Travel insurance-does anyone bother?

[DayShift 0]

i.e.  medical and general cover etc

Does anyone bother? How much is cover?

Does anyone know? Any opinions? Is it worth it?

 

DayShift

[Eneukman 1]

I would never travel abroad without travel insurance. I have never yet had to make a claim but let's just say that you get knocked down whilst trying to cross 2nd Road (always a real possibility) and suffer a broken leg.

 

If you have insurance cover that will cover the cost of any hospital treatment in Thailand plus the additional costs involved in getting you back home. Also, if you can't prove that you have insurance cover, you could find it difficult to get treatment in Thailand or be forced to pay for it up front.

 

Don't know about costs where you are, but my annual policy in the UK costs just over £50 per annum though that does exclude winter sports.

 

Alan

[sparkey1 0]

Any exclusions for diving ?? Muff diving that is !!

 

Sparkey

[jambo 0]

A couple of years ago I was on a flight that diverted to make an unscheduled landing in Portugal. Someone on the flight had, what I learnt later, was an angina attack. They suspected a heart attack at the time.

 

The family concerned were presented with the bill for the landing etc  which came to several thousand pounds - airport costs, refueling, engineer inspection, paramedics, hospital etc.

 

They didn't have travel insurance!![smiley=crying.gif]

[Dave 21]

I just rely on the free travel insurance that comes with using certain Banks and credit cards,the Bank I use covers me for the following free

 

cancellation £3000

Curtailment £3000

Missed Departure £300

Death £15000

Loose a Limb £25000

Medical £5000,000

Personel LIABILTY £2000,000

 

The list continues so I don't see the point in paying if you can get a good Insurance for free, they try and screw us anyway for claims. ;D

[monkeyman 1,597]

my annual policy in the UK costs just over £50 per annum though that does exclude winter sports.

No use in LOS then, eh?

 

I get free travel insurance from my bank as long as any part of the trip is paid for using one of their cards.

 

Always worth checking with your bank and credit card companies as you may be eligible for free insurance and not be aware of it. ;D

 

be seeing you

monkeyman

[valentinoxxx 4]

May be even more useful if  the bank accounts and credit cards that are being used are named.

[Fonz 0]

In NZ if you use your credit card to pay for travel the agents put surcharge on the  fare cost

Can`t remember what the % is also the free insurance only with a gold card.

[landy2a 0]

Fonz, I just paid today for my next trip through Harvey world Travel and they charged 1% surchage. Using an ANZ Qantas Visa card gave me bonus frequent flyer points so that took the sting out of it.

 

Dayshift, I purchased last year an all inclusive package, 12 month, multi trip from Columbus Direct 1300 669 999 for AUD 179.99. Their excesses are high and you can only be out ot the Australia for 60 days but if you end in Bangkok Pattaya hospital for two weeks an excess of AUD 250 is the least of your worries. As the old saying goes " If you cannot afford the insurance, you cannot afford the trip".

 

 

John

[DayShift 0]

Ok, thanks chaps, you've convinced me. It looks like my credit card won't qualify.

So my next questions are:

1. Where can I buy travel insurance in Pattaya? Travel agents? If so which ones?

2. Which international companies would you recommend? Most reliable, best cover etc. I will only be in Pattaya a couple of weeks before heading back to home country.

 

I have only a couple of days to go before I hit Pattaya, and am coming from another Asian country where I have been working and therefore covered by the job. I don't have time to buy before I leave. Damn! Wish I had thought of it earlier!

 

Cheers and thanks

[landy2a 0]

Dayshift, www.worldnomads.com.au  , buy on line.

 

John

[Crackpot 2]

I have a TSB Gold account which gives me world wide travel and Holiday Insurance. I also pay the extra 20 quid to have my daughter put on it.

 

You would be very silly to go to anywhere without Insurance these days

[Alfred 26]

I always take basic cover for anything major, i dont bother with all the bullshit options as i travel light, all i really want is medical as that is the one that if you dont have can get you in serious financial shit and which if you dont have, you are bloody stupid.

 

It does not cost alot, some Credit cards offer free insurance if you pay for your ticket with there card, not sure how good the cover is though ?, the agents here in Oz hit you with a fee if you pay by CC, to recover the % they have to pay, so i always source my own cover.

 

Like condoms, dont leave home for LOS without them!  

[valentinoxxx 4]

Advice for UK residents;

 

http://www.freelancerbar.com/cgi-bin/yabb/...60853;start=8#8

[short 215]

If you have no money, they can't take it away from you.

 

If you have insurance, thats like a tourist waving a stuffed wallet waiting to be mugged.   No one mugs a vagrant.

[Phantom0z 0]

The last couple of years I've been relying on the "free" insurance which is provided when I use my card when purchasing tickets.

 

While it might seem like a bonus, if you carefully read the fine print it's not always as it seems.

 

Last year while I was in the 'pines I had a bit of a fall walking into those damn bars with the steps leading down. Didn't realise it at the time (although it hurt like hell) I'd actually fractured a couple of bones in my wrist as well as spraining my ankle.

 

Checked the policy and it seems if the "accident" was my fault, i.e no one else caused it by way of pushing me, then I wasn't covered.

 

Hmmm, not much of an insurance policy if that's the case.

 

So best advice for full peace of mind is to spring for a proper insurance policy, but still read the damn thing.  

[Crackpot 2]

If you have no money, they can't take it away from you.

 

If you have insurance, thats like a tourist waving a stuffed wallet waiting to be mugged.   No one mugs a vagrant.

 

 

What a bloody stupid ridiculous purile, dangerous post.

 

Does a car hiiting you ask if you have money or insurance?

Does a food bug ask to see if you have money before making you near deathly sick

What crass stupidity.

 

Whilst in Scotalnd last year I read in the local paper of a young chap who went to France on a canoeing Holiday.

 

After a day canoeing in the Ardeche he dived into the River for a swim. His head hit a submerged rock.

 

He was in Hospital in France, near death for 3 months.

He had no Insurance. His family had to re-mortgage their home to pay his Hospital bills. yes thay could reclaim a lot of it back but they had to pay it first.

 

Going outside ones own Country without Insurance is the silliest thing anyone can do.

[gahrok 0]

Having to cough up first and claim it back later is often the norm with insurance policies in Asia.

I have insurance via work with one of the big providers and have certainly had to go this route for treatment in Thailand. Even though supposedly the Bkk-Patt is one of the affiliated hospitals that participate in the corporate insurance scheme. I thought this would mean present yer card and they would charge directly to the insurer. Yeah right, I don't trhink that anymore:)

Only minor ailments, and minor expenditure, in fact so minor that I didn't even bother to claim it back, may be a diffrent story if anything serious was involved.  

[nidnoyham 30]

How about the Thai Ladies comng to U.K. etc.

Does anyone insure them for medical treatment ?

 

Can you do it at home or in LOS ?

 

And Crackpot- wiping your bum on a broken bottle is pretty silly too ! [smiley=yikes.gif] [smiley=yikes.gif] [smiley=yikes.gif]

[DayShift 0]

Thanks Landy2a, I did just that - World Nomads online. Very easy and convenient.

 

Cheers

DayShift

[Shit_Happens 31]

I certainly would not travel without insurance. Only this week one of my clients came down with a serious illness whilst visiting a mine on a little island off the coast of PNG. The emergency assistance program kicked in and the insurer picked up the cost of a charter flight to get him off the island and back to Port Moresby, $25,000, plus all other ongoing costs to return him to Australia. All up the cost will be around $35,000.

But I would not rely on free covers offered with Credit Cards. I would be buying a proper policy from a specialist travel insurer.

[Daveuk 28]

Does anyone remember the unfortunate Winston ?. Over a period he placed a series of wonderful posts on the board of his adventures in Pattaya. But one day he had a serious motorbike accident and was seriously hurt. With no insurance and limited funds he was in deep shit and a rescue attempt had to be mounted by board members.

Don't travel away from your home country without insurance - its worth it if only for peace of mind.

[torrenova 644]

I can't comment on other countries but the "free" insurance offered by many UK based credit cards is actually not travel insurance at all, but merely covers some of the less likely events which might occur.

 

In addition, some cards which may offer comprehensive insurance, may only do so if the purchase of flight / holiday etc. was made with the said credit card. As more and more agencies are charging fees for using credit cards, guys should remember that not using the right card might invalidate the insurance policy.

[Yujin 18]

Winston's need to return home for proper medical treatment is an important lesson for all of us.

 

Many of us have health insurance through our employers or credit cards that will cover treatment overseas.  However, getting back  home is the problem if you're seriously ill or injured and can't fly via a commercial airlines.  

 

The only "travel" insurance that I buy is medical evacuation or air ambulance coverage through http://www.medjetassistance.com/  You can purchase coverage for an entire year or several weeks.      

 

A friend of mine had the fortune or misfortune of using their services.  While in Ecuador, he jumped off the top of a waterfall, hit the water wrong, and broke his back.  Within three days, an air ambulance flew down to Quito to pick him up and fly him back to a hospital in his hometown of San Francisco.   He was totally amazed and grateful at their quick response.  

[VoxVader 1]

Blue cross Thailand seems very reasonable:

 

http://www.bupathailand.com/personal.asp#

 

-Vox