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Insurance mandatory for long-stay foreigners


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K.S. I think the world Insurance industry have 'greeded' themselves into a corner

Here in NZ, all of the big companies are either raising premiums, cancelling policies, and/or refusing new business.

Why? well 20, 30, 40, 50 yrs ago, they agreed to insure a bunch of folks. Yes us, the NZ public, we had money, they wanted it.

They priced in the risk, calculated the premiums, and collected the premiums all this time. Then there was an earthquake and they had to pay out a lot. They don't wanna.

So their basic deal, the one they proposed and agreed to, has fallen over.

Scum sucking thieves, and they won't refund the premiums, for the cancelled policies either, government is getting involved, but noises are being made, about "too big to fail"and other such bull shit.

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  • 4 months later...

New Health Insurance Requirement for Long-Stay Visa Applicants (November 8, 2019)

Location:  Thailand

Event:  As of October 31, 2019, Thailand requires all long-stay (O-A and O-X) visa applicants to carry health insurance.  Per Royal Thai Police Order Number 548/2562 dated September 27, 2019, foreign nationals who have been granted a nonimmigrant O-A or O-X visa must purchase health insurance which covers their length of stay in the Kingdom of Thailand.  The coverage must be no less than 400,000 Thai Baht per policy year for inpatient care and not less than 40,000 Thai Baht per policy year for outpatient services. 

U.S. citizens can present proof of existing insurance (U.S.-based or otherwise) that covers them in Thailand or they can purchase an insurance policy via the Thai General Insurance Association’s website at http://longstay.tgia.org 

U.S. citizens will need to download the Overseas Insurance Certificate and have it completed, signed, and stamped by their insurance company if using a non-Thai insurance policy to qualify.

Actions to Take:

·        Visit the Royal Thai Embassy website to review visa requirements.

·        Learn more about Thai health insurance policy options.

·        Learn more about Insurance Providers for Overseas Coverage.

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I googled and found only one Thai insurance company that will even touch folks over 70. So how the hell are you going to get insurance? They wan't 40,000 coverage for a single visit and up to 400,000 total coverage. Well, I have a couple of million baht here in the bank. Shouldn't that be enough for me not to worry about 400,000 for insurance?

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Guess I'm missing the point here but I've been treated for no cost, just like in Australia.  Heaps of medicines, and surgery also, my wife just showed the family book.  I don't know why people misrepresent this. I suppose I'm very well respected in the community but still.  I'm about as farang as they come, Scandinavian blonde hair, bright blue eyes, Nordic skin.  People jump out of their skin when I talk to them in their own language.  Don't forget you are a culture shock to them - ask them out for a date 🙂

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The latest information is that this won't affect those of us on retirement visas. It applies to a special O-A visa which is issued outside the country for folks wanting to come here. The alleged reason is that some folks have fled rather than pay their medical bills. Those already on a regular retirement visa have proven they have plenty of money in the bank or at least income high enough that they should be able pay their hospital bills. (Plus who is going to do a runner if they own a house or condo here?)

Of course, this being Alice in Wonderland, expect different immigration offices to make their own interpretations. e.g. I was talking to a retired US military senior NCO yesterday who lives in Udorn. He told me that Udorn immigration is ignoring the "either or" part of the visa requirement and insisting that retired folks their have to have both ... the money in the bank AND the minimum monthly income. I'd heard stories about the Udorn immigration before, and it seems like it is not a place you'd want to retire in.

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On 11/10/2019 at 6:16 PM, panadolsandwich said:

Guess I'm missing the point here but I've been treated for no cost, just like in Australia.  Heaps of medicines, and surgery also, my wife just showed the family book.  I don't know why people misrepresent this. I suppose I'm very well respected in the community but still.  I'm about as farang as they come, Scandinavian blonde hair, bright blue eyes, Nordic skin.  People jump out of their skin when I talk to them in their own language.  Don't forget you are a culture shock to them - ask them out for a date 🙂

I used to have a 50 baht medical card for Ramathibodi Hospital. You had to go there on week days before noon, but it was certainly a cheap way to seek treatment, if you didn't mind waiting a while to be seen.

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