Report: All foreign tourists will soon need insurance in order to enter Thailand

[coulson]

Insurance vending machines???!!! Lofl

 

I would love to see the exclusions on one of those, everything except a 10 baht deductible for every hospitalization and a free bottle of water.

 

Ps: must not ride motorbike

 

 

[Ulrik DK]

4 minutes ago, TomJoad said:

If that's the real issue, seems like it would be easier for the government to require all hospitals to deny treatment without an up-front payment.  

That's how they do in the US, at least 20 years ago where I had a bypass surgery done in Santa Barbara (CA). They wanted my health insurance up front before they would take a knife in their hands as well as they checked if it was ok. Tourists should not cause any burden to any other countries medical systems, as long as you can make a health insurance at very low cost compared to the price of treatment you receive in another country. If you have a master card gold issued in Denmark you automatically have a 60 day valid full world wide health insurance.

[fatdrunkandstupid]

2 minutes ago, coulson said:

Insurance vending machines???!!! Lofl

They have already bought a whole bunch of old school girl pantie vending machines off the railway authority in Japan.

 

The machines have already been retrofitted to dispense the policies, but need a little more time to air out the fish smell.

[richthai]

Interesting to say that foreigners are a burden.  They are charged at two times or more the local price and usually select a higher level of services.   Insurance companies ask their customers to pay directly and get reimbursed when they file a claim when they return to their home country.  Given they represent just a couple percent of the population,  they shouldn't be overloading hospital service capacity.

[the guest]

8 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Impossible to enforce. Will never pass.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Rubbish, of course it can be enforced in the same fashion Thais requiring Shenghen visas to enter EU. If the authorities has any sense, all they need to do it copy our system where you have to bring along visa application form along with your valid insurance details. The problem is easy to solve, and one which is very practical for all foreigners entering the kingdom to have insurance, and not be a burden to the country in the event they require medical treatment.

[Ulrik DK]

7 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Exactly, tourists will buy the policy at home and the policy will be in their native language.

So immigration just has to translate the policy at the spot and check the names on the policy with the name in the passport.

Knowing my own insurance policy consists of a booklet of rules and assuming they have a translator ready it will take about 10-15 minutes per arrival to check if they are adequately insured or not.

Maybe even contact the insurance company itself as my policy is just printed on normal A4 paper without stamps or watermarks. How can they know it is real or not?

 

Long story short: this will not happen.

Within a week we will see a U-turn from another office.

You really do have a point here regarding policy written in the tourist's native language. However upon request my insurance company can supply at least an English version, and I always bring such one

[jonnit]

I often see where some say that everyone should purchase travel insurance. I'm not sure what the cost is because I have never purchased a policy and don't have a need for it. My wife and I have Medicare  part B and Tricare for Life. Since Medicare will not pay out of country, Tricare will pay for any required medical care when we're in Thailand. I have to pay for the care up front (which I can do) and they reimburse me upon submission of receipts. It seems there should be some way of opting out of purchasing the insurance when you can prove coverage.

[Wake Up]

28 minutes ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

Fresh off the boat?  Or you don't speak fluent Thai yet?

No I speak Thai semi fluently and only been here permanently for a little over a year but been coming here for 10 years regularly.  Met some great Thai people and met some others ----same with expats. But question still goes unanswered why would anyone not in prison choose to live and breath in a country that they feel the locals despise them?  No matter where you live people will like you, dislike you, or not care. People will use you and people will help you. But to state that the majority of Thai people despise expats is way out of bounds.  If that ever becomes true then time to move away quickly and quietly. Cheers ?

[wakeupplease]

6 hours ago, fforest1 said:

 Why should the Thai government be burdened with the health care costs for "tourists"

 

The Thai government is not burdened by tourist medical needs or care

in anyway what so ever...99% of the time if a foreigner can not pay the

foreigner does not get treated.....This is the truth...So stop with the

exaggeration and lies..

Perhaps if they made the place a dam site safer for tourists there would not be a problem, too many tourists going out of widows trying to fly with the help of Ladyboys or ex's and accidents on the roads. I can see them make tourists pay for insurance again on arrival even if they have it as most do, just to make the $$$ up on tourism.

 

This place has to be the most unfriendly holiday destination in the world today and as for an expat and 60 years plus a real nightmare.

 

Tourists drop over 20% of GP yet are treated like a second-class citizen, Expats are second class as many are finding out. With Vietnam down the road, I know where I would travel to next.

 

new one

 

The Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) of the BIB is cracking down on companies using pirated software in raids in Bangkok so that means all the computer are about to be sized as even the bib and immigration use not certified software, so queue's at the airport will grow giving time for a visit to the insurance machines, that will help pass the time

[elliss]

8 hours ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

Retirement extension fee...  1900 THB

 

Compulsory insurance...   36,000 THB

 

Getting to stay in a country where you are despised...  Priceless...

 Spot om matey .  LOScams .

[surangw]

pretty good racket considering how little they will pay out compared to the number of  passengers  arriving

[SiSePuede419]

"what they should be doing is charging all foreign people arriving in Thailand 500 or possibly 1000baht to cover any eventualities"

 

Good idea as Thai Government becomes the insurer and takes the profit (or loss).

 

But many people will see this as a CHALLENGE and drink MORE and DUI more and take MORE risks on Moto, etc. 

 

Never underestimate the power of drunk, stupid people to do great harm. ?

[wakeupplease]

8 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

No I speak Thai semi fluently and only been here permanently for a little over a year but been coming here for 10 years regularly.  Met some great Thai people and met some others ----same with expats. But question still goes unanswered why would anyone not in prison choose to live and breath in a country that they feel the locals despise them?  No matter where you live people will like you, dislike you, or not care. People will use you and people will help you. But to state that the majority of Thai people despise expats is way out of bounds.  If that ever becomes true then time to move away quickly and quietly. Cheers ?

Perhaps he meant those who call the shots, not 60 million locals who are scared sh>>>>>> by those who do most of the cons.

 

When anyone drops a comment on here putting down the place many jump to the concussion its the country they are bashing, but its not just those who have the control they took at gun point for their own uses.

[Ulrik DK]

7 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

Perhaps if they made the place a dam site safer for tourists there would not be a problem, too many tourists going out of widows trying to fly with the help of Ladyboys or ex's and accidents on the roads. I can see them make tourists pay for insurance again on arrival even if they have it as most do, just to make the $$$ up on tourism.

 

This place has to be the most unfriendly holiday destination in the world today and as for an expat and 60 years plus a real nightmare.

 

Tourists drop over 20% of GP yet are treated like a second-class citizen, Expats are second class as many are finding out. With Vietnam down the road, I know where I would travel to next.

 

new one

 

The Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) of the BIB is cracking down on companies using pirated software in raids in Bangkok so that means all the computer are about to be sized as even the bib and immigration use not certified software, so queue's at the airport will grow giving time for a visit to the insurance machines, that will help pass the time

You can't compare health insurance and daily spending, you are mixing it up - If you wish to visit another country you will have to obey their rules and regulations, or find another country

[stephen tracy]

8 hours ago, bheard said:

 

Can't see that it's idiotic.
What is idiotic is coming to Thailand as a tourist without travel insurance.

 

I've never had insurance on the many tourist visas I've entered Thailand but when I have needed treatment, I have always paid out of my own pocket.  There are some expensive hospitals in BKK but plenty of very cheap ones.  I stayed in Chula for 3 nights and the cost of it all was so insignificant I don't even remember what it cost me.  I just remember being very surprised at how little it was.

[fatdrunkandstupid]

27 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

No I speak Thai semi fluently and only been here permanently for a little over a year but been coming here for 10 years regularly.  Met some great Thai people and met some others ----same with expats. But question still goes unanswered why would anyone not in prison choose to live and breath in a country that they feel the locals despise them?  No matter where you live people will like you, dislike you, or not care. People will use you and people will help you. But to state that the majority of Thai people despise expats is way out of bounds.  If that ever becomes true then time to move away quickly and quietly. Cheers ?

If you read some of the most recent news articles on this forum you will see that the pressure cooker has just been put back on the stove.  And this time around there is no safety valve.

 

When things kick off you will see just were you fit in the scheme of things.  Make sure your rose coloured glasses are securely fastened to your head...this next one is going to be a doozy...

[Arandora]

7 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

I've never had insurance on the many tourist visas I've entered Thailand but when I have needed treatment, I have always paid out of my own pocket.  There are some expensive hospitals in BKK but plenty of very cheap ones.  I stayed in Chula for 3 nights and the cost of it all was so insignificant I don't even remember what it cost me.  I just remember being very surprised at how little it was.

Of course it is cheap if you have a minor injury. Do you just trust to Buddha that every time you really need hospital treatment it will be so minor or cheap as to be affordable. Suppose it is major and you are incapacitated. Who pays then?  You don't rent a scooter by any chance when you are in Thailand? Probably don't have a full home licence for that if you do either! So who cares if you are riding illegally and no insurance cover if involved in an accident requiring hospitalisation. 

[wakeupplease]

10 minutes ago, Ulrik DK said:

You can't compare health insurance and daily spending, you are mixing it up - If you wish to visit another country you will have to obey their rules and regulations, or find another country

What was being pointed out was tourists who contribute 20%+ of GDP are treated badly, if those in control made the place safer and more friendly many scams and accidents would not happen.

 

Rules and regs in other countries do not see your human rights abused as they are here, you also get treated better and not ripped off on dual pricing and the likes.

 

30 years ago it was a great country to visit, now its a country not to visit unless you are from that neck of the woods. You know its a fact but will not admit it.

[Dumbastheycome]

6 minutes ago, Arandora said:

Of course it is cheap if you have a minor injury. Do you just trust to Buddha that every time you really need hospital treatment it will be so minor or cheap as to be affordable. Suppose it is major and you are incapacitated. Who pays then? 

Maybe  just  like  the  US ?   Eff off  and  die?

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

So, how many over 60 will be able to come? Only those that are very well off indeed.

[coulson]

"what they should be doing is charging all foreign people arriving in Thailand 500 or possibly 1000baht to cover any eventualities"
 
Good idea as Thai Government becomes the insurer and takes the profit (or loss).
 
But many people will see this as a CHALLENGE and drink MORE and DUI more and take MORE risks on Moto, etc. 
 
Never underestimate the power of drunk, stupid people to do great harm. [emoji16]

Drunk people driving, even sober people getting a motocy are not covered for everything and anything.

Whats ironic is the idea that the local insurance companies would actually benefit a lot from this because at the rate of safety incidents related to average tourists here, international insurers can only start to treat setting foot in los as the equivalent of going on an adventure holiday to everest, even if you're only planning to spend two weeks by the beach.

[Arandora]

6 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

So, how many over 60 will be able to come? Only those that are very well off indeed.

IF this ever gets off the ground, just how much are you expecting the charge to be??? It is the Over 60s (like myself) who are most likely to need it!!! And it is usually the "brave" (read stupid) young people who think they will live forever and don't need it! 

[tfc]

I have insurance but for the issues that my insurance factors as "selective" I pay the hospital for myself.  I can't see how this is a burden to the hospital.    

[Arandora]

Just now, tfc said:

I have insurance but for the issues that my insurance factors as "selective" I pay the hospital for myself.  I can't see how this is a burden to the hospital.    

It isn't a burden as the hospital gets paid one way or the other. This insurance is for the treatment of uninsured visitors who can't or don't pay. 

[MobileContent]

Easy money for the Thai government. They will add some shity policy to the tickets and force the airlines to add the charges. My guess it will be around 500 Baht but assume Thailand gets 30 million inbound tourists it will bring 15 billion into the country and possible shared with the Public Health Ministry and a government linked bank/insurance company (Krungthai or TMB). Great business idea !

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

9 minutes ago, coulson said:

 

Drunk people driving, even sober people getting a motocy are not covered for everything and anything.

Whats ironic is the idea that the local insurance companies would actually benefit a lot from this because at the rate of safety incidents related to average tourists here, international insurers can only start to treat setting foot in los as the equivalent of going on an adventure holiday to everest, even if you're only planning to spend two weeks by the beach.

For general tourists you can get a policy in your home country. They haven't said you can only buy from Thai companies. But as earlier posters have said it is unlikely to cover every eventuality, like motorbike accidents or being chased round the bedroom by a katoy and falling over the balcony....

[zaZa9]

9 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Idiotic, it's bad enough now with the Chinese at DM, imagine the 'queues' for insurance machines, folks with no baht, arguing, kids crying, machines breaking down, laughable.

 

'The requirement is seen as helping to reduce the burden on Thai hospitals who are being forced to treat an increasing number of insured foreigners.'

 

No problem then according to the article if foreigners are insured why is it costing Hospitals?

 

"The requirement is seen as helping to reduce the burden on Thai hospitals who are being forced to treat an increasing number of uninsured foreigners."

 Sigh ...Another couple of minutes of my life wasted on the illiterate...

[oldsailor35]

8 hours ago, Thechook said:

I understand that it puts a burden on the Thai health system but I also read many stories on Thaivisa where foreigners are held in hospitals until family or friends pay up before they are released from custody.  This also puts a burden on the health system.  Yes I agree all tourists should have travel insurance and all expats insurance.

When i was younger, i never went anywhere without Travel Insurance. However now that i am in my 80's it is impossible.

 

[Dumbastheycome]

Reality  check : ? Thailand introduces  a  new  scheme  developed in high level  executive  meetings by  repress-entatives  from  Travel  Insurance  Corps  and  Tourism  Co ordinaters  from  around the   globe to formulate  a Golden  Goose ideology.

All  Airlines  will  be  required  to  add a  travel  Insurance  premium  to all International  bookings based  on  the   security  ratings   issued  periodically  by   countries  as  Traveller   Warnings. 

Regardless  of  the  origin of  any policy a   10  percent  levy  will  be  forwarded  to  the   newly  created TPP Association ( Administered   by  redundant previous  TPP  beaurocrats)  who will over see  and  protect the  rights  of  insurers  to   hike  policy   costs  despite  the  fact  that the   majority  of  travellers  never have legitimate  cause  to  call on  such  policies despite  claims  by   the   insurers  that heightened risk due  to  the  incitement  of   violent  acts is  justification but  actually in the  acknowledgment  that  destination  countries  will  ramp  up the   cost  of   all and  anything  that   may or   may  not be  included  in any policy.  A further  10  percent  will  be  payable  to  the  TPP   by each  Tourism Department of  any  country  of  destination, that  being  regardless  of   multi  destination tourists.

The   bonus  of  this   scheme  will be that Insurance   Companies  will  be  able  to offer underwrite  a  single  policy  with   endless exemptions  of  coverage at a  mandatory  price while  still permitting   countries  to  extort "additional "   costs.

Tourists  will  be  more  relaxed  and  expend   more  cassh  at  destinations because  they  will   be living in  the   naive   belief  that  they  are  risk  covered and  do  not  need  to  consider such   risk.

A  full  explanation  of  the terms  and  conditions  can  be found  on  pages  23 to  1000. (  Or  trust us and just  tick  the  box saying  I'm  a happy   Tourist  )

 

 

[coulson]

For general tourists you can get a policy in your home country. They haven't said you can only buy from Thai companies. But as earlier posters have said it is unlikely to cover every eventuality, like motorbike accidents or being chased round the bedroom by a katoy and falling over the balcony....

That was my point. Those genuinely interested in legitimate insurance (and their health) will have their own policy anyway. The rest (the stupid) will buy into this whole vending machine bit just to tick the box at immigration.

This is not an insurance policy, it is just another tax dressed up as a response to the increased demand (opportunity) that is young foreign travellers who get into accidents to have piece of mind off the back of so many harrowing stories. (which will not actually cover them for anything, however all can profess this was a grand attempt to address the growing issue of unlucky tourists ending up hospitalized)