Ajarn Forum - Living and Teaching In Thailand - View Single Post - Ask Tony Dabbs (Our Health Insurance Expert)

tonyd · 9th August 2008, 20:01

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - from an e-mail received on 8 August 2008

i have been looking through all the options available by your site (excellent work btw)
Thank you. You have done a good job of gathering information from it

i am now just a bit to confused (too much info?).
You are right. I think that if we prepared a set of spreadsheets for you they would help to put things more in perspective for you. And, I could help guide you more

For the Mega series, if i take a 20% discount by limiting area of cover, can I in a later policy year, re-enable the areas of cover?
Yes, you can. But, unless you travel to the limited cover areas a lot it would be cheaper just to get travel insurance.

i dont like it where i have to pay the whole year at once, but as it seems, that brings us to only mega series for semi annual and to NZI?
Yes, if you have a credit card NZI will draw from your credit card on a monthly basis. All other insurers accept credit cards for annual pay.

NZI looks good, i think they really do cover everything, its just really expensive for me.
That’s why they allow you to pay monthly (by credit card).

i thought 15.000 baht would get "good" insurance, but reading the terms, they are disappointing at these price ranges, it seems a lot of possible issues are not covered?..
You may be misreading some of the terms and conditions.

what is your opinion on OPD cover? this gets charged heavily into premiums, but only covers small monetary amount, so it almost does not seem worth it.
You got that right! The reasons the premiums are so high in relation to the coverage is because the insurance companies have no control over your usage. Insureds can use OPD to seek treatment for any imaginary complaint. Hospital Inpatient (IPD) is much cheaper for the coverage you get because you can’t get admitted unless the doctor says you really have a problem.

i heard BUPA wont cover many things if you drink more then 3 beer's a day, is this true? i did not see it mentioned in the policy
That is not true. That comes under the category of BUPA Legends (or Myths). But most health insurance policies (not just BUPA) exclude coverage for treatment of injuries caused by the insured’s irresponsible behavior. Injury caused by drunk driving could be a ground for refusing a claim. Some insurance policies list the blood alcohol level that could get a claim rejected.

.i do remember seeing motorcycle accidents arent fully covered...
Bullhicky!! No health insurance policies in Thailand limit coverage of treatment for motorcycle accidents. BUT!! Most policies include Personal Accident (PA) insurance. PA insurance is actually Accidental Death & Dismemberment insurance. It has nothing to do with treatment. It pays a lump sum if you die or lose an arm or a leg. Many insurers, including BUPA, limit the payout for motorcycle accidents under PA insurance. But, they all pay fully for treatment.

Could you please give me advice on what policy is best value for money?
Since you have already provided me the ages of both you and your girlfriend, we will prepare a set of Health Insurance Plan Comparison Spreadsheets for you. Then, let’s talk.

9th August 2008, 20:01	#198 (permalink)
tonyd tonyd is..... The insurance guy Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nontaburi Posts: 126 vCash: 500 Rep Power: 29	Re: Ask Tony Dabbs (Our Health Insurance Expert) QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - from an e-mail received on 8 August 2008 *i have been looking through all the options available by your site (excellent work btw)* Thank you. You have done a good job of gathering information from it *i am now just a bit to confused (too much info?).* You are right. I think that if we prepared a set of spreadsheets for you they would help to put things more in perspective for you. And, I could help guide you more *For the Mega series, if i take a 20% discount by limiting area of cover, can I in a later policy year, re-enable the areas of cover?* Yes, you can. But, unless you travel to the limited cover areas a lot it would be cheaper just to get travel insurance. *i dont like it where i have to pay the whole year at once, but as it seems, that brings us to only mega series for semi annual and to NZI?* Yes, if you have a credit card NZI will draw from your credit card on a monthly basis. All other insurers accept credit cards for annual pay. *NZI looks good, i think they really do cover everything, its just really expensive for me.* That’s why they allow you to pay monthly (by credit card). *i thought 15.000 baht would get "good" insurance, but reading the terms, they are disappointing at these price ranges, it seems a lot of possible issues are not covered?..* You may be misreading some of the terms and conditions. *what is your opinion on OPD cover? this gets charged heavily into premiums, but only covers small monetary amount, so it almost does not seem worth it.* You got that right! The reasons the premiums are so high in relation to the coverage is because the insurance companies have no control over your usage. Insureds can use OPD to seek treatment for any imaginary complaint. Hospital Inpatient (IPD) is much cheaper for the coverage you get because you can’t get admitted unless the doctor says you really have a problem. *i heard BUPA wont cover many things if you drink more then 3 beer's a day, is this true? i did not see it mentioned in the policy* That is not true. That comes under the category of BUPA Legends (or Myths). But most health insurance policies (not just BUPA) exclude coverage for treatment of injuries caused by the insured’s irresponsible behavior. Injury caused by drunk driving could be a ground for refusing a claim. Some insurance policies list the blood alcohol level that could get a claim rejected. *.i do remember seeing motorcycle accidents arent fully covered...* Bullhicky!! No health insurance policies in Thailand limit coverage of treatment for motorcycle accidents. BUT!! Most policies include Personal Accident (PA) insurance. PA insurance is actually Accidental Death & Dismemberment insurance. It has nothing to do with treatment. It pays a lump sum if you die or lose an arm or a leg. Many insurers, including BUPA, limit the payout for motorcycle accidents under PA insurance. But, they all pay fully for treatment. *Could you please give me advice on what policy is best value for money?* Since you have already provided me the ages of both you and your girlfriend, we will prepare a set of Health Insurance Plan Comparison Spreadsheets for you. Then, let’s talk.