Health Insurance

would be good to get info about insurance especially insurance to re-enter thailand after trip back to oz - i am 70 and have retirement visa - be interested to get info if anyone knows

speedlimit wrote:

Finally someone posts about health insurance and asks relevant questions... but guess what?  They didn't follow the rules and the post was removed... Now many of us that are interested in the same subject will never know.  Come on... let us filter relevance for ourselves UNLESS you are under contract to competing companies.  It's not as if this forum is soooo inundated with posts that we don't have the time to filter for ourselves as we  are battering about the Thai visa for the millionth time and  that info is more available online then what is and isn't good health insurance for expats.

It wasn't a serious post, and that company has never been on the Top 10 list of insurance companies in Thailand. They are VERY expensive. Check out Pacific Cross instead, that's a serious insurance company and with the most competitive prices in Thailand. Especially if you're younger than 65. From 66 every premium at every company goes up a lot,because you are what Thai insurance companies called overaged.

While I appreciate and value your response shouldn't I be the one to determine what's right for me.  Your company suggestion doesn't work for me... I am "too old" for them... Even though I am in better physical shape than men 20 years younger... So, again, shouldn't I be able to gather ALL available information for myself and determine my own course of action?

speedlimit wrote:

While I appreciate and value your response shouldn't I be the one to determine what's right for me.  Your company suggestion doesn't work for me... I am "too old" for them... Even though I am in better physical shape than men 20 years younger... So, again, shouldn't I be able to gather ALL available information for myself and determine my own course of action?

No.

You shouldn't be the one who determines whether or not something is essentially spam on this website.

Admins on this website work very hard to sift through the ton of spam posted every day.

Ultimately, they have their own standards which are actually pretty reasonable.

This simply isn't a laissez-faire website where anything can be posted on any subject in any manner.

Everyone who's active on this website agreed to follow the forum code of conduct.

There's plenty of room to have a discussion about insurance in general without having one particular company utilize the forum for promoting their services (same goes for visa agent services, tourism companies, hotels, etc)

Responsible businesses must also follow the forum code of conduct and they are free to list their services in the business directory:

expat.com/en/business/asia/thailand/31_insurances/health-insurance/

speedlimit wrote:

While I appreciate and value your response shouldn't I be the one to determine what's right for me.  Your company suggestion doesn't work for me... I am "too old" for them... Even though I am in better physical shape than men 20 years younger... So, again, shouldn't I be able to gather ALL available information for myself and determine my own course of action?

If you're willing to pay a premium that's 100% higher (and even more) than at other Thai insurance companies,then you're welcome. Why do you think that company is never mentioned in Thailand when it comes to expat insurances or never will be seen on a Top 10 list? I live in Thailand since many years, and I have checked out every Thai insurance company worth checking out. You can find the Top 10 list on Google with info about all 10 companies.

Did you happen to read the post in question before it was pulled?  Nothing suggested that it was spam or an advertisement... Sounded pretty much like a genuine inquiry about a particular company...

Again... What I am willing to pay for anything should be up to me... You choose to not pay anyone for any service... Visa... insurance... restaurant servers... I choose to pay for service.

Now that you've read it... Exactly how is it spam... Or let's just stifle all conversation just in case it might be

speedlimit wrote:

Did you happen to read the post in question before it was pulled?  Nothing suggested that it was spam or an advertisement... Sounded pretty much like a genuine inquiry about a particular company...

It wasn't a serious inquiry. That was obvious when he said the premiums were competitive. They are not. They are ridiculously high.

speedlimit wrote:

Did you happen to read the post in question before it was pulled?  Nothing suggested that it was spam or an advertisement... Sounded pretty much like a genuine inquiry about a particular company...

I not only read the post in question, I reported it to admin.

Ultimately it was up to admin to decide.

This is a very common tactic among spammers, to post a thread which is supposed to be a question about a particular company.

However, it becomes clear in reading the full post and any replies by the OP it is an attempt to promote that particular company.

It's understandable that you didn't recognize it as spam since you don't have a vested interest in the success of this website.

speedlimit wrote:

Now that you've read it... Exactly how is it spam... Or let's just stifle all conversation just in case it might be

The answer I've already given you in this thread is also the same answer that applies to a similar question you had in another thread:

expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=973742#5350767

If you are looking for the wild wild west of expat discussions, may I suggest that you search YouTube?

You obviously aren't happy with the forum code of conduct.

Obviously I am not... it is too narrow minded... goodbye.

speedlimit wrote:

Obviously I am not... it is too narrow minded... goodbye.

OB is an expert on everything. Just ask him. 😂 Even though he is NOT admin he will attempt to do school you on every forum.
My advice is to ignore OB and do your own research for insurance. I went with insurance that was recommended on the Thailand embassy website but researched many others. A friend who was returning to his residence in Thailand got his from a worldwide know insurance company. The most important thing is whether the Thai government accepts it or not.
Good luck and enjoy life. It's too short.

pogiwayne wrote:

speedlimit wrote:

Obviously I am not... it is too narrow minded... goodbye.

OB is an expert on everything. Just ask him. 😂 Even though he is NOT admin he will attempt to do school you on every forum.
My advice is to ignore OB and do your own research for insurance. I went with insurance that was recommended on the Thailand embassy website but researched many others. A friend who was returning to his residence in Thailand got his from a worldwide know insurance company. The most important thing is whether the Thai government accepts it or not.
Good luck and enjoy life. It's too short.

You are quite ignorant regarding my comments, because you obviously never saw the thread in question which admin agreed was inappropriate and deleted

Not liking me isn't sufficient justification for giving bad advice.

Also, if you would read my comments, you'd discover that I encourage speedo to do his own search too.

I simply explained that he can't count on info from spammers.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

pogiwayne wrote:

speedlimit wrote:

Obviously I am not... it is too narrow minded... goodbye.

OB is an expert on everything. Just ask him. 😂 Even though he is NOT admin he will attempt to do school you on every forum.
My advice is to ignore OB and do your own research for insurance. I went with insurance that was recommended on the Thailand embassy website but researched many others. A friend who was returning to his residence in Thailand got his from a worldwide know insurance company. The most important thing is whether the Thai government accepts it or not.
Good luck and enjoy life. It's too short.

You are quite ignorant regarding my comments, because you obviously never saw the thread in question which admin agreed was inappropriate and deleted

Not liking me isn't sufficient justification for giving bad advice.

Also, if you would read my comments, you'd discover that I encourage speedo to do his own search too.

I simply explained that he can't count on info from spammers.

You were argumentative as USUAL. Let the admins do their job.

pogiwayne wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

pogiwayne wrote:

OB is an expert on everything. Just ask him. 😂 Even though he is NOT admin he will attempt to do school you on every forum.
My advice is to ignore OB and do your own research for insurance. I went with insurance that was recommended on the Thailand embassy website but researched many others. A friend who was returning to his residence in Thailand got his from a worldwide know insurance company. The most important thing is whether the Thai government accepts it or not.
Good luck and enjoy life. It's too short.

You are quite ignorant regarding my comments, because you obviously never saw the thread in question which admin agreed was inappropriate and deleted

Not liking me isn't sufficient justification for giving bad advice.

Also, if you would read my comments, you'd discover that I encourage speedo to do his own search too.

I simply explained that he can't count on info from spammers.

You were argumentative as USUAL. Let the admins do their job.

Quit trying to police me.

I am in regular contact with admin, including Julien.

They don't have any complaints about my current involvement.

In fact I have been thanked for my attention to the forums on more than one occasion.

If you ever have a valid complaint about me or any post of mine, I highly encourage you to use the report function and let admin know that I am being inappropriate.

pogiwayne wrote:

speedlimit wrote:

Obviously I am not... it is too narrow minded... goodbye.

OB is an expert on everything. Just ask him. 😂 Even though he is NOT admin he will attempt to do school you on every forum.
My advice is to ignore OB and do your own research for insurance. I went with insurance that was recommended on the Thailand embassy website but researched many others. A friend who was returning to his residence in Thailand got his from a worldwide know insurance company. The most important thing is whether the Thai government accepts it or not.
Good luck and enjoy life. It's too short.

Health insurances from foreign companies for returnees or other long stayers are accepted from Nov 1 last year. It's just the coverage that matters. Health insurance is mandatory for everyone (foreigners) entering the country and for O-A Visa holders when extending their stay in Thailand. Recently "Mr Prakarn", an online insurance company has become quite popular for both tourists and returning expats. Prakarn is insurance in Thai.

Good! This is one of the most important topics that is often avoided by expats.

I found over the years that Americans handle this differently than the other farangs. This is my doodle intelligence or education or anything like that, but to the fact that we don't have any backup health insurance at home.

I'm an attorney and I used to work for insurance companies when I was in school. My father held executive positions and insurance companies; mother was an actuary inside insurance companies.

I know a bit about it. This should be one of the main topics because it's tough understand what it is you're actually buying, what the limitations are, what your responsible for paying.. especially for the Europeans and Australians who've never had to pay for this kind of stuff. Even terminology! And the new thing seems to be the American Insurance company is getting in on the game. When I was here 20 years ago, there was not multiple American companies offering expat insurance. Although I have no proof, and I have not looked at it, I would make a guess that this is a bad thing. I'm not saying don't pick an American company over another company, they usually settle down close to each other in terms of what they offer for how much. (They can get away with stuff, some collusion, that they can't do back home.)

You can go broke. Or worse. And once you get married and have kids forget about. You need it.

And depending on which country you're from, you should have different plans! If it's possible for you to go home and get treatment for a serious chronic illness, you should have a different plan than someone who can't, even if you're the same age the same weight, the same risk factors...

I lived with my mentor in Phnom Penh for a while and it was totally different for him and me. He was Australian, I'm an American.

When he got seriously hurt on a motorcycle, we brought him onto the midnight flight to Australia, and I'm drugged him fairly substantially for the flight home. And when he got there he went directly to the hospital and had the operation to put pins in his leg and came back very quickly. A few weeks.

if that was my leg and my accident, I would be in big trouble. I'd wind up in a city Hospital, the worst treatment available, and possibly just made stable and sent home to have my leg heal incorrectly

And I'd still be billed!

I apologize for running away with that anecdote, I didn't mean to but it's a good lesson.

My point is that this should be a robust and vital discussion, even if the big advertiser is an insurance company. Considering doing an advertisement on here. Will they remove any other firms that do taxes or law forang in Thailand?!!! 555.

If the advertisers are able to control content, the validity of the entire forum is less... It's really something that the directors need to address. This is like the corporations in America being able to give as much money as they want to elections! Giving money to both parties in elections!!!

I apologize for sticking that last thing in there. I'm an American and I hate that more than anything. Everyone's complaining about how bad things are in the US, that half the country hates the other half. Nobody knows what to do... Stop corporations from funding elections is a good start!

If you have any questions on the contract that you get from your insurance, you can call me and I know try to help. I don't mean I will charge you or anything. But if I can help by interpreting some of the terms, I will.

Important. When you get the documentation from your insurance company, throw away the brochure after you load in all the contact information. And I can give you an overall opinion of whether or not the premium is appropriate for the coverage. I can also recommend what type of insurance you should get. (Nobody should buy whole life insurance. Ever! Never ever!)

I am happy you brought it up. Although I doubt anyone has read this far into my soliloquy, other people should post. And talk about the specific insurance that you have, that you got in Thailand.

Fasting, always ask for a North American exception! It'll cut the premiums if they offer it.

Thai insurance will be cheaper and easier, the coverage is not not nearly as good as International. People should be aware of this. If you can afford it, and this goes for Thai people as well, pay for the International Insurance. Also, it's much nicer and easier to go to Samitivej than a Thai government Hospital. One of the nicest things about Thailand is the private hospitals!

Thanks. Can you be a little more specific about the search words you use for the top 10?