their system shot back a policy quote to me for the 4 month period. So apparently, that particular firm isn't limited to the 3 month maximum you mentioned.

But whether they will allow ongoing, back to back one year or even 6 month renewals for the same foreign country time after time, I think that's likely a different question. Be interesting to know.

i insured with world nomads several times before, but only ever for one defined period.

this year i came to thailand in march and as i was not sure about my travel plans i bought cover for 3 months. from memory there is no defined limit on how long i can buy for.

about a week before the end of the three months period WN emailed me asking if i was still traveling and if - yes - would i like to buy more cover. so i did, for another 3 months. which will end in august i and i expect i will receive another offer to buy more cover than.

these are not extensions of one policy but new ones. WN's database does not seem to be overly organised as i now receive emails asking me how my trip was and what i am planning to do next AND how my trip is going and if i am ok etc.

long and short, what appears important to them is that i am LIVING in australia but TRAVELLING in thailand, something i clearly comply with, even though the length of my 'travel' exceeds the length of my 'living'. there must be hundreds of thousands of people like me, roaming the planet. i know a couple who literally live on cruise ships, with 2 and 3 day breaks in between.

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

p.s: what i really like in a travel insurance is that they will fly me back to oz if i am really sick and i don't have to linger in a 3rd rate thai facility.

happy sunday, everyone.

[tonray]

I agree it would be great if one could maintain the travel insurance policy. It does cover much more.

But, I looked into it and most do not cover beyond 3 months. If a company does, let me know. They will ask about your dates of travel, etc.

Yes, you can keep try renewing, but they will check things out and may claim fraud and not pay as in my case not truly traveling, but living in a foreign country.

I share your concerns about ongoing renewability with travel insurance providers like World Nomads.

But FWIW, when noodling around their website, I filled in my info for a policy quote and just picked an arbitrary 4 month travel period, and their system shot back a policy quote to me for the 4 month period. So apparently, that particular firm isn't limited to the 3 month maximum you mentioned.

But whether they will allow ongoing, back to back one year or even 6 month renewals for the same foreign country time after time, I think that's likely a different question. Be interesting to know.

i insured with world nomads several times before, but only ever for one defined period.

this year i came to thailand in march and as i was not sure about my travel plans i bought cover for 3 months. from memory there is no defined limit on how long i can buy for.

about a week before the end of the three months period WN emailed me asking if i was still traveling and if - yes - would i like to buy more cover. so i did, for another 3 months. which will end in august i and i expect i will receive another offer to buy more cover than.

these are not extensions of one policy but new ones. WN's database does not seem to be overly organised as i now receive emails asking me how my trip was and what i am planning to do next AND how my trip is going and if i am ok etc.

long and short, what appears important to them is that i am LIVING in australia but TRAVELLING in thailand, something i clearly comply with, even though the length of my 'travel' exceeds the length of my 'living'. there must be hundreds of thousands of people like me, roaming the planet. i know a couple who literally live on cruise ships, with 2 and 3 day breaks in between.

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

p.s: what i really like in a travel insurance is that they will fly me back to oz if i am really sick and i don't have to linger in a 3rd rate thai facility.

happy sunday, everyone.

finny thing about insurance companies....they rarely have trouble taking your money...but when it comes time to pay out....you can be sure they will checking the fine print.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

That would be great. Please do update it here.

But just to re-state the obvious here, and many of us get older, it becomes more difficult to obtain NEW health insurance coverage, thus it becomes even more important to find a good health insurer who you can keep for a period of years, hopefully many years, assuming a long life.

Any policy that has a risk of refusing coverage at some future point, especially in a situation where the ifs and whens of that would be pretty unclear, becomes a risky proposition for long-term expats.

However, Nomad's pricing is pretty good, so I could see using it as an add-on or supplement to Thai health insurance. That way, you have extra and substantial coverage as a pretty good price. But you're not left out in the cold if Nomads at some point refuses to renew.

[manfredtillmann]

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

That would be great. Please do update it here.

But just to re-state the obvious here, and many of us get older, it becomes more difficult to obtain NEW health insurance coverage, thus it becomes even more important to find a good health insurer who you can keep for a period of years, hopefully many years, assuming a long life.

Any policy that has a risk of refusing coverage at some future point, especially in a situation where the ifs and whens of that would be pretty unclear, becomes a risky proposition for long-term expats.

However, Nomad's pricing is pretty good, so I could see using it as an add-on or supplement to Thai health insurance. That way, you have extra and substantial coverage as a pretty good price. But you're not left out in the cold if Nomads at some point refuses to renew.

agreed. 100%.

and taking out a health cover that has a 100% guarantee it will not drop you as you get older is 100% good.... as long as your premiums don't increase 100% every year.

and you do not have any control over that!

what would you do if your bupa went from thb 16000 to thb 160000, just because you hit the big '70?

sure, they stick to their promise of keeping you covered - but can you afford to buy that?

talk to you soon

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

You raise a valid point about the prospect of getting priced out of affordable Thai health insurance products as one gets older. But that doesn't alleviate the issue about the renewal uncertainty with an outfit like World Nomads (which also says they won't insure anyone once they reach age 70, period).

But, speaking personally, my Thai health insurance is with Pacific Cross, formerly LMG Thailand. And one of the things I like about them is they clearly show and publish what their premium rates are by age band in their policy materials, as in the detail I posted earlier in this thread in post #33. So at least with those kind of charts, you can see what their rates are today, and how they increase in age bands, up to the age of 65.

Another good thing about Pacific Cross is that, unlike World Nomads, they say they will continue to offer insurance to existing policy holders without a specific age cutoff (although, they don't publicly quote what their rates will be for coverage beyond the age 65 rate band). And of course, like other insurers, they reserve the right to boost your rates on an individual basis if you rack up a high dollar volume of claims for whatever reason. But that's going to happen anywhere with private insurance.

I'm still some years away from hitting the age 65 band, so at least I have some guide of what to expect for my health premiums between now and then. And unlike BUPA, LMG's age band increases every 5 year period are nowhere near to the 35% amount folks were talking about BUPA earlier in this thread. I believe the largest age band increase I found on LMG's rate chart was less than 20% for advancing into a new age band.

Another nice thing about Pacific Cross is they give you options for reducing your premium if you need to. Their published rates are for full inpatient and outpatient coverage with no deductible. But then, you can take 20% off those rates if you opt out of OPD, and another 25% off if you accept a 40,000 baht per year annual deductible on the policy. They also have another discount for years in which you make no policy claim. So suddenly, the highest 80-90,000 baht annual premiums they show on their chart can end up being reduced by 40% or more.

BTW, the Maxima policy that's quoted in the chart I refer to above has per disability limits of 5 million baht and a lifetime policy limit of 20 million baht, a bit lower than I'd prefer especially for the lifetime limit, but within the general parameters Sheryl has mentioned above as being what you'd at least ought to have as a minimum from any Thai health insurance coverage.

Edited July 24, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[DUS]

Check policy wording carefully. There are annnual caps on OPD benefits that often amount to about what you pay extra to have the coverage. Also inpatient policies include coverage of outpatient surgery and some other procedures...might also extend to outpt chemo though I am not sure.

Wow, yes, I never really thought about this. So I am REALLY interested to learn if undergoing chemo etc as an OPD would actually then NOT be covered by a standard insurance policy.

Can anyone share some info on which insurance companies definitely pay for OPD cancer treatment? It´s a scary thought to sign up with one of the insurance companies only to find out that the cancer treatment isn´t actually covered by them because you´re taking the pills and injections as an outpatient.

Does nobody know if chemo therapy counts as OPD? Please help me with an answer.... Ta!

[Sheryl]

It will vary with the policy, which you need to read. I seem to remember that Cigna Global did.

[xylophone]

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

That would be great. Please do update it here.

But just to re-state the obvious here, and many of us get older, it becomes more difficult to obtain NEW health insurance coverage, thus it becomes even more important to find a good health insurer who you can keep for a period of years, hopefully many years, assuming a long life.

Any policy that has a risk of refusing coverage at some future point, especially in a situation where the ifs and whens of that would be pretty unclear, becomes a risky proposition for long-term expats.

However, Nomad's pricing is pretty good, so I could see using it as an add-on or supplement to Thai health insurance. That way, you have extra and substantial coverage as a pretty good price. But you're not left out in the cold if Nomads at some point refuses to renew.

I contacted World Nomads a couple of years ago to see about their Travel Insurance, because a friend living here was sure he could use it the same way as Health insurance.............their reply was that it was not health insurance and living in another country negated it as travel insurance.

So be careful as it may not help when you really need it.

[manfredtillmann]

so, i'll let you all know what will happen in august with my next WN policy - or not.

That would be great. Please do update it here.

But just to re-state the obvious here, and many of us get older, it becomes more difficult to obtain NEW health insurance coverage, thus it becomes even more important to find a good health insurer who you can keep for a period of years, hopefully many years, assuming a long life.

Any policy that has a risk of refusing coverage at some future point, especially in a situation where the ifs and whens of that would be pretty unclear, becomes a risky proposition for long-term expats.

However, Nomad's pricing is pretty good, so I could see using it as an add-on or supplement to Thai health insurance. That way, you have extra and substantial coverage as a pretty good price. But you're not left out in the cold if Nomads at some point refuses to renew.

I contacted World Nomads a couple of years ago to see about their Travel Insurance, because a friend living here was sure he could use it the same way as Health insurance.............their reply was that it was not health insurance and living in another country negated it as travel insurance.

So be careful as it may not help when you really need it.

thank you, mate

as i wrote before, i am not living in thailand, i just come here for a large period of my year. during that time i also travel to other countries such as germany.

i am australian, run a business in australia, have property, investments, pay taxes, both federal and state, have (a very expensive) health insurance as well as life- property- and liability insurances, own motor vehicles and and and. i live there!

my being in thailand is travel. i own nothing here other than a car. i don't rent, i don't work, i just laze around here and there in issan, eat and drink beer.

and similar in germany or denmark when i am there.

why would i have to purchase a local - and by the looks of it totally overpriced and pretty useless health insurance here in thailand, if i don't live here?

(pls read my previous post about my friends who cruise 340 days a year, they have no problems being travel insured on a yearly basis, year after year, i think they are with allianz).

what i am buying travel insurance for is just that: travel. it covers a lot of things that health insurance does not and it relies on them only having to pay emergency treatment. after that they cart you back to your homeland. things like cancer treatment, mayor dentals, palliative care etc. are obviously not covered.

that is why i keep my australian health insurance. so, using travel insurance INSTEAD of having a proper health insurance is not an option, particularly if you do not have a home overseas anymore.

while i obviously do not know what will happen until it happens i believe my case to be pretty strong and i do feel that i am doing the right thing.

as stated before, i'll let you all know about any issues arising. unless i (or my wife rather) have reason to claim death benefits.

edit: spelling error

Edited July 25, 2016 by manfredtillmann

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

From his description, I would say that Manfred sounds like someone who in fact can make a reasonable/strong case that he's in fact a resident of his home country, albeit one who's frequently traveling and staying in other places, but not just one other place all the time.

That's a different situation, however, from someone who has a home country but basically is living full-time, or most of the time, in one specific other place like Thailand. I'd probably feel reasonably comfortable if I were in Manfred's situation. I wouldn't feel so comfortable if I was presenting my own situation.

[manfredtillmann]

just the update as promised:

my current travel insurance policy is about to expire on 30/09. last time it expired in june this year i received an email invite off 'world nomads' to extend. i did.

getting nervous about not having been contacted i logged in to my 'wn' account just now, clicked 'manage policies', found my current one with an option box to extend. clicked, paid A$148 with credit card and i am now covered until 01/12, the day i will arrive back in oz.

so, three extensions are no problem.

cheers

mft

Edited September 28, 2016 by manfredtillmann
grammar, spelling

[kamalabob2]

I have held a BUPA 2 million baht Platinum plan for at least 8 years. My licensed insurance broker who is bi-lingual, and Thai citizen, Eric Dohlon based in Phuket as been very helpful in my dealings with BUPA health cover and other insurance policies. Very helpful when it came to making a claim and all issues paid. Last night I paid 80,404 baht on line for the 2 million baht in patient coverage Platinum Health Insurance Plan. I am 62 years old. There is a current post on a Buriram forum regarding the emergency sale of a 2 year old pick up truck. The Thai wife had borrowed money on the pick up truck to pay the medical bills of the expat husband who sought treatment at a private hospital in Korat. My wife will not be in a position to sell her Toyota Champ to pay my medical bills. The premium I pay with BUPA is considerable less than my plan would have been with Kaiser HMO in California. A HMO based in the USA is not exactly the same as a Health Insurance company, but each give me piece of mind. 

[Blue bruce]

Can you provide a name and phone number of your agent? ? ? 

[richard_smith237]

On September 29, 2016 at 9:36 AM, kamalabob2 said:

I have held a BUPA 2 million baht Platinum plan for at least 8 years. My licensed insurance broker who is bi-lingual, and Thai citizen, Eric Dohlon based in Phuket as been very helpful in my dealings with BUPA health cover and other insurance policies. Very helpful when it came to making a claim and all issues paid. Last night I paid 80,404 baht on line for the 2 million baht in patient coverage Platinum Health Insurance Plan. I am 62 years old. There is a current post on a Buriram forum regarding the emergency sale of a 2 year old pick up truck. The Thai wife had borrowed money on the pick up truck to pay the medical bills of the expat husband who sought treatment at a private hospital in Korat. My wife will not be in a position to sell her Toyota Champ to pay my medical bills. The premium I pay with BUPA is considerable less than my plan would have been with Kaiser HMO in California. A HMO based in the USA is not exactly the same as a Health Insurance company, but each give me piece of mind. 

 

I understand that peoples needs, what premiums they are willing to pay etc are different... However, a 2 MB ceiling is pretty low IMO. 

A friend of mine and I have both exceeded 2 MB (doubled it in fact) with emergency treatment (we were both in our 30's at the time). 

 

Myself - DTV & Pulmonary Embolism + Medevac (10 days hospital treatment in Singapore).

My friend - Rare Illness (1 Month ICU, 1 further month inpatient + 6 months physio - Bumrungrad).

 

As we get older, the chances of something more serious and costly increase (along with the premiums of coverage)... however, I'd seriously consider whether or not 2 MB is sufficient cover. 

 

I decided against the Platinum 5 MB cover for my Wife and chose MHS instead (about 70 MB  / £1.5m cover) with similarly priced premiums (but also included THB 38,000 of outpatient treatment per year) & direct settlement.

 

My Son is insured through AXA who also have decent policies (direct settlement).

 

Both AXA and MHS seem worth looking at IMO. I am with BUPA international (through my work), if I was paying myself, based on research I'd choose AXA . 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2016 by richard_smith237

[Travel2003]

I just got a quote from BUPA regarding Platinum 3.

Im 52.

96155 baht per year.

 

 

[tonray]

2 hours ago, Travel2003 said:

I just got a quote from BUPA regarding Platinum 3.

Im 52.

96155 baht per year.

 

 

BUPA Thailand or International. The Thailand company gives an online quote as follows:

 

If you add outpatient benefits the price goes up a lot. Outpatient is cheap relatively in Thailand...not worth it for most people.

 

A special quote for you, 52 years old. Class of occupation: Class 1 Change your age

Platinum Plan

Show Out-patient Benefit (OPD) Levels: Show Personal Accident Cover (PA) Levels: No OPD Basic Medium Top No PA Basic Medium Top Out-patient benefit: You can select level of out-patient benefit to best suit your need Personal accident benefit: You can select level of personal accident benefit to best suit your need   Benefits (In-patient and Day Case) Platinum 1 ฿3,929                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Platinum 2 ฿4,338                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Platinum 3 ฿5,099                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Room & Board per day including nursing service (maximum payable per day) 8,000 10,000 12,000 ICU room & Board per day including nursing service (Maximum payable per day) 16,000 16,000 16,000  Hospital services Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Surgical fee Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Doctor's visit Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Energency OPD treatment- first visit within 24 hours of emergency 10,000 15,000 20,000 Overall maximum inpatient benefit 1,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) 2,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) 5,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) Personal accident (Orbor 2) 100,000 100,000 100,000 Region of Coverage Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) No advance payment for hospital in network Emergency medical assistance Annual check up

Edited November 4, 2016 by tonray

[siam2007]

3 hours ago, tonray said:

BUPA Thailand or International. The Thailand company gives an online quote as follows:

 

If you add outpatient benefits the price goes up a lot. Outpatient is cheap relatively in Thailand...not worth it for most people.

 

A special quote for you, 52 years old. Class of occupation: Class 1 Change your age

Platinum Plan

Show Out-patient Benefit (OPD) Levels: Show Personal Accident Cover (PA) Levels: No OPD Basic Medium Top No PA Basic Medium Top Out-patient benefit: You can select level of out-patient benefit to best suit your need Personal accident benefit: You can select level of personal accident benefit to best suit your need   Benefits (In-patient and Day Case) Platinum 1 ฿3,929                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Platinum 2 ฿4,338                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Platinum 3 ฿5,099                                            monthly                                           yearly                                          ENQUIRY / PURCHASE Room & Board per day including nursing service (maximum payable per day) 8,000 10,000 12,000 ICU room & Board per day including nursing service (Maximum payable per day) 16,000 16,000 16,000  Hospital services Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Surgical fee Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Doctor's visit Full Cover Full Cover Full Cover  Energency OPD treatment- first visit within 24 hours of emergency 10,000 15,000 20,000 Overall maximum inpatient benefit 1,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) 2,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) 5,000,000 ( Maximum per disability ) Personal accident (Orbor 2) 100,000 100,000 100,000 Region of Coverage Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) Worldwide Cover (Except in USA) No advance payment for hospital in network Emergency medical assistance Annual check up

 

 

 

you applied for a quote on their website ?

[Sheryl]

Can do that on most insurance company websites.

[tonray]

1 hour ago, siam2007 said:

 

 

 

you applied for a quote on their website ?

Yes. 

[Travel2003]

So did I, and the reply came in my e-mail.

 

Seems like they added a whole lot of extra benefits/cost.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Travel2003
added info

[phetphet]

On 30/09/2016 at 0:14 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

I understand that peoples needs, what premiums they are willing to pay etc are different... However, a 2 MB ceiling is pretty low IMO. 

A friend of mine and I have both exceeded 2 MB (doubled it in fact) with emergency treatment (we were both in our 30's at the time). 

 

Myself - DTV & Pulmonary Embolism + Medevac (10 days hospital treatment in Singapore).

My friend - Rare Illness (1 Month ICU, 1 further month inpatient + 6 months physio - Bumrungrad).

 

As we get older, the chances of something more serious and costly increase (along with the premiums of coverage)... however, I'd seriously consider whether or not 2 MB is sufficient cover. 

 

I decided against the Platinum 5 MB cover for my Wife and chose MHS instead (about 70 MB  / £1.5m cover) with similarly priced premiums (but also included THB 38,000 of outpatient treatment per year) & direct settlement.

 

My Son is insured through AXA who also have decent policies (direct settlement).

 

Both AXA and MHS seem worth looking at IMO. I am with BUPA international (through my work), if I was paying myself, based on research I'd choose AXA . 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you use a broker for AXA? All the ones I have tried offer other insurance companies.

[tonray]

8 hours ago, Travel2003 said:

So did I, and the reply came in my e-mail.

 

Seems like they added a whole lot of extra benefits/cost.

I did the website quote and got exactly what I ordered. No reason to buy what you do not want. I am renewing this year and because I did not file a claim in 12 months will get 10 % of annual premiums back in 6 months. A nice perk.

[Travel2003]

17 hours ago, tonray said:

I did the website quote and got exactly what I ordered. No reason to buy what you do not want. I am renewing this year and because I did not file a claim in 12 months will get 10 % of annual premiums back in 6 months. A nice perk.

Thnx for the info.

[Travel2003]

Got a call today from a lady in the head office in BKK.

I am guessing she wants to handle me as a customer, since she has commission on it.

All the papers she sent me on e-mail, half of it I do not understand, since this is the first private Health insurance I have tried to sign.

She wanted me to do it on phone and via e-mails.

Not too keen to let me speak personally with someone in their KKC office.

She is probably sensing a sucker (that is me), whom she can sell the most expensive insurance ever to.

I might consider another company.

 

[xylophone]

There are so many posts and threads covering health insurance and BUPA that I really didn't know where to post this bit of info............

 

I am on BUPA Platinum 1 and I've been going through some of my old papers and I noticed something I hadn't seen before and that was accident cover, which is included in my health insurance and it states that I can claim up to 200,000 baht in medical expenses if I have an accident whilst riding a motorbike or as a pillion passenger!

 

May be useful for those folk looking at the likes of BUPA for health/accident insurance.

[bkk6060]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

There are so many posts and threads covering health insurance and BUPA that I really didn't know where to post this bit of info............

 

I am on BUPA Platinum 1 and I've been going through some of my old papers and I noticed something I hadn't seen before and that was accident cover, which is included in my health insurance and it states that I can claim up to 200,000 baht in medical expenses if I have an accident whilst riding a motorbike or as a pillion passenger!

 

May be useful for those folk looking at the likes of BUPA for health/accident insurance.

I have heard there are a number of policies that cover for just about anything except motorcycle accidents. So, good to know.

[Sheryl]

200k isnot going to go very far (to put it mildly). This is not an added benefit, it is a severe restriction.

[xylophone]

9 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

200k isnot going to go very far (to put it mildly). This is not an added benefit, it is a severe restriction.

 

Latest wording on this is that it is a Personal Accident Benefit and BUPA will pay 50% of the sum insured when an accident arises from riding or a pillion passenger on a motorcycle.

 

Some insurers exclude payment for treatment when the accident occurs on a motorbike, so IMO this is a benefit, after all this is health insurance we are talking about, not accident insurance.

[Sheryl]

It is still half the benefit for any othet type of avcidemt or problem. Especially of concern as moto accidents can lead to huge expenses.

[xylophone]

8 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is still half the benefit for any othet type of avcidemt or problem. Especially of concern as moto accidents can lead to huge expenses.

 

But better than many because they won't cover motorbike accidents at all!

 

Anyway that is just one other thing to be considered when selecting Health Insurance and there are far greater considerations to be taken into account as we know.