Medical insurance

Post by **uptheowls** » July 8, 2012, 10:48 am

After hearing of the dreadful news of Deans (Monkey Bar) heart attack it brought home to me the precarious position that many of us old ex-pats are in. Myself because i am over the age of 65 cannot get medical insurance except for paying some exorbitant price, i think the last one from Bupa was 360.000 per year. It got me thinking of what or anything we could do to help ourselves. I came up with a theory and i would appreciate any comeback good or bad regarding this.
What if we could get 100 ex-pats (ball park figure) without medical insurance to pay into a cooperative say about 5000 per month, obviously that figure is negotiable to help anybody that has to undergo unexpected medical expenses in hospital. This would bring in if we had 100, 500,000 per month. Obviously this needs a lot of talking with interested parties thats why i am putting it out there for any feedback. Finally i would just like to say Dean i hope you get better soon we are all thinking about you.

Post by **joepai** » July 8, 2012, 2:22 pm

Have to agree it crazy to be without medical insurance of some sort but it does not have to be too expensive. I know AA Insurance Brokers can offer coverage for (say) a 77 year old for 27,600 Baht - obviously cheaper if you are younger.

Post by **uptheowls** » July 8, 2012, 2:36 pm

That is interesting to know that, but does it cover hospital costs in Thailand? if so can u give more details.

Post by **BigBubba** » July 8, 2012, 2:40 pm

Yeah I just saw Dean Friday evening and he looked to be the picture of health, go figure. UTO, the "cooperative" you speak of sounds like a Sterling idea, but it's difficult to get 2 or 3 people to agree on something, much less a HUNDRED. Especially when money is involved. The "affordable" insurance plans I've looked at here have so many caps and limitations they just don't seem like a good value. ONLY MY OPINION. I'll just plan on paying for my own healthcare here (for minor stuff it's very reasonable). Because I have Medicare I just hope to God I'm not too sick to board an airplane home for something serious.

Post by **uptheowls** » July 8, 2012, 2:46 pm

just checked on google for aa insurance brokers health care and for a 68 yr. old it says the equivalent in thai baht is 54.600

Post by **gudtymchuk** » July 8, 2012, 4:04 pm

I have major medical coverage thru LMG. No minor medical. I'm 61 and my annual premium is less than 14000 THB. Might be worth you while to give them a call. They have an agent here in Udon.

Post by **Photoman** » July 8, 2012, 5:03 pm

by gudtymchuk » July 8, 2012, 4:04 pm

I have major medical coverage thru LMG. No minor medical. I'm 61 and my annual premium is less than 14000 THB. Might be worth you while to give them a call. They have an agent here in Udon.

Could you post or pm the contact details please , thanks

Post by **uptheowls** » July 8, 2012, 5:11 pm

Just checked LMG out on google it said medical reqd. over 60 no problem with that but cheapest was 42000 going up to 126000

Post by **Bandung_Dero** » July 8, 2012, 5:28 pm

Although GreenDean and I haven't been the best of mates but I wish him the speediest of recoveries. I believe he is in the University Hospital in Khon Kaen, one of the best hospitals in Isaan and arguably one of the best in the country.

At my age of 63 and since I retired at 52 health insurance quotes had always been an unnecessary burden on my self funded resources. Fortunately I've had great health but I ALWAYS have enough set aside to cover any and all medical contingencies, if that runs out there's always my 3 meters of rope!

Post by **gudtymchuk** » July 9, 2012, 11:15 am

Photoman wrote:
by gudtymchuk » July 8, 2012, 4:04 pm

I have major medical coverage thru LMG. No minor medical. I'm 61 and my annual premium is less than 14000 THB. Might be worth you while to give them a call. They have an agent here in Udon.

Could you post or pm the contact details please , thanks

I don't have any contact info on the local LMG office but the directions are simple enough. On the Ring Road about 100 yards just past the Nong Khai Hwy going toward Global. LMG Group sign on the building. I think it is the first driveway you can turn into after passing the signal. Last time I paid my premium through their office in Bangkok but will now check with the local agent when due again in Sept.

Post by **stattointhailand** » July 9, 2012, 11:47 am

For info, a part of an e-mail received from an international health insurance brokers specializing in expats worldwide.

We do not work with the local Thai providers. We used to, but no longer do as we found that they did not offer comprehensive enough cover and were sometimes troublesome with paying claims. Our business is based on renewals and long term clients and we found that the majority of our clients on local Thai plans were not receiving the high level of service that we/they would be used to from an insurance provider.

Most of our clients in Thailand are like yourself retirees and planning to spend the rest of their lives in Thailand. Most of the local insurance plans have sub-limits within the policy wording and do not provide full cover for long term or chronic illnesses. A big concern is limits on anesthesia and also oncology.

Another reason we don’t offer local Thai insurance is that most of them are not lifetime renewable, therefore they will stop cover around the age of 70 to 74 and by then it is very expensive to get a new insurance policy.

The local Thai insurance plans also have erratic renewal premiums. This means that you will not know how your premium will increase year on year. It could be as much as 50%

In saying that, I do know many people who are insured with local Thai providers and are very happy with them but our experience was negative so we don’t want to offer our clients a product that we don’t believe in.

I have to say that my exprience with AIA in Udon backed up her comments

Post by **BigBubba** » July 9, 2012, 12:42 pm

BigBubba wrote:The "affordable" insurance plans I've looked at here have so many caps and limitations they just don't seem like a good value.

Thanks so much Statto! I rest my case!

Post by **bumper** » July 9, 2012, 5:57 pm

uptheowls wrote:After hearing of the dreadful news of Deans (Monkey Bar) heart attack it brought home to me the precarious position that many of us old ex-pats are in. Myself because i am over the age of 65 cannot get medical insurance except for paying some exorbitant price, i think the last one from Bupa was 360.000 per year. It got me thinking of what or anything we could do to help ourselves. I came up with a theory and i would appreciate any comeback good or bad regarding this.
What if we could get 100 ex-pats (ball park figure) without medical insurance to pay into a cooperative say about 5000 per month, obviously that figure is negotiable to help anybody that has to undergo unexpected medical expenses in hospital. This would bring in if we had 100, 500,000 per month. Obviously this needs a lot of talking with interested parties thats why i am putting it out there for any feedback. Finally i would just like to say Dean i hope you get better soon we are all thinking about you.

Interesting I just turned 65 I have major medocal with Bupa last year was about 60K. Does it really change that much at 65? Have you had a lot of claims? I have the Platinum Plan. Only problem I have ran into was AEK requiring cash upfront.

Post by **joepai** » July 10, 2012, 10:43 am

As I mentioned before, talk to a Broker here in Thailand. Try Peter as he speaks English and works for AA Ins Brokers - [email protected] Cost no more but you get the full benefits of a brokerage with all the different companies - same with car, house etc

Post by **bumper** » July 10, 2012, 11:11 am

In my last contact with Peter if your 65 your out of luck. I tried to ge a qoute from the othe one listed yesterday, I'll give it a try again today.

Post by **bumper** » July 10, 2012, 11:25 am

Got through with Pacific Prime this time, now I'm waiting for the qoute.