Does anyone know if the exclusions (say heart disease) apply to repatriation as well? In other words, if say Bupa does not cover heart related hospital costs would they not cover repatriation to your home country if the cause was heart related?

 

I'm shopping around for some sort of bridge between the onset of illness and a way to get back to my home country for treatment under my USA plan. Most of the plans I've looked at from Thailand offer some sort of repatriation coverage. It might be wise for me to have both a Thai plan and home plan in force if Thai insures won't cover pre-exisiting conditions.

Yes, exclusions apply to everything.

 

Also note that repatriation under Thai-issued policies usually means repatriation to Thailand (in case you were travelling elsewhere) and not repatriation back to your home country.

 

Thai-issued policies tend to be the worst in terms of exclusions, they will make sweeping assumptions based on the smallest things. International insurers tend to be better about this. Some will not exclude if the condition is well controlled, or will exclude only for a certain time period; still others will allow coverage for "acute exacerbations" of pre-existing conditions. So  Iit pays to shop around. As it sounds like you have cover or NHS in your home country, look for expat policies issued out of your own country.

A few years back, I looked at "Repatriation-Policies". Home country based, reputable insurance companies.

THE FINE PRINT: "No repatriation, as long as the medical problem can be resolved in the foreighn country."
- There are not many medical problems, that the BKK/Pattaya hospital can't resolve.
So, most likely, the policy holder will not be repatriated.

ALSO: Stay away from "Exotic" Travel/Health insurances. Hard to file a claim, if the insurance company is a PO Box somewhere on the Bahamas or in Panama.
Cheers.

I had not considered repatriation being point of policy origin and not point of citizenship. That certainly puts a spin on things. 

 

I'm having trouble with World Nomads so I'm not too enthusiastic about travel insurance. 

 

Thanks for the replies.