How to choose the right travel insurance for Thailand?
When planning your Thai holiday, it’s important to include the expense of travel insurance into your budget, and to ensure that your level of cover is adequate for your vacation itinerary.
Simply choosing the cheapest option might mean that you’re not covered for all eventualities. For example, if you think that you might hire a moped to explore the area around your holiday resort, you’ll need to ensure that you take out extra moped/motorcycle cover as part of your travel insurance.
If you compare travel insurance for Thailand with Canstar, in addition to cover limits for medical treatments and the theft or loss of your possessions, you can see clearly whether cover for motorcycles and mopeds is available as an optional extra.
What does travel insurance for Thailand cover?
Most general travel insurance policies for Thailand include cover for:
Medical and dental treatment expenses
This includes admission to hospital, medical treatments, emergency dental work and evacuation/repatriation to Australia.
Stolen or lost luggage and travel documents
Covers the cost of replacing personal possessions or travel documents, such as passports, lost or stolen overseas.
Unforeseen cancellation or amendment of holiday plans
Life is unpredictable, and illnesses and bad weather can put holiday plans on hold, or cause major changes to itineraries, which can be expensive if you don’t have travel insurance coverage.
Legal liability
Legal liability covers you for any accidental damage you cause to other people or their property while you’re on holiday, including any related legal fees.
Optional extras
Optional extra cover packages offered by travel insurance providers can include: riding a motorbike or moped, rental vehicle insurance excess, cover for individual high-value personal items, existing serious medical conditions, late-term pregnancy, pet kennelling and loss of income due to serious injury overseas.
Repatriation
Should tragedy strike and somebody loses their life while on holiday, repatriation cover will meet the costs of returning their body home. Some policies also include funds to cover funeral expenses.
What does travel insurance for Thailand not cover?
General exclusions included in most travel insurance product disclosure statements include:
Do not travel warnings
Travel insurance will not cover you if the Australian government has issued a do-not-travel or a reconsider-travelling warning for your destination, be it an entire country or just a specific region. As mentioned above, there is currently a reconsider-your-travel warning in place for the Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. So always check at www.smartraveller.gov.au before you travel for the latest updates on the area in Thailand you’re planning to visit.
Medical tourism
Thailand is a popular destination for cosmetic surgery. However, standard travel insurance will not cover you for expenses incurred due to any issues that arise from elective or cosmetic procedures.
Failing to take due care
If you intentionally put yourself, your property, or others at risk through reckless behaviour, any resulting losses are unlikely to be covered under your insurance. This includes leaving your possessions unattended where they can be stolen easily.
Unreported items
All losses must be reported to your insurance company as soon as possible, and thefts should be reported to the local police. Your insurance company may require a police report to verify your claim.
Acting unlawfully
An insurance company is unlikely to pay any claim for a loss or injury incurred while you were breaking the law. It’s worth noting that Thailand has particularly strict laws concerning insulting the country’s monarchy, and it’s illegal to travel in the country without identification. Vaping and vape products are also against the law, as is smoking cigarettes on many tourist beaches.
Riding a motorcycle or moped, whether as the driver or a passenger
Even if you take out additional insurance to cover yourself while riding a motorcycle or moped in Thailand, you must carefully read the small print to check what level of cover the policy provides. Often the cover is limited to less powerful bikes, under 200cc, and the driver must have a valid driver licence to operate the vehicle. You must also always wear a helmet.
Being under the influence
Any claims made for loss while under the influence of drink or drugs will be rejected.
Pre-existing health conditions
Pre-existing, acute health conditions are usually not covered by regular travel insurance, although many insurance providers do offer specialised optional cover for those with serious health issues.
Pregnancy
Issues arising due to a late-term pregnancy, such as childbirth costs, are usually only covered by optional additional pregnancy cover.
How much does travel insurance cost for Thailand?
At time of writing, standard comprehensive travel insurance for Thailand without any level of motorbike or moped cover for a one-week trip for a couple costs between approx $176-$240, while policies with additional motorbike/moped cover cost between $216-$265. Prices and levels of cover vary, however, depending on your choice of insurance provider and travel details. You can compare travel insurance with Canstar to find travel insurance that suits your requirements and budget.