Compulsory insurance shelved: Ministry don't t want to spook tourists at sensitive time

[Almer]

15 minutes ago, 0815 said:

Met a backpacking girlie on a rental scooter last week in a checkpoint in Chiang Mai.
She was amused about the low fine of 1000b for a missing motorbike license.
She:"Now I can ride around for 3 days without any problems"
I: Where did you get your informations from?
She: "Backpacker forum"
I: No insurance will cover you.
She: "I don't care, I know how to ride."
That's how it works now...
Wonder if she cares about ANY insurance. (No, she wasn't Chinese)

Mandatory insurance is a good thing, but it has to be affordable, tourist accident insurance at say 500baht for 30 days is affordable to a tourist paying   upward of 50000 baht for a couple of weeks holiday and a very nice earner for the coffers 500x the tourists coming

[Percy P]

5 hours ago, monkfish said:

So they recognised it's a bad idea that's good but their reasoning for shelving it isn't so good.
But will they reintroduce it once tourism picks up again?
 

No the idea is good . But should be  provided by ToT as a choice.

[Max69xl]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So is this article talking about the proposed insurance requirement for regular tourists, or the separate proposal to require health insurance for O-A visa applicants, or both?

 

 

It's about the proposed tourist insurence you were supposed to pay for at the airport. 

[Momofarang]

So, how about the tourists, or others, who go begging on the web after they got some bad luck while in Thailand?

[monkfish]

4 minutes ago, Percy P said:

No the idea is good . But should be  provided by ToT as a choice.

So what your saying is Mandatory insurance by Choice is a good idea?

[EricTh]

Obviously, they are afraid of losing Chinese tourists because they mentioned the Yuan and not other currencies.

 

The Chinese opinion is very important to them.

[monkfish]

9 minutes ago, Almer said:

Mandatory insurance is a good thing, but it has to be affordable, tourist accident insurance at say 500baht for 30 days is affordable to a tourist paying   upward of 50000 baht for a couple of weeks holiday and a very nice earner for the coffers 500x the tourists coming

She probably also never had a valid motorcycle driving licence in which case insurance would have been void.

[dallen52]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So is this article talking about the proposed insurance requirement for regular tourists, or the separate proposal to require health insurance for O-A visa applicants, or both?

 

 

I will be more than happy to pay the 30 baht,  or even 300 baht. 

And be treated as a public hospital patient. 

 

My annual insurance quote arrived the other day $7300. USD.

And top annual payouts of 400,000. Inpatient. 

(Currently being investigated, so I will not name the company, but it did flash up on here)

[Max69xl]

13 minutes ago, monkfish said:

So what your saying is Mandatory insurance by Choice is a good idea?

This is not about the mandatory insurance for long stayers. It's about the travel insurance and they proposed a cost of 20 baht/person.

~38% of the UK tourists don't have a travel insurance. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

It's about the proposed tourist insurence you were supposed to pay for at the airport. 

 

I'm not a tourist. I already have insurance. And since the tourist insurance proposal was never enacted, no one was supposed to pay anything at the airport thus far.

 

[55Jay]

1 hour ago, Suradit69 said:

Much like Brexit. Oh wait, no one's sorted that yet.

Uh oh, touched the nerve.  Boing! 

 

 

[wwest5829]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

I'm 50/50 on this.

I have insurance for here ( accident ) but even if we travel to other countries we always buy some kind of insurance.

I really don't understand those that come here from UK USA for example, on holiday who don't buy any insurance in any way.

Or buy it and don't read it re' falling off a rented bike etc when they don't even have a bike licence at home. Been a few stories on that on TV.

Travel insurance for short time tourists is fine and I have purchased it for trips from the US to Europe or Asia previously. However, as a retired resident of Thailand who can either not get medical insurance (heart issues) or am priced out of the market, I would have a definite problem of being able to stay. There is a difference for ”tourists” and retired/married expats.

[roadrunner32]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

I'm 50/50 on this.

 

I really don't understand those that come here from UK USA for example, on holiday who don't buy any insurance in any way.

 

[zhorik]

this is rubbish as few tourists would be spooked by paying a few pounds or yuan for health insura_{nce, more probable the Health insurance companies did not want the risk at such a low premium.   It was a good idea as why should Thais pay for foreign vtourists racking up health bills unless it was the result of an accident not their fault.}

[Jean Marie]

I don’t get it. Why should tourists have an compulsory insurance ? If one buys one’s journey with a Credit Card, there is an insurance. Tourists can also buy separate travel insurances for various length of time for different parts of the world. Isn’t there a confusion between tourists and residents ? As for residents, if they obtain a Thai ID card, are they not entitled to health services anyway ? This issue with insurance baffles me.  

[southcoast]

6 hours ago, BobbyL said:

He said that Thailand tourism was facing a difficult time at present

 

I thought they released last week saying that the August figures were up ????

You couldnt make this country up even if you tried. 

[BuckBee]

seems speak with a forked tongue

In 1 breath it troubled times and in next it on track for record breaking 40 million !

My eyes and local tourism related businesses don't see the 40M ????
Times are pretty rough for everyone in thailand currently and most of issues are finale of 5yr Junta incompetence and country image damage .

[Max69xl]

50 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I'm not a tourist. I already have insurance. And since the tourist insurance proposal was never enacted, no one was supposed to pay anything at the airport thus far.

 

I don't care if you are a tourist or not. If you read some newspapers and not only posts here at TVF, you might have a clue what I'm talking about.  

[essox essox]

6 hours ago, monkfish said:

So they recognised it's a bad idea that's good but their reasoning for shelving it isn't so good.
But will they reintroduce it once tourism picks up again?
 

THE REPORT indicated could do in 2020

[essox essox]

14 minutes ago, Jean Marie said:

I don’t get it. Why should tourists have an compulsory insurance ? If one buys one’s journey with a Credit Card, there is an insurance. Tourists can also buy separate travel insurances for various length of time for different parts of the world. Isn’t there a confusion between tourists and residents ? As for residents, if they obtain a Thai ID card, are they not entitled to health services anyway ? This issue with insurance baffles me.  

and many others are in the same boat...and baffling to them too

[Max69xl]

3 minutes ago, BuckBee said:

seems speak with a forked tongue

In 1 breath it troubled times and in next it on track for record breaking 40 million !

My eyes and local tourism related businesses don't see the 40M ????
Times are pretty rough for everyone in thailand currently and most of issues are finale of 5yr Junta incompetence and country image damage .

You're just a whiner. The reason for less tourists are the crappy exchange rates in combination with the to strong baht. There has been so many coups in Thailand and no one cares about them. 

[Aforek]

15 minutes ago, Jean Marie said:

I don’t get it. Why should tourists have an compulsory insurance ? If one buys one’s journey with a Credit Card, there is an insurance. Tourists can also buy separate travel insurances for various length of time for different parts of the world. Isn’t there a confusion between tourists and residents ? As for residents, if they obtain a Thai ID card, are they not entitled to health services anyway ? This issue with insurance baffles me.  

Here we hear sometimes of tourists who have accident, no insurance and they ask for a gofund, they ask other people to pay for them : you think it's normal ?

the pink card is not a Thai ID card, it's just a card, it doesn't give a special health service 

[essox essox]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So is this article talking about the proposed insurance requirement for regular tourists, or the separate proposal to require health insurance for O-A visa applicants, or both?

 

 

good question!!!

[Max69xl]

Just now, essox essox said:

and many others are in the same boat...and baffling to them too

When about 38% of the tourists from the UK admits they have no insurance what so ever,then you might have a clue why the Thai government came up with the idea. And there are of course many tourists from other countries without insurance.

[Parsve]

Only waiting on that they should draw back the TM 28/30 reports as that could scare terrorists to come here.

[Oziex1]

So they realised there would be too many claims.

[phantomfiddler]

7 hours ago, colinneil said:

Scare tourist off at this sensitive time.????????

Bit late for that innit.

Colin, surely you,re not suggesting that our Indian friends are not tourists ? They are not only NOT scared off, but increasing in droves ????

[BuckBee]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

You're just a whiner. The reason for less tourists are the crappy exchange rates in combination with the to strong baht. There has been so many coups in Thailand and no one cares about them. 

Tourism declining before the current exchange rate situation .

Had a lot of coups but none like the current one turned out, it quite unique in intent and effect on tourism and expats is somewhat obvious .

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

He said that requiring tourists to have insurance was a "sensitive" matter that could "scare" tourists off at this time. 

He means price them off !

[TheFishman1]

I believe nothing they say TIT