When choosing an insurance company, modern tourists are forced to spend hours browsing various websites and travel forums. Finding the necessary information about the most optimal medical insurance for traveling abroad takes a lot of effort and nerves.
Obtaining medical insurance in Thailand is not a mandatory procedure, since a visa-free regime of stay in the country is valid for Russian tourists, equal to 30 days. Going to the land of smiles on a package tour, the travel company will take care of its own tourist insurance. If travelers plan to visit Thailand on their own, then for their own safety, they will have to buy their own travel insurance.
Since Thailand is an exotic country, vacationers may face the following troubles:
- acclimatization;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- poisoning;
- various injuries while riding a bike or extreme sports;
- venereal diseases.
Most of the problems with travel insurance are primarily due to the fact that the insurance events themselves in Thailand and any other foreign country will not be dealt with by the company itself, but by its assistance. Some firms may not have a representative office in Thailand or at a particular resort, but still issue insurance online, offering customers attractive prices.
The main criteria for choosing insurance abroad
First, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of insured events that are included in the service package. Do not be afraid to ask the manager questions about what will happen in this or that insurance event. This will allow tourists to understand what they can expect and, perhaps, be more careful in some matters. Sunburns, food poisoning, complications of chronic diseases and allergic reactions can become such controversial points for paying for a doctor's appointment and treatment.
The second important point of any insurance for traveling abroad is the deductible. Better to give up such options right away. If a doctor's appointment will cost a tourist less than the amount established by the deductible (less than $ 100, $ 200), then all costs will have to be borne. Such medical insurance will justify itself only in case of serious appeals, when the amount of the check after the first appointment with the doctor exceeds the deductible. The only plus of such insurance options is to save the tourist's money, since such insurance costs less than usual. Most often, an ordinary doctor's appointment at a Thai hospital can range from $ 50 to $ 200.
When a tourist plans to stay in the country and actively use a bike for movement, go hiking in the jungle and engage in extreme sports, then you should definitely add an appropriate option to your health insurance. This addition will increase the cost of the overall package of services, but in the event of injuries, the traveler can be sure that his treatment will be paid by the insurance company in full. When riding a bike, the main thing is to have a license of the appropriate category and be sober. Otherwise, it makes no sense to spend money on expensive insurance.
The amount of coverage for insurance costs must not be less than $ 30,000. Also, the cost of insurance will depend on the number of days of stay in Thailand. Moreover, sometimes the annual service can be cheaper for tourists than taking out insurance abroad for 2 or 3 months. The beginning of the insurance period is counted from the moment the tourist leaves the territory of his country. If the tourist returns and re-enters Thailand, the old insurance will no longer be valid, even if it has not yet expired.
It is worth remembering that when buying insurance online, the policy does not begin to operate from the moment it is issued and paid, but after a few days. Therefore, you should not count on emergency assistance in this case.
If alcohol is found in the blood of a tourist on whom a coconut fell, he will be denied insurance, even if alcohol was not the cause of the injury.
In order not to worry on the spot, it is better to immediately find out the list of hospitals with which the insurance company's assistant works. If there are few hospitals or they are located inconveniently to the place of rest, then it is better to choose another company and its representative for insurance. This is especially true for families with children in any tropical country. When applying for medical insurance, it is worth indicating all the countries that you can visit during the trip.
Some insurance companies do not pay the costs of medical treatment for their tourists immediately, or they perform all the operations necessary for money transfers extremely slowly. Therefore, travelers should be prepared to pay for the call, doctor's examination and medications on their own, or leave their passport for deposit until the assistant approves the payment to the hospital. The insurance company must reimburse all the money paid to the clinic for the tourist upon his return to Russia. It is better to avoid companies operating on this principle, since it is sometimes difficult to get your money back even with checks brought from a Thai hospital.
After the occurrence of an insured event, the assistance does not always act promptly, and when you call the company, the phone may not have a doctor, and an ordinary manager will talk to you. Also, you will often have to get to the hospital on your own, so its proximity will only play into the hands of tourists.
Ideally, the insurance company should warn the hospital in advance about the arrival of the patient, and the doctors themselves should come to the address indicated by the tourists and conduct an examination.
It is better to find out in advance whether your insurance will pay for this doctor's appointment, since after the examination and dispensing of medications, you will have to pay money for the service provided in any case. Most often, follow-up appointments are not paid by the insurance company, so you should not abuse hospital visits.
