keeshou

Tony, I work at a school that provides me with BUPA health insurance that seems adaquate (2,200 a day room). However I want to have my wife and two children covered. I've asked at the school about paying an additional amount to have them put on as "riders", but haven't gotten an answer to that. Would you know if it is possible?
If not since I would be buying three insurance policies, I would like to know if your company offers payment plans on insurance, and if so what type?

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tonyd

Phil, There are 5 insurance companies that sell stand-alone health insurance policies in Thailand. The oldest and best known is BUPA Thailand. Thai Health Insurance (THI) is number 2, which means that they have to “try a little harder”. And, try harder they do. Both BUPA and THI sell only health insurance. A third health insurer, NSi, has recently been taken over by LMG (Liberty Mutual Group), a property and casualty insurer. Royal and Sun Alliance, who ran a regular advert in the Bangkok post selling Expat (international) insurance, has been taken over by IAG, who continues to run the same ad and sell the same international health cover. IAG is also a property and casualty insurer. Another property and casualty insurance company now offering health insurance in Thailand is AXA . BUPA, LMG, IAG and AXA come from large international insurance groups, leaving THI as the only true Thai health insurance company competing against these global giants.

We still consider THI to be the best value for the money, in terms of price and coverage. AXA is priced a little lower, but their coverage maximum is lower also. AXA offers family discounts. It is a very good value for those wanting good reasonably priced family coverage. AXA will also allow you to build your own coverage.

BUPA’s Platinum coverage is good for those wanting higher coverage than that available through THI and AXA. IAG offers good value for those who can afford to pay for international type coverage. LMG is the new kid in town. They offer high premium international type coverage, as well as regular hospital coverage. At first glance, their regular coverage seems good.

Both IAG and LMG will insure people over 65. AXA, LMG and IAG will insure expats living in neighboring countries. LMG insurance can include dental coverage.

Posted after 31 minutes 12 seconds:

It's possible, it depends on your employer. But your employer may not want to go through the hassal, though minor. Your employer may also be concerned that if you do it others will want to do it also.
Unfortunately, the only companies that sell health insurance on a payment plan are life insurance companies and international insurance companies. That said, contact me and let's talk about the problem.

Traveler

Tony:

I am a single guy currently! I am looking for basic health care coverage that would cover me in case I get sick or get in an accident while I am in LOS(it would be nice if the coverage extends to neighboring countries as well if this is possible........Malaysia, Singapore.)

I am familliar with BUPA health insurance and had it a few years ago. I thought this was preety good at the time.

I am 34 years old - healthy -no problems. Also I am living in Songkhla.

If its not too much trouble I would appreciate it if you would PM me with a few ideas (prices...etc.)

Thanks I appreciate your help. :chug:

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tonyd

Thanks for writing, traveler. This kind of question is a little difficult for me to reply to using PM. I usually attach product information to my replies. If it's possible to add attachments to PMs, I have no idea how to do it.

Our product of choice is normally THI, but we sell BUPA also. In fact, we currently have applications for health insurance being processed by 4 of the 5 insurers listed above.

Yes, the coverage we sell does cover you while traveling to neighboring countries. Some of the plans we offer will even cover you if you are living in a neighboring country, such as Cambodia, Lao or Vietnam.

Traveler, please send me your email address so that I can give you a much better response to your question.

tazmanian

So what's happened? Both Tony's site and THI seem to have vanished from the net. And there I was looking for a new policy. Damn.

tonyd

Sorry, tazmanian. My site hasn't vanished, but for some reason the insurance plans and premiums part of the website can't be activated. Bummer!

THI's website is working okay. http://www.thaihealth.co.th/index_e.php

Our website is working okay now, too. (7 July).

Bangkok Phil

Tony, if someone has coverage that excludes diabetes and "related conditions", does that mean that heart disease and kidney failure are excluded from coverage, since they both can be considered a condition that is related to diabetes?

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tonyd

Phil, I think it is important for people to understand that if a certain condition, like heart disease, can be related to an excluded condition, like diabetes, and "related conditions" are excluded from coverage, it doesn't necessarily mean that the "related condition" will actually be excluded from coverage. It only means that if the doctor determines that the condition(heart disease, for example) was caused by the excluded condition, then the resulting condition would be excluded also. BUT, if the doctor determines that the condition (heart disease) was not a result of the excluded condition, then that condition would be covered. (Were you able to follow all of that?)

In the case of diabetes: Diabetes is a disease of the blood that causes blood vessels to shrink and restrict the flow of blood through the body. It is the restricted flow of blood to the various vital parts of the body that causes the problems. If the diabetic is able to maintain a good flow of blood through the body, those "related conditions" will most likely be covered. It is up to the doctor to determine whether or not the condition you are being treated for is actually related to the "excluded condition". If the doctor determines that it isn't, the insurance company has to pay.

Watch out, though. A couple of insurance companies in Thailand are noted for getting involved and becoming a little pushy with hospitals. If that happens, you have the contract right to seek 3rd party arbitration over the claim.

Rocker

Tony, I work at a school which gives the teachers BUPA coverage, as well as the Thai plan (not sure of the exact name), it's the Thai national health-insurance plan, supposedly required by Thai law, for which I pay 750B per month.
The school is telling me that my spouse isn't covered on the Thai plan.
How can I find out if this is accurate? I can't imagine the Thai government setting up a program like this, and then having the working family member covered as the sole subscriber. Thanx, Tony :chug:

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tonyd

Well, start imagining it, Rocker, because the school didn't lie to you. Only employees are covered under SSI. But, you can confirm this yourself by picking up the telephone and dialing 1506. They have English speaking assistance for expats covered under the program. What about the BUPA coverage? Won't the school allow you to put your wife on that either?

mangoedout

Apologies if this is already answered in the 7 pages of posts i simply have been too lazy to answer!

Tony, what do you recommend to a teacher working here who has no work permit, and therefore basically no legal status and limited income (although enough to pay a reasonable amount), who drives a motorbike/takes moto-taxis, is basically healthy with no pre-known problems, and wants a decent year-long coverage?

Which policy, which provider?

Thanks,
from me (and maybe any other lazy buggers in my situation)!

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khao suay rodney, khao suay

tonyd

No problem, in terms of buying health insurance. None of the health insurance companies in Thailand (there are currently 5) require Work Permits or are even concerned about visa status. It is only a problem if you want to buy health insurance through a life insurance company.
What do you consider to be a "reasonable" amount? (See my recommendation below).
Let me get on my soap box here to respond to a common myth: All of the health insurance companies in Thailand provide full coverage for motorcycle accidents (unless the accident occurred while you were riding on the back of a speeding motorcycle while carrying a rifle and moonlighting as a local Mafia hitman). Many insurers tack on to their insurance plans additional coverage they call Personal Accident (PA) coverage. This coverage is totally unrelated to the plan's main Inpatient (IP) and Outpatient (OP) coverage. In the States we sold this as Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage. There has been a tendency to reduce the coverage for motorcycle accidents under this part of the coverage. But this limitation has caused a lot of confusion among buyers. So, many plans no longer include this limitation in their PA coverage. But as a rule, PA coverage does have limitations not found in the main coverage.
The WH3000 or WHA4000 plans through Thai Health Insurance. If the budget is a bit tight, the WH2000 would be adequate for most hospitals in Thailand. It would even get you into Bumrungrad International if you are willing to share a room with 3 other people (2050 baht per day) or 1 other person (2,800 per day).
Thank you for your question, mangoedout.

mangoedout

Cheers Tony, v useful.

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khao suay rodney, khao suay

Chalk Face

Sorry AO. I only read the first page or two and I don't want to make your missus annoyed but when I was admitted to the Bangkok - Phuket hospital for a course of Chemotherapy I was asked two questions.

Do you have insurance? No.
Do you live in Phuket? Yes.

OK, we give you Thai room price.

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