Best Health Insurance for Expats in Thailand

If you want to find the best health insurance in Thailand, then you’re at the right place.

I see many expats approach long-term health insurance the same way they approach buying travel insurance. That is, they get some online quotes and pick the cheapest one.

The problem with this approach is that cheap policies always exclude certain benefits.

In this guide, I’ve put together 7 steps that you can work through to find the best health insurance for expats in Thailand.

If you have the time, I’ve also linked to some additional articles below that can be helpful in explaining the steps in greater detail.

There are many factors to consider and lots to learn, so let’s get into it.

Step 1: Understand policy wording and benefits

The more I learn about insurance policies in Thailand, the more I see how benefits are being excluded or limited.

A limited benefit can mean either that the benefit doesn’t provide full coverage for that benefit, or that the amount paid out on a claim is limited.

Alternatively, some policies will offer a high plan coverage together with as-charged benefits, providing full benefit coverage as long as your plan coverage isn’t reached.

The AIA Health Happy policy is a good example of a policy with these benefits.

Insurance companies in Thailand also like to limit benefits depending on whether you’re receiving In-Patient Department (IPD) treatment or Out-Patient Department (OPD) treatment.

By understanding the policy wording and benefits, you’ll be in a better position to choose the best health insurance that’s right for you.

To do this, I highly recommend that you read an article I wrote called policy wording and benefits which covers contract benefits in more detail.

Step 2: Combine different policy types

You might find some health insurance online, purchase it, and think you’re done. But be careful, you might not be properly covered.

In Thailand insurance companies like to offer multiple insurance policies instead of one large policy that covers everything.

They do this for two reasons;

1. to keep the policy premiums low, and
2. to provide more targeted benefits that a customer may be looking for.

Okay so I know this article is about health insurance, aka hospital cover, but also keep in mind critical illnesses, life insurance, and personal accident insurance.

Remember, the best health insurance for you should include the benefits you need.

If the policy you’re looking at doesn’t include all the benefits you need, you can either look for a different policy, or you can combine different policy types.

But don’t worry, additional or add-on policies aren’t necessarily expensive. I’d recommend you think hard about which benefits matter the most to you.

Here are some reasons why someone might want to group different policy types together.

• It could be that someone has a family history of cancer, and they’re concerned about possible expensive treatments in the future. Make sure that you have a health insurance policy with a large “plan coverage” and “as-charged” benefits. Also, add critical illness cover which provides a lump sum pay-out, to cover non-hospital related costs.
• What about someone who has a family in Thailand that relies on their monthly income? Look at a combination of life insurance, together with health insurance. Life insurance is the best way to write off debt when you pass, or it can cover a future expense such as a child’s future university fees. Main plus rider policies that include a savings or investment portfolio can also be helpful.
• Some people have high blood pressure, or they are concerned about another ailment. If they get sick and cannot work, they might not have enough savings to cover expenses. Look for a policy which covers critical illnesses and provides hospitalization benefits (pays per day hospitalized).
• Some people are very active or feel like they could be at more of a risk because they ride a motorcycle. Make sure you include some accident insurance in your portfolio. Some low to middle cost health insurance policies don’t have very good out-patient treatment (OPD). Therefore, it might be a lot cheaper just to add accident cover instead of paying for a higher plan.

Remember that the best health insurance might not be a single policy, but instead when you group different policy types together.

Step 3: Choose the policy structure

Insurance companies also structure policies differently.

All insurance companies offer “standalone” policies which include only a main policy. These are the types of policies you are probably most familiar with.

However, some insurance companies in Thailand offer a different structure, where there is a main policy together with rider policies. You can think of these as long-term policies.

There are three big advantages of a long-term contract.

1. You don’t have to renew the main contract every year, but you can cancel it at any time.
2. When you get a main + rider policy, the main policy’s premium doesn’t increase every year.
3. Once the contract term of the main policy is finished, you don’t have to pay for it anymore. You can enjoy the benefits of the policy until the age of 99.

When you want to group different policy types together, the main plus rider(s) structure works really well.

You can consider all policies to be unique in some way or another. For example, if you look at the AIA Senior Happy, it’s a main standalone policy that has no premium increases and ends at the age of 90.

So when deciding on an insurance policy in Thailand, always check and understand the policy structure.

Step 4: Calculate your insurance budget

There are two approaches to finding insurance.

In the first approach, a person compares a few policies and picks the cheapest one. In the second approach the person first calculates how much they can spend on insurance, then looks for insurance in that price class.

If you are an expat, I highly recommend you calculate your insurance budget first, then find the best insurance policy in that price range.

The first approach is fine when you are looking for something short-term like travel insurance, because the benefits of travel insurance are usually very good.

There are many factors that affect the insurance premium, factors such as;

• Your demographics
• The insurance area of coverage
• Personal factors
• Your occupation and employer contributions

If you’d like to learn more about these factors, you can have a look in the link mentioned above.

Step 5: Compare insurance in your price class

Insurance companies target customers in three different price classes; low, middle, and high.

They do so by offering policies in each of the price classes, and naturally, the benefits will be better in the higher price class.

Using price classes, we can more easily compare insurance policies between companies, which will help you find the policy that is best for you.

Let’s compare the health insurance policies of AIA, AXA, Cigna, and Pacific Cross.

As you can see from the diagram above, insurance companies like to provide customers with options in each of the price classes. This caters to customers with different budgets.

Be mindful though that the way insurance companies advertise their policies might make identifying the price class quite difficult.

Sometimes insurance companies like to add optional benefits to policies, which makes them look better comparatively, but don’t be fooled. The optional benefits just make it easier to identify which benefits are excluded in the policy.

Doing your own research and spending some time comparing policies in the same price class will definitely put you a step closer to finding the best health insurance in Thailand.

Step 6: Choose an insurance company

When you find a health insurance policy that you like, it’s time to do some research on the company providing it.

These days there are so many insurance companies and brokers advertising insurance that it’s difficult to sort through the noise and decide who to buy with.

But does it really matter which company you choose? Yes, it does.

Try to think of insurance in Thailand as a long-term relationship.

When you choose a strong insurance company and keep the relationship going, you’ll be able to rely on the company to do their part.

However, if you choose to work with a weak insurance company, it won’t end well and it will hurt your relationship with any future insurance companies. This happens often in Thailand.

The stronger the insurance company is, the more likely they are to;

• Approve you and your medical conditions.
• Pay your claims.
• Not cancel your policy after many claims.
• Have a larger network of hospitals.
• Have fewer exclusions and conditions.

You can spot companies that are doing well when you see many of their branches around your city. The insurance company’s market share in Thailand or Asia is also a good indicator.

Now if you have a policy and a company in mind, it’s time for the next choice.

You need to decide if you plan to work with the insurance company directly or indirectly.

If you choose to work directly with an insurance company, you’ll either work through an agent, or you’ll email or phone the company directly and speak to customer care.

Be mindful though that customer care is not the same as an agent.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to work directly with a company, you can work through a broker who will contact the insurance company on your behalf.

Sometimes choosing what level of after-sales service you want will influence your decision.

If you look at the diagram above, you’ll notice that an agent is responsible for customer support. However, if you choose to work directly with the company or broker, you will need to contact the company’s call centre for support.

Choosing the best policy, the right insurance company, and whether to work directly or indirectly with the company is actually closely related to the next step.

Let’s have a look.

Step 7: Choose an agent or broker

Okay yes, you can also buy directly through an insurance company if you wish. However, let me try to explain why it’s better to work through either an agent or broker.

Insurance agents are employed by insurance companies and offer products and services to customers on the company’s behalf.

A broker, on the other hand, is an independent intermediary who offers the customer multiple products from different insurance companies.

It’s easy to find brokers online and convenient to apply for insurance with them.

In the diagram above I’ve highlighted a few benefits of both agent and broker.

However, if you’d like to learn more about the differences, I suggest you check out my article, Agent vs Broker in Thailand, who is the best for you?

Being an AIA agent I believe that getting the right insurance with all the benefits is better than a cheap policy with many holes.

Also in Thailand making claims, doing hospital administration, and dealing with the insurance companies require ongoing support which an agent will do because it’s part of their job.

In conclusion

If you’d like to find the best health insurance in Thailand, you’ll need to understand how the policy wording and benefits are used in contracts.

You’ll also need to group insurances together, choose the best policy type, calculate a health insurance budget, and compare policies in similar price classes.

Lastly, I recommend choosing a strong insurance company in Thailand and asking either an agent or broker to assist you with the contract.

If you have any additional questions about how to find the best health insurance, feel free to send me a message.