Medical Insurance

luckily i'm healthy, except for that little hobble. had insurance the first year here, what a waste of 8000 baht. only covered accidents and overnight stays, no matter what reason. if i go in, they ask if i want to stay overnight, to use insurance. i hate paying as much as the next person, but couldn't justify adding on to the insurance fraud scheme. needless to say i didn't renew. as paul points out, if it's an emergency and you are out of it, it's useless, as i'm sure the ambulance driver is going to take you to the hospital that pays them. not sure what a good policy cost, but 5 yrs now, so i'm at least 50000 baht ahead. that should cover most surgery, since ex cousin had brain surgery for that amount, and it worked. village resident had it twice, 50 each and it worked. my hobble is predictable and it would be elective surgery, which, luckily i could just sign back up for usa medicare and schedule over there. but the co payment would probably cost more than having it done here. so sad.

so, no coverage for me. all my lawsuits have involved insurance companies, private and gov't not paying benefits when claim submitted. so far i'm batting 100 %. so it's not me since insurance companies don't settle out of court unless they know they will lose in court. it doesn't cost them any more to fight it, since their legal dept is already on staff. they don't pay unless you have a lawyer, another sad fact.

pet peeves, working, insurance companies, lawyers (except mine), banks, and that local warranty thing, pretty much used the same as toilet paper.

Actually I agree with Paul and La except I will have insurance for the reason stated above. If myself or wife do need the white suits for something major I do not want to spend my life savings on it. Not independently wealthy. Not trying to sell insuranse or convince someone to buy it as to each his own.

Paul one reason I did look at travel Guard is they will evac to Bkk if needed. Most likely the guy in Udon will say he can handle the brain transplant and I will stay there though. oh well. Can't win them all.

I would strongly advise medical insurance for anyone living in Thailand.

My uncle had a serious fall from a ladder and suffered fatal blow to the head which placed him in a coma for a long period of time.

After my uncle passed away at 62 years of age, with limited treatment at the hospital due to lack of funds and no health insurance, I have made it my number 1 priority to apply for insurance.

Basically no money no service, when my uncle was lying there in a coma and I was trying to tell the hospital that we were having difficulties accessing his money in the UK, the level of service then went down. His wife had to be there daily to wash, clean and turn him, clean his clothes and exercise him.

If he were to have taken out health insurance then the hospital would have given him 24hr care so his wife could then spend more time looking after their children, plus it would have been less stressful on her.

My uncle

Both sides of the coin there,
You pays yer money and you takes yer chances.

Insurance salesmen relish in the 'what if' syndrome.
For the same arguments that you should have household insurance, buildings insurance, car insurance, motorbike insurance etc etc etc......
What if, what if , what if ..........

Its a personal choice I guess and others can only exchange their views and their stories to help people make that decision.

there isnt a right or wrong I think and whatever gives you peace of mind is the right thing to do.
How I wish I could have the 30 baht health scheme LOL

Some people are lucky enough to go through their whole lives without an accident or even a single claim on their own insurance.

If I were living in the UK at my age

[quote]I prefer to have piece of mind so at least I'm prepared for the

Paul and Lee you two guys said what I was trying to say and never got to to the point. I fall into Lee's court as I will have insurance but do have ultra respect for Pauls side and actually understand it. I did an insurance review aboujt 5 years ago and could not believe what I had let myself gotten into over the years and I got out of a lot of the crap. The stuff is like a bad cold it just starts with a small snifffel and before you knw it you will be chocking on the stuff if you are not watching. I wasn't chocking but I had to darn much.

I now do a check of all household expenses once a year. you would be surprised how crap creeps in. You should review each bill as you will find stuff included in a bill that you don't use especially phone and electric and internet. They love hidden charges!!!!!!

Wow got off track. This is insurance.

Had insurance here up to the point where i made a claim and they refused to pay.That was with Bupa.

I went into the Ek Udon after a fall and was in for three days receiving treatment.They refused to pay due to the fact that they say i fell due to my arthritic condition and thus it was caused by a pre existing problem which are not covered.I slipped.Initially peeved off but not in the mood to fight for years in a Thai court.

Kinda my point when they found I was being treated for high BP. They immediately ruled out anything with the circulatory system. By the way BP is now 125/78 pretty good to me.

If still interested in insurance you might want to look at Travel Guard. You can purchase after you have left home if I am correct and if purchased more than 3 months it covers pre-existing to a limit if I understnd corectly. Please read and heed there info as I am not a lawyer to translate this mess.

Bangkokbutcher if you or anyone else is interested in health/life insurance through AIA please let me know. My brother-in-law is a Manager for AIA. His office is actually located north of us in the Nong Khai area but he is in Udon Thani all the time for business and family matters.

It was more of an enquiry at this stage as I'm not in the country for any permanent length of time yet.

It's very handy to know about your brother in law though, thanks.

I see Royal and Sun Alliance has started to offer a no claims bonus on its policies.They were a UK company but i am not sure if the foreign units have been sold.

Costs up to 80 million Baht,,worldwide protection,evacuation,outpatient costs and life insurance of 1 million Baht.

Sounds good but of course the premiums may be enormous.Will check and post answer.

It looks like Royal is now part of an australian company:

IAG acquires additional general insurance asset in Thailand

Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) today announced that it had agreed to acquire an interest in a second Thai general insurer, Royal & SunAlliance (Thailand) Limited. The asset generates approximately A$35 million in annual gross written premium.

Found the web site:
http://www.royalsun.co.th/Quote/global/gb_Introduction.aspx

Sean,the premiums are indeed large because it is a global policy.Not suitable for someone like me who is full time in Thailand,more for a traveller of commuter between the UK and Thailand.

Ah well worth a try I guess, cheers