Health Insurance

[paulsimkiss]

Try Global Expatriate Heathcare. They have a banner on the HHAD site. You can get an online quote.

[JimmyGreaves]

Can't find it unless it's here: http://www.huahinmedia.com/gife.php

[littlebird]

I use BUPA they are comparable with others. I know many expats who will not pay for health insurance - thats up to them until you get knocked off your motorbike of have a heart attack

[Homer]

I use BUPA they are comparable with others. I know many expats who will not pay for health insurance - thats up to them until you get knocked off your motorbike of have a heart attack

The policies I looked at explicitly excluded coverage for motorcycle accidents. Any there any that do cover moto related injuries?

[mat]

Homer: There are plenty of insurance plans that don't exclude motorcycle risks. Send an e-mail to huahinaa@hotmail.com and we can show you the options that suit your needs.

[hhfarang]

Mat, I'm going to ask the specific question that many expats worry about and I'm asking it here rather than in an email because others may be interested in your answer.

I have been taking daily medications to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and asthma for many years. I've had only one full blown asthma attack twenty years ago before I started on the medication and have never had a heart problem. Physical exams (including cardiac ultrasounds and treadmill tests) over the past ten years have confirmed that my heart is normal.

Is there any company that you represent that would not exclude my cardiovascular and respiratory systems on the basis of long term medication use to control these chronic problems? I am over 60 by the way. I know that eliminates beginning coverage with some companies.

The last thing I want is to pay insurance premiums for years and find myself in the hospital with a heart problem where the company refuses to pay the bill because I've been taking medication to control my blood pressure for nearly 30 years.

[mat]

This is very difficult (if not impossible) to answer since every insurance company looks at each application case by case. Sometimes the described conditions result in an exclusion, sometimes they are accepted totally, sometimes accepted with a co-payment etc.

The mentioned conditions are sometimes accepted without any exclusion. The only way to be sure about it is just do the application with the best option and see what the company comes up with. Doing the application does not mean you will have to take out the insurance, you can cancell the application at any time, also after acceptance.

[hhfarang]

But I guess what I am asking is... will they tell me up front what will be excluded or just accept my application and take my payments while I find out the hard way later when I am in the hospital and they refuse to pay saying that it's a pre-existing condition. I don't mind if they are honest up front and say what they will and will not pay for... or just reject my application. I just don't want any surprises like others have said they have had after paying premiums for years. If they accept my honest application with no exclusions can I trust that they will pay for anything that comes up?

[Korkenzieher]

Hi Mat,

Do any of your providers offer critical injury and / or repatriation insurance? And if so, what is the saving one could expect on a more 'full service' policy. Obviously claim rates are going to be lower frequency, but higher value so there must be some kind of trade-off.

[mat]

HHFarang:
Understand what you mean. Every insurance company has a medical questionairre with the application form. To avoid problems in the future it is very important to answer these questions 100 % honest and not leave anything out. When you write that people had some coverage denied after paying premium for years, the only reasons i can think of is that:
-or some information has been left out with the application and the insurance company found this out afterwards (and believe me, the claim departments of especially the Thai companies are better as the CIA and FBI together),
-or it was a policy that simply excludes all pre-existing conditions from the beginning and people were not aware of that because they were not informed correctly and/or they did not read the fine prints (allways do that!).

In case you do have pre-existing conditions, the better companies will come up with a letter you have to sign saying you agree with the following exclusion(s), or special terms like co-payment for something. So you will know exactly what is covered and what not.

But what if you get a problem not so long after starting, a problem that you were not aware of when you filled in the form. With Thai companies this might lead to an investigation, was this pre-existing or not, was client aware of it or not? But after a few years normally this can not be an issue anymore.
With the Western (European) companies actually we never see this, in general they cover from day 1 and don't make issues, they are more easy and generous.

Korkenzieher:
Critical injury? What about critical ilness? Statisticly most hospitalcosts are made for ilnesses and not for accidents. You can cover medical costs caused by accidents with a personal acccident insurance, but i suggest you take a look at a healthcare plan (cheap plans are available) that will cover you no matter what the reason is you end up in the hospital.
Repatriation insurance to your homecountry is an extra option you can take out with some insurance plans, but these are the comprehensive (more expensive) plans, not the cheaper ones.
Maybe some kind of travel insurance from your homecountry is an option?

[Nereus]

Hi Mat,

Do any of your providers offer critical injury and / or repatriation insurance? And if so, what is the saving one could expect on a more 'full service' policy. Obviously claim rates are going to be lower frequency, but higher value so there must be some kind of trade-off.

Mat: I have posted on this repatriation subject previously, and now you are saying it is only available as part of an (expensive) comprehensive policy.

It is available to all expats in Thailand through SOS (an International organisation), at a stand alone cost of 15,400 Baht per year, and has been so for many years.

[hhfarang]

Mat,

Thanks for those good and detailed answers to what I'm sure are tough questions.

[mat]

Nerues,
Please correct me if i'm wrong (we don't deal with SOS and i don't know every detail of every insurance plan in the world, that's why i suggested to look at what companies at the homecountry (i should better have said abroad) can offer also). I just googled on it, and it starts with:
"We will only reimburse these costs if on site medical treatment is not possible and the treatment cannot be postponed".
And i think Korkenzieher was not looking for that since all medical treatments are possible in Thailand, it is probably because he has full coverage at the home country or just wants to be treated there in case of something serious.

[Korkenzieher]

@Mat - yes, I include (critical) illness, not just injury but I think home insurance is not realistic as haven't been a resident of that particular country for almost 20 years. As you rightly suggest, I am really only thinking in terms of the most extreme event because essentially all of the most usual medical issues are taken care of locally quite easily as out of pocket expenses. Repatriation really only arises I think, if long term care is inevitable. And obviously one hopes to avoid major injury or illness crises, but nothing is guaranteed, so I think it makes sense to be covered for such things - but not really for routine medical handling.

[mat]

@Korkenzieher: Ttink the best thing to do is send me a pm with your age so i can have a look what would be a good option. But of course you're also welcome in our office to discuss this.

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