Insurance : Yes Or Not

[rsraleigh]

My first topic here....just fresh new expat in LOS

My employer provides me with travel insurance so I only need coverage for here in Thailand ... should I buy insurance or just "pay-as-you-go" ... I always have had insurance in Spain, UK and USA but seems that Thailand is way cheaper....I just want to hear opinions from here.

Many thanks. Look forward to become an active member of the community.

Regards

[Mobi]

Definitely buy health insurance. It would be foolish not to, if you can afford it.

BUPA, and other foreign health insurers operate here.

The only reason I don't have insurance is that my pre existing conditions would render 90 % of any health insurance invalid. And even then I'm seriously considering it, as I would still be covered for road accidents and cancer, if nothing else.

No doubt others can recommend the best carriers - in their opinion - for you to choose from.

[Sheryl]

Insurance for hospitalization is an absolute must. I have recently assisted several TV members with serious medical problems in which there was not insurance and believe me, it made matters difficult to say the least. In one tragic case the entire extended family had to exhaust their resources and seek donations from compatriots just to transfer the patient back to the home country.

Out patient costs are pretty affordable, and the increased premium cost of including out-patient coverage is such that for many people it is not worth it. But hospitalization is a whole other story.

The only viable alternative to having hospitalization coverage is to self-insure, i.e. put aside a sufficient sum of money for health expenses. For those who come from a country with free health care, that amount should be at least US $10,00 plus the costs of medical evacuation back home (you can get an estimate of the latter from a company like SOS that does medical evacs)..the $10,000 being to cover initial emergency care and being a rock bottom amount.

Doesn't matter how healthy you are or think you are...traffic accidents can happen to anyone and not infrequently do in LOS.

Arjuna: search this site for previous threads on various insurance carriers.

[Mobi]

Just to give you an idea, I have a recent schedule of costs and benefits issued by AIG here in Pattaya.

For 'standard' cover, the annual cost ranges from 20,000 Baht for a child under 18, to 30,000 for a young adult (26-29) 50,000 for an adult in his 40's and 94,000 for someone in his early 60's.There is a mandatory 1,800 Baht deductible, and discounts are offered for higher deductibles.

The 'Standard' benefits covers all in-patient treatment up to a max of 34,million Baht (1 million US Dollars), and includes emergency evacuation (when justified) plus airfares etc for an accompanying family member/friend, and repatriation for burial etc

There are improved benefits, including out patient care, for higher premiums.

So even for me, at 94,000 Baht (2,700 dollars), it's not a bad deal when you consider the cost of any major hospitalisation here would be way in excess of this figure.

[PeaceBlondie]

I had one surgery for motosai accident, three days in fancy international hospital where I picked up an infection: I paid roughly 60,000 baht. Next surgery to remove the infection, three days in fancy facility at a better (Thai, government) hospital, 49,000 baht. I had a stroke in May, two nights in the fancy govt. facility, about 20K (no surgery, but CAT scan, neurologist, lots of drugs). If you don't have US$10,000 in the bank or in your line of credit, you have no reason to consider yourself a rich farang in Thailand. You can get in line behind Somchai and 438 other Thais and hope you won't get the worst treatment.

Get good insurance.