Why do you need insurance in Thailand - a description of insurance cases, the choice of assistance and rules of use

Content:

• Health and Recreation
• Choice of insurance company and insurance policy
• The list of the most famous assistants
• Recommendations when purchasing an insurance policy
• Accident insurance
• Third party civil liability insurance
• Flight delay insurance and luggage insurance
• Insurance by bank card
• The most common insured events
• Rules for using the insurance policy

When crossing the border with Thailand, Thai customs officers will not require travel insurance. It is not a mandatory document for entering the country. But it is obviously worth taking out a policy to feel more comfortable and secure outside of the country. Let's analyze together the problem called: "Insurance policy for a trip to Thailand".

Health and Recreation

Travel package usually includes medical insurance. Many tourists do not go into its contents. And such insurances are often designed only to pay for first aid services and solve problems at the level of domestic. More serious medical care you pay for yourself on the spot. This is due to the fact that tour operators in order to save money offer cheaper insurance companies, which significantly reduces the list of medical services that are covered by your travel insurance.

Medical care in Thailand is high quality and expensive. And until all the services are paid for, leaving the country will not be possible. Therefore, those who travel abroad for more than the first time, prefer to buy additional health insurance policy themselves.

Choice of insurance company and insurance policy

To understand the criteria for choosing an insurance company, let's understand step by step how the financial coverage of the services we need takes place.

• When an insured event occurs, you must contact your insurance company, identify yourself, give your policy number and give details of the situation.

• After you call, the insurance company contacts its business partner in your country of residence. This partner company is called an assistance company. Sometimes the insurance policy already has their phone number, and you can contact their representatives directly.

• The assistance service will tell you which hospital you should go to or give you the address of the nearest one. You may be able to get a doctor's consultation over the phone right away or he will come to you.

• The hospital to which you will be referred may have a cooperative agreement with your health care provider and a successful partnership with the provider. In this case, you will receive all the medical care you need, quickly and with high quality.

• If the hospital does not have such a contract, you will be asked for your passport and money as a deposit, and then assistance will be given. This deposit will be refunded as soon as the assistance center sends a letter of guarantee of payment.

• The hospital administration may refuse to work with a particular assisted-living facility. In this case, you will have to pay for the treatment out of your own pocket.
• The question of reimbursement of the money you spent on treatment will need to be discussed with the insurance company upon your return from Thailand. It will be difficult to do this, and it is unlikely that you will get your money back.

• Health problems and pay for medical services rendered to you in Thailand will be an assistance company. Therefore, the first priority is to choose such a company for yourself.

• Detailed information about the assistants can be found on the websites of hospitals, taking into account the place of supposed rest.

• The next step is to choose an insurance company that has a cooperation agreement with the assistants you like.

The list of today's best-known assistants

• International SOS (ISOS) - most self-policing travelers choose this assistance company. The company was founded in 1985; today it is a multinational corporation with offices in 70 countries. There are branches in all countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

• Mondial Assistance is a Swiss company founded in the middle of the last century. It has been present on the CIS market since 1996. It has a solid experience of cooperation with insurance companies.

• Glass assistance (Class) is a Russian service-assistance company. Today it cooperates with more than 180 CIS insurance companies.

• Axa assistance (AXA) - the company positions itself as a part of AXA Group, one of the world leaders in providing medical assistance and travel insurance. It has 30 centers worldwide and employs 600 doctors.

• Global Voyager Assistance (GVA) is an international holding company founded in 1998. It specializes in providing technical and medical assistance to post-Soviet citizens traveling abroad. The company's service center in Thailand operates since 2006. The holding has cooperation agreements with 45 insurance companies in the CIS countries.

• CORIS International is an international assistance company, on the market for over 20 years. It has cooperation agreements with 300 foreign insurance companies.

Recommendations when purchasing an insurance policy

• Study the insurance terms and conditions and the list of events that are subject to insurance and covered by this policy.

• The recommended minimum amount of insurance is $30,000 to $40,000. In the case of serious health problems, a smaller amount will not cover your costs.

• If plans include active recreation (motorcycle, diving), there is a need to include these risks in the insurance. It's best not to save money here, as trauma services in Thailand are expensive.

• Sometimes insurance policies have a deductible of $50 to $200. That is, if you get $50 worth of medical care, you pay for it yourself. The insurance company will not reimburse it. Without the deductible, the policy will be slightly more expensive, but the slightest expenditure on medical care will be reimbursed. For example, if you catch a cold, you'll pay $50 for a doctor's appointment and medication at a good hospital, and your non-franchise insurance policy will cover that cost.

• Also, ask when your insurance starts to be valid.

• The price of the insurance policy will directly depend on both the sum insured and the time of stay in a foreign country.

Accident insurance

An accident can be considered an unforeseen circumstance resulting in an injury, bruise, burn, or hypothermia. If the accident is not the fault of the insured, the insurer pays compensation. In order to receive payments, the insurance company must be provided with an application, an insurance policy, and a medical document with the date and time of the incident. It is obligatory to have a medical report on the damage to health and a recorded application by the client to the insurance company.

In the event of death of the insured, the company pays 100% of the sum insured. But in case of health disorder of the insured person, payments are made in accordance with the "Table of insurance payments upon occurrence of insured events" of your insurance company.

Third party civil liability insurance

• If you are planning to rent a motorcycle or car, it is better to take out liability insurance. The insurance will help you in case your vehicle damages someone else's property or an individual. Does not cover all two-wheeled vehicles, lack of an international driving license with open category A, B, as a result of an accident or fall. This policy will also be good for you if you suffer any other damage to third parties.

• When such an insured event occurs, you will need to provide your insurance company with a local court order to impose appropriate payments on you, official records, and a certificate of no alcohol in your blood at the time of the accident.

• You will be reimbursed for the cost of litigating third-party personal injury cases. The insurance company must also reimburse you for all costs of mitigating the damage you caused. The insurer will compensate you for the cost of saving the lives and property of people who were harmed as a result of an insured event. But compensation will only be paid up to the limit of the insurance company's liability as stated in your insurance policy.

Flight delay insurance and luggage insurance

Your luggage insurance covers you for the duration of your stay in Thailand. This type of insurance covers the traveler's expenses in such cases:

• deliberate damage of luggage by third parties;
• luggage was damaged as a result of an accident;
• luggage is damaged as a result of a natural disaster;
• theft or robbery;
• If the luggage is found, the insurer will reimburse payment for its storage and delivery.

If the luggage was lost due to your negligence, then please note that the firm will not consider it as an insurance event. And the damage will not be compensated to you. The amount of insurance amount you will discuss when drawing up the contract, but note that it can in no way exceed the value of the luggage itself. Some insurance companies may strictly limit the maximum amount of payments.

Luggage insurance policies usually include a deductible, which averages 15% of the value of your insured items. Therefore, the insurance company will not pay for minor damage to your belongings. The approximate price of this insurance ranges from five to fifteen dollars.

What should your actions be in case of lost luggage

• Within 24 hours after the loss you should contact the representatives of the company-carrier on the spot - they will draw up documents about the loss.

• Upon your return from Thailand, you should immediately write a statement-explanation of lost luggage to a representative of the insurance company. Attach a list of lost items and documents from the airline company to the statement.

Flight delay insurance is a relatively new type of insurance service

These insurance policies provide compensation for delays of more than three hours for regular flights and more than six hours for charter flights. Payments are made for one full hour of flight delay. When taking out the insurance, you will just need to clarify whether it is a one-way or round-trip contract.

• To receive the insurance payment, you need to contact the representatives of the airport or airline for a certificate of flight delay, the document must be signed and stamped.

• The certificate you receive is given to your insurance company within 30 days.

• You apply for the insurance payout and enclose your ticket and boarding pass.

Insurance by bank card

A relatively new type of insurance service is drawing up a policy at your bank. To draw up a contract, you need to go to the bank office, show your passport and bank card. Gold and Platinum cards give you the opportunity to take out an insurance policy for free. And regular cards offer discounts when you pay for insurance. It's more profitable than buying a policy through an insurance company.

Today, it's possible to take out an insurance policy online, without going to the office. You can arrange an insurance policy for travel to Thailand in any insurance company you trust. Their market is constantly growing, replenishing both domestic and foreign offices.

As an example, we will look at the Swiss company Zurich. It is a leading European insurance company that cooperates with all major hospitals in Thailand. For example, with Bangkok HospitalYou can find branches at all popular resorts in Thailand. If you go on an excursion to neighboring Cambodia, you have the opportunity through the Internet to obtain insurance and stay in Cambodia for three days.

In any case, the decision is yours, whether to take out an insurance policy, and which insurance company to choose.

Alas, there is no definite answer. Situations are different, even with reliable and trusted companies. For example, you fall off your motorcycle, but you do not need urgent surgery. In this case, you will receive first aid, but the hospital will want to get a deposit from you for further examination and treatment. This is despite the fact that the hospital has a reliable partnership with your assistance company. The explanation is simple: tests (not free and expensive) may show the presence of alcohol in your blood, and the insurance company will absolutely refuse to pay for treatment

The most common insurance cases in Thailand

• Food poisoning due to poor quality food, dirty water, or food that is not familiar to your body.

• Heat strokes and sunburns. Hot tropical climates are not usual for us. Our skin can get sunburn even in cloudy weather. It doesn't cover bites from snakes, insects, etc.

• Colds and sore throats. All this is due to the mode of operation of Thai air conditioners. Especially after long bus tours, tourists get sick.

• In active sports, injuries are common.

Rules for using the insurance policy

• You should always have your insurance card with your other documents and keep a scanned version of it on your computer.

• If an insured event occurs, contact your insurer or assistance center immediately at the phone number listed in the contract. Your relatives can do this for you.

• Describe the situation clearly.

• Get instructions and act on them.

• If the hospital asks you about payment for services, call your insurance company right away and clarify the situation.

• Do not agree to the insurer's offer to pay yourself with the subsequent reimbursement of this amount to you. It will be difficult to get it.

• If the insurance company did not send a letter of guarantee, pay the costs yourself, keep all the documents and show them to the insurer when you return from your trip.

• It is mandatory to have a blood alcohol certificate on the documents you submit. If you do not have this certificate or if alcohol is detected, the insurance company will not cover your expenses.

• If your health insurance does not provide full coverage, do not use it to treat your chronic illnesses abroad. It only covers sudden problems that arise.

• If the illness is your fault, the insurance company will not pay for your treatment. Does not cover STDs, dental care, colds, bruises, or tests.

• Be sure to call your insurance company before each hospital visit or reassessment appointment. Explain the situation and verify that you have paid for the newly scheduled procedures.