[Health Insurance - AXA or LUMA or AIA or Cigna Global]

Thank you all for your inputs!  and thank you especially to Sheryl for very detailed reply.  And maybe contrast to what I thought, I was only covered for inpatient with Cigna and that's why I couldn't use it.  (silly me) However, like you said, it seems like adding on outpatient coverage for such high premium in Thailand, does seem like waste of money.  

 

 I will look into April International as it sounds like it has more presence in Thailand and the rest of the world, thus easier to communicate than Cigna.  

 

Thank you!  

[Health Insurance - AXA or LUMA or AIA or Cigna Global]

Hi wise friends on ThaiVisa forum,

 

I've been working Bangkok for 3 years.  I've been using Cigna Global silver plan (China -> Thailand) for 5 years but it seems like many of the international hospitals don't accept direct billing with them so the few times I went to Bumgrungrad, I had to pay out of pocket. 

 

My partner (41) and I (36) are shopping for new health insurance in Thailand. After doing some research, it seems like many insurance policies have quite low coverage/high premium for outpatient, so I'm mostly looking for health insurance with good inpatient coverage (critical illness, cancer (full coverage as my family has history of various cancers), accidents (outpatient/inpatient), global emergencies), direct billing with international hospitals and competitive premium (25-40k THB/year).  So far I have narrowed it down to these 4 companies but leaning towards the first two.   (I will also share with you all, what I learned from my research so others can also benefit from this post)

 

AXA  (SmarCare Optimum Classic/Deluxe) 2.5-5M annual limit, emergency out-patient 50-70k cover, outpatient cancer 300-500k, emergency oversea limit 1.5-2.5M, accident dental up to 25-50k, premium 33-44k/year

 

LUMA (Asia Care Plus / Asia Care First)  (very responsive and easy to understand plans, 32M annual limit, cancer treatment (both inpatient and outpatient), emergency dental, premium 35-55k/year for plan 1, zone C), relatively young company as I couldn't find many company info nor reviews.   

 

AIA  (too many options and add-ons to life insurance, quite confusing, relatively low coverage 500k-2M but reputable company and fixed premium)  My understanding is that AIA focuses more on life insurance than health insurance

 

Cigna Global Gold (high coverage, relatively low premium, full cancer coverage, not as widely accepted in international hospitals in Bangkok (no direct billing?), at least in my case, Cigma Global Silver, not as simple to use here)

 

Has anyone used any of the above 4 companies,  how is it?   

Please share with us your experience, pros & cons. 

 

Thank you very much!

TJ-

 

[Thai Investment Visa question (need clarification)]

Hi I have a question regarding Thai Investment Visa. 

 

From my understanding, you need to invest at least 10mil THB in condo purchase / government bonds / fixed deposit at government appointed Thai bank or any combination of these three options. 

 

Here's my situation -  I purchased a resale condo November 2015 with sale price of 6.3mil.  At the time I consulted a lawyer to see what I need to be able to apply for an investment visa.  He told me if I purchase another condo and if the total value of these two condos combined (appraised value not sales price) is more than 10mil, then I would be qualified to apply.  For this reason plus for long-term investment purpose, I decided to purchase another resale condo this month with sale price of 12mil (but appraised value of around 8mil).  It was only after I signed the SPA for this 2nd condo that an agent from Immigration bureau I met at an expat seminar told me in order for me to qualify for an investment visa, the condos I purchase MUST be new, firsthand condos meaning my name has to be the first name that appears on the title.  (on the first line)

 

1.  Are older condos purchased through resale not counted toward the 10mil investment needed for this type of visa?   (the original owner's name is on the first name, and my name appears on the 2nd line on the title deed)  Is this true??  (Is there any way around this?)    

 

2.  If older condos do count then does it have to be ONE single condo with 10mil+ value or can I combine two or more condos with combined value of 10+mil?     

 

3.  For investment visa by condo purchase, is it based on sale price or appraised value which tends to be much lower. 

 

4.  Let's say if you already have investment visa, what happens if you sell one or two of these condos, can you still renew it every year? 

 

If you or someone you know have experience getting this visa or if you are knowledgeable about this subject, please help.  Your help is greatly appreciated! 

 

And if anyone has experience with law firm that handles investment visa, please let me know too.   (It seems like Siam Legal and TSL are the sponsors for this forum, anyone has good experience with working with them?)

 

Thank you again for any help!

TJ Kim