Travel Insurance recommendations?

[rainman333]

Hello,

was wondering if anyone can recommend any good travel insurance that covers medical costs in case you get ill or accident?  Will be flying to Thailand in October for a short vacation, thanks!

[yoyohat]

I’m from the US. I use GeoBlue travel insurance: https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com

 I believe they pay the hospital directly if you are injured. I have never filed a claim, so I can’t give 1st hand info.

 

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[regyai]

46 minutes ago, rainman333 said:

Hello,

was wondering if anyone can recommend any good travel insurance that covers medical costs in case you get ill or accident?  Will be flying to Thailand in October for a short vacation, thanks!

Keeping your home country a secret won't make for receiving pertinent replies

[Caselemon]

If you are from UK, check websites such as moneysupermarket.com. They will ask about pre-existing medical conditions and supply details of Insurance companies who will cover you for these conditions. Takes about 5 minutes max.

[rainman333]

thanks for the info, btw this is for USA traveller, thanks!

[smithzac91]

Geo blue for me too for the same reason mentioned above - they pay the hospital directly. They also have an app with the information you may need. One thing thing that they have on the app is a section that list medications in English with the Thai equivalent. Helpful if you are at a pharmacy and looking for a particular antibiotic or something similar.

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[bouncewithme]

I’m from the US and have been using Travelex. I’ve never had to file a claim so I also don’t have first hand experience but I’ve read positive reviews from those who have. I’m unsure how Travelex handles payment/reimbursement. Geo Blue looks like pure health insurance while Travelex is a combo between travel costs (cancellation,delays, lost luggage, etc) and Medical. Personally I really only need solid health insurance while abroad and not concerned about the travel side so much so I’ll have to check out Geo next trip 

[Buddy Edgewood]

I use this insurance company - 1000 baht for 2 weeks for 1,000,000 baht coverage.  Other options available at reasonable prices.

http://thailandtravelshield.tourismthailand.org/

The key point with this insurance policy is that it's Thai and they pay directly to the hospital, i.e. no need to pay first and try to get reimbursed later.

[regyai]

14 minutes ago, Buddy Edgewood said:

I use this insurance company - 1000 baht for 2 weeks for 1,000,000 baht coverage.  Other options available at reasonable prices.

http://thailandtravelshield.tourismthailand.org/

The key point with this insurance policy is that it's Thai and they pay directly to the hospital, i.e. no need to pay first and try to get reimbursed later.

Strong money for to be honest, not much cover (annual travel maxing out at around £300!!)

[Buddy Edgewood]

3 minutes ago, regyai said:

Strong money for to be honest, not much cover (annual travel maxing out at around £300!!)

What do you mean by "annual travel maxing out at around £300"?

I don't care about trip cancellation, curtailment, hijacking, delay, loss/delay of luggage, and liability.  My main focus is on covering medical expenses (direct pay) and medical evacuation.

[regyai]

The premium is £300

 

And discarding the bits n pieces cover, medical max cover of 2million BAHT ! (2 million POUNDS would be pretty poor cover) . A bit of hospital time and a medical repatriation would swallow that up in metaphorical 'heartbeat'

 

My current annual multi-trip policy costing a mere £102GBP gives for example UNLIMITED medical cover

[Buddy Edgewood]

57 minutes ago, regyai said:

The premium is £300

 

And discarding the bits n pieces cover, medical max cover of 2million BAHT ! (2 million POUNDS would be pretty poor cover) . A bit of hospital time and a medical repatriation would swallow that up in metaphorical 'heartbeat'

 

My current annual multi-trip policy costing a mere £102GBP gives for example UNLIMITED medical cover

£300?!  For me, 1M baht coverage for 2 weeks is only 1,000 baht premium, 2M baht coverage is 1,400 baht premium.  If I'm in such bad shape that it's going to take more than 2M baht to fix me up, then the 10M baht medical evac will kick in and I'm transferred back to the US, where my corporate medical coverage takes over.

Does your multi-trip £102 policy pay the Thai hospital directly?  If it doesn't then it's a waste of money unless you have a minimum of 1M baht cash laying around to pay the hospital and then try to get reimbursed later from the insurer.

[onehunglo]

On 9/1/2018 at 17:37, rainman333 said:

Hello,

was wondering if anyone can recommend any good travel insurance that covers medical costs in case you get ill or accident?  Will be flying to Thailand in October for a short vacation, thanks!

where you from ? here in aussie , join the union $820 yr and get free travel insurance and it works with no bullshit , fly you home if needed ect , but as with all travel insurance it stops when you get back to your country of origin . understandable . i used to have thai insurance policy was about 15,000baht 5yrs ago and now around 32,000baht . that's why i joined the union for work and get the bonus insurance plus there are other perks . CMFEU 

[regyai]

9 hours ago, Buddy Edgewood said:

£300?!  For me, 1M baht coverage for 2 weeks is only 1,000 baht premium, 2M baht coverage is 1,400 baht premium.  If I'm in such bad shape that it's going to take more than 2M baht to fix me up, then the 10M baht medical evac will kick in and I'm transferred back to the US, where my corporate medical coverage takes over.

Does your multi-trip £102 policy pay the Thai hospital directly?  If it doesn't then it's a waste of money unless you have a minimum of 1M baht cash laying around to pay the hospital and then try to get reimbursed later from the insurer.

Next time you use it get your vision sorted  12000THB annual multi I was referring to (their max cover)

& yes last time I had a big medical problem (Coma, subdural haematomas) hospital found insurers Emergency contact card on me, I woke up days later in ICU. All taken care of by insurers, not only did I not part with a penny piece but I never even filled a form in.

Admittedly if you make a trivial claim they expect a pay now / claim later.

[nekkid]

Worldwide travel insurance came with a bank account I have, but with no documentation to carry that I am aware of.  Seems an OK package which includes up to £10M cover for emergency care and repatriation.

Presumably I could just make up / print a card with the Medical Emergency phone number on it and carry it with me, which ER staff would find on me in the event of me keeling over.

(update) Posting this prompted me to do a few searches and reading other forums it seems my bank account number is the key item of information needed to identify me in the event of needing help, so I will include that on a printed card. Hope that helps anyone else in a similar position.

[Buddy Edgewood]

3 hours ago, regyai said:

Next time you use it get your vision sorted  12000THB annual multi I was referring to (their max cover)

& yes last time I had a big medical problem (Coma, subdural haematomas) hospital found insurers Emergency contact card on me, I woke up days later in ICU. All taken care of by insurers, not only did I not part with a penny piece but I never even filled a form in.

Admittedly if you make a trivial claim they expect a pay now / claim later.

Well, there you have it.  We're talking about 2 different policy coverage time frames.  I only referred to 2 weeks because that's what I (and likely most other Pattaya tourists here on PA) would purchase.  I usually make 3 trips per year, so my total annual premium is about 5,000 baht, about £20 more than what you pay for your annual multi-trip policy.

I'm glad your insurance covered you so well for such a serious medical emergency and someone didn't have to start a gofundme page for you, like we see for those idiots who didn't bother getting insurance.

I'm curious, do you know how much your insurance payed out for your emergency situation?

[regyai]

Afraid not, I was completely out of the loop

 

But 10 days ICU @ BPH, all kinds of stuff after that, followed eventually by Business flights back to the UK won't have come cheap 

[rainman333]

just tried to get geoblue insurance, but it says it's not available for my state (west coast). I think they are good for east coast states.

[rainman333]

ok so geoblue isn't available for my state, so I think I will buy this one from insubuy  .  $78usd for 1m coverage

any thoughts on insubuy? thanks

 

[Bonkabit]

Website https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com, about two months ago:

Compulsory Travel Insurance

Foreign tourists will soon be required to have travel insurance before entering Thailand.The plan was proposed by a committee working on the development of Thailand as a wellness tourism hub and will be forwarded for consideration by the national tourism policy commission.
The requirement should not be seen as a "hurdle" to visitors to Thailand, the source said on Monday. Under the proposal, the Office of the Insurance Commission would draft details on insurance policies and insurance distribution channels, including the installation of automatic vending machines at international airports and border checkpoints. The Tourism and Sports Ministry first proposed requiring foreign visitors to have travel insurance last year, explaining it did not have enough staff to supervise the safety and welfare of the growing number of tourists. Hospitals have until now often been left carrying the cost of medical treatment of tourists injured during their stay in Thailand and who have no means to pay their bills. I'll have more on this as soon as it's finalized. More on medical insurance here..

[fourrings]

On 01/09/2018 at 01:02, yoyohat said:

I’m from the US. I use GeoBlue travel insurance: https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com

 I believe they pay the hospital directly if you are injured. I have never filed a claim, so I can’t give 1st hand info.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

“Not available in Washington State”....... crap

[rainman333]

On 30/12/2018 at 12:56, fourrings said:

“Not available in Washington State”....... crap

fyi

looks like it's available for Washington state now.... I just tried it and was quoted $82 usd for single trip $1m insurance no deductible

[Straw]

On 05/09/2018 at 00:11, Buddy Edgewood said:

£300?!  For me, 1M baht coverage for 2 weeks is only 1,000 baht premium, 2M baht coverage is 1,400 baht premium.  If I'm in such bad shape that it's going to take more than 2M baht to fix me up, then the 10M baht medical evac will kick in and I'm transferred back to the US, where my corporate medical coverage takes over.

 

Sorry buddy insurance doesnt work like that sadly lol as I used to work for Axa in UK.  You dont decide just because you're nearing the limit of your policy that ehh no problem I'll just get MedI Vac to drive me home !!  In addition that cost is outrageously high for 1m Baht cover in the first place. In addition all "proper" policy coverage pays the hospital direct once you're admitted so that claim is null and void as a selling point

 

[jocky king]

Very sensible to check out the right Travel Insurance .  I had no Travel Insurance last December/January cos they refused to insure me when I was trying to buy TI in thailand . I should have bought the TI before the flight . Very relieved to come home  ok .. Had to use Third rd all the time instead of Soi Buakhao  due to safe footpath , very rarely use Motcy taxi.  Other Note , I always buys Multitrip.com for years but never make a claim , so I can’t give a good/bad opinion. All Clear Travel Insurance is other good option for those who has existing illness/health problems .   I have noticed on Facebook and social media of increasing Go Fund Me plea around the world cos they didn’t buy the Travel Insurance .  

[Straw]

43 minutes ago, jocky king said:

Very sensible to check out the right Travel Insurance .  I had no Travel Insurance last December/January cos they refused to insure me when I was trying to buy TI in thailand . I should have bought the TI before the flight . Very relieved to come home  ok .. Had to use Third rd all the time instead of Soi Buakhao  due to safe footpath , very rarely use Motcy taxi.  Other Note , I always buys Multitrip.com for years but never make a claim , so I can’t give a good/bad opinion. All Clear Travel Insurance is other good option for those who has existing illness/health problems .   I have noticed on Facebook and social media of increasing Go Fund Me plea around the world cos they didn’t buy the Travel Insurance .  

Multitrip are excellent. Have claimed in the past twice on inpatient at Pattaya Inter dealt with the lot from start to finish and hospital didnt even want to retain my passport from outset when the insurer became clear nor did the excess become payable (claim as outpatient and it will)