HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN IS THE BEST FOR ME?

1. WHICH LIMIT DO I NEED?

Much depends on which Hospital(s) you want to be able to visit. There are 2 types of Health Insurance Policies available in Thailand. The limited plans and the unlimited plans (better said: with limits so high you will never reach it). The limited plans are cheaper but usually have limits on pretty much everything. To give you an example: room and board, max. XXXX Baht a day, surgical fee, max. XXXX Baht a day etc. If you have a plan with lower limits, you always run the risk of having to pay partly by yourself in case of a serious illness and/or accident. Good indicators of having sufficient coverage:

Check the coverage for the room price.

Check the annual limit. In general, a coverage of 5 million Baht / year will cover most of your medical expenses in Thailand.

2. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IN-AND OUTPATIENT CARE?

Inpatient means you are admitted to a bed in the hospital. Outpatient costs (for example consulting a General Practitioner and/or prescribed medications) are not covered under an Inpatient policy and will come for your own expense.

You can decide to insure yourself for Inpatient only or for In-as well as Outpatient care. Outpatient care is rather cheap in Thailand. Therefore, most people decide to go for an Inpatient cover only. When making the choice to insure with or without Outpatient, do check whether your Health Insurance plan covers for Outpatient cancer treatment (even if you only have an Inpatient plan) as Outpatient Cancer treatment can be quite costly.

3. WILL MY HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM GO UP AFTER A CLAIM?

There are two types of policies:

1. The community rated policies. With a community rated plan everybody with the same age will pay the same premium regardless the claim history. A possible claim will therefore not affect your individual Health Insurance premium. You will not built up no-claims discount.

2. The individually rated policies. With an individually rated plan, your claims history will affect your individual Health Insurance premium. The personal increase will depend on the loss ratio on your policy as well as the insurer in question. You will built up no claims discount.

What is better: a community rated plan or an individually rated plan? Some companies have a maximum loading of for example 25% per policy year, others may load even 100% which can make your policy to become unaffordable. On the other hand, the community rated plans must follow the general increase in medical costs. The general medical inflation correction in Thailand is around 9% a year. As a result, the standard premium increases are usually higher with community rated plans.

4. WHAT ARE THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS BY THAI LAW?

At this moment there are 2 real requirements:

1. NON-OA Visa holders should have a Policy which covers for minimum 400,000-baht for Inpatient treatments and 40,000-baht for Outpatient treatments. This should be a plan of one of the approved Thai Companies. AA Insurance Brokers can offer all options.

2. People entering Thailand must have an insurance which covers for minimum 100,000 USD and Covid 19.

5. PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS?

Any pre-existing conditions and/or medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure may result in an exclusion. Some companies are very strict in this aspect, others are more lenient and do accept pre-existing conditions without increasing the insurance premium. It is important that we know about your medical conditions before selecting the best option for you. The reason is that every Company deals differently with certain conditions and if we know upfront, we can minimize the chance on an exclusion for you.

Isn't it more cost effective to buy Health Insurance directly from an insurance company?

No, whether you go to the Insurance Company directly or obtain your Insurance through us, the premiums are the same. In fact, because of our purchasing power, it is even possible to obtain Health Insurance against lower rates with us. Besides that, if you go to an insurance company directly you will only have 1 choice. We can offer you a wide range of plans from all insurance companies and we have the ability to compare all plans. Another major difference is that we are always working on your behalf and not on behalf of the insurance company. You can fully count on our Claim Support!

QUOTE NOW