Health insurance for visitors

Post by **usual suspect** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:37 pm

OK you lot, according to NOKYAI I'm a daft bugger for falling off my mountain bike & smashing my collar-bone.
(He may well be right!)
BUT..just for once I'm not here to whinge or bitch

Those who know me also knows my wife now works for 1 of Thailand's major insurance companies..But..
I also take out 'long-stay' travel insurance for my stay in the Land of Scams while I'm in the UK each autumn.
Well for those of you who visit this fine forum & are thinking of coming over here on holiday, or indeed need long-stay cover like myself..check out the travel cover offered by Liverpool-Victoria (LV).
At this point I must stress I have NO ties to this company..nor does the Mrs.
I cannot praise them enough for their care & service. Straight away they organised an operation to plate my bones at Petcharat hospital, but when I told them I'd prefer to be flown back to the UK due to the risk of secondary infection they
got back to me within a day with a list of flight options.
They rang me twice daily to check on how I was, & actually booked TWO seats on each flight to Manchester so no-one could nudge my shoulder/arm. PLUS a taxi waiting for me at the airport to take me home..

...now that's service...and all for about 1 UK pound per day.
(Of all the companies offering long-stay policies L.V. were also the cheapest)
I will be using them again for sure..(if they don't think I'm to much of a risk

)

Post by **centermid7** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:08 pm

For permanent UK residents only

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:12 pm

We had significant problems 3 times holidaying in Thailand. The first time, I'd insured with a budget company who was offering the same benefits as everybody else. It was then that I learnt the hard way that you don't read the benefits, you read the exclusions. They didn't pay out a penny.

Because of the first event, insurance cover was almost impossible to find. In the end I found a policy offered by NatWest Bank was the only one who would provide cover, and it was free as it was included in their Advantage Gold package (I think that was what it was called). I was already paying for Advantage Gold because of other benefits, which is why it was 'free'. There were 2 further occurrences of the same illness, and they paid out both times - one time included repatriation.

It is always worrying when you are ill because many insurance policies aren't what they seem to be.

I'm very pleased that yours worked out so well for you US.

Post by **Henry 14th** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 5:16 pm

How about flying the other way for a months stay back in the UK?

Can anyone share their experiences as I will require travel insurance for my trip later this year.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkkghkc. Molk a
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Post by **NOKYAI** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 5:45 pm

I know you well enough to stand by my assessment that you are a daft Bugger, but we had talked about the LV policy many months before your accident. You did the right thing in hunting out a policy that covered you for doing daft bugger things and you were fully covered. A lesson to us all.....I'll be giving them a ring before I return next month.

Post by **migrant** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:51 pm

Big Boy wrote:We had significant problems 3 times holidaying in Thailand. The first time, I'd insured with a budget company who was offering the same benefits as everybody else. It was then that I learnt the hard way that you don't read the benefits, you read the exclusions. They didn't pay out a penny.

Because of the first event, insurance cover was almost impossible to find. In the end I found a policy offered by NatWest Bank was the only one who would provide cover, and it was free as it was included in their Advantage Gold package (I think that was what it was called). I was already paying for Advantage Gold because of other benefits, which is why it was 'free'. There were 2 further occurrences of the same illness, and they paid out both times - one time included repatriation.

It is always worrying when you are ill because many insurance policies aren't what they seem to be.

I'm very pleased that yours worked out so well for you US.

As a lawyer told me once, "Most insurance policies have one page telling what they cover, and 99 on what they don't".

Post by **chelsea** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 2:20 pm

About 2.5 years ago I had a big heart attack and had to have bypass and also main valve replaced. After that happened I had all sorts of problems trying to get cover to include me for my existing conditions.

I live in Australia and could get no one I tried to cover me, all were willing to give me normal insurance but not cover my existing problems.

I did find a company called Covermore, I disclosed all that had happened, medication I now have to take etc and have covered me now for 3 more trips and continue to do so at a very reasonable rate.

From memory my last trip in March cost just over $100AUD for normal insurance and and extra $80 to cover my existing conditions.

So if anyone is coming over from Aus with heart related problems and cannot get any cover, you could do worse than to check them out, as we all know to well the perils of traveling with no insurance and the problems that is raises.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:15 pm

Big Boy wrote:Because of the first event, insurance cover was almost impossible to find.

Insurance companies are strange creatures, so It's not clear to me if you couldn't get coverage for a reoccurance of the 'first event' or coverage for holidaying in Thailand.

Post by **Big Boy** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:35 pm

We couldn't get coverage for a re-occurrence of the first event.

We needed a letter from my wife's consultant saying that she was fit to travel, and re-occurrence was very unlikely. Even then, my wife could only get covered via my NatWest Advantage Gold policy, which didn't cost me a penny.

I am sure there must have been others out there who would have provided cover, but I didn't find them.

Post by **Gus** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 5:30 pm

I have just taken out the Thailand Travel Shield insurance policy, 1750thb for my 43 days, hoping not to use the policy.
There are no past history questions that I can see, this is a policy that the Thai government wanted visiting Farangs to have.

Post by **PeteC** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 7:17 pm

Gus wrote:I have just taken out the Thailand Travel Shield insurance policy, 1750thb for my 43 days, hoping not to use the policy.
There are no past history questions that I can see, this is a policy that the Thai government wanted visiting Farangs to have.

Gus, do you have a contact link, phone, address you can post in case others want to investigate and buy? Pete

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 7:23 pm

http://www.tourismthailand.org/ThailandTravelShield/

Post by **NOKYAI** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:32 pm

I also have the Barclays travel insurance but have just the yearly Thailand travel shield for B6900. Seems a good price. I also have some with BUPA for accident from my Thai bank. I hope I never need any of it!

Post by **NOKYAI** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:22 pm

Well I needed that insurance last night!
I'm not entirely sure what happened, I may have hit a temple dog as I crested the hill on the Pala u Rd, but I ended up in the deep storm drain. Scoot and me worse for ware. Grazes,cuts, fractured collar bone which bloody hurts! Taken to Bangkok hospital, great service.i used the BUPA for the first B10,000 and the travel shield today and for the rest of my treatment. It took a few calls to sort out and they wanted lots of ID, drivers licences, passports. I had to sign 20 plus forms and had to wait a couple of hours until they agreed the claim, but all sorted for my treatment now and over the next few weeks.
I guess I could also have use my bike insurance, but didn't think of it at the time?

Post by **Big Boy** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:46 pm

Wow - what a Merry Christmas for you Nokyai.

It could have been worse - glad they've sorted you out. Take care

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