Travel Insurance

Many visitors seem willing to come to Thailand without travel insurance. It is true that medical costs in Thailand are reasonable and will not mount up at the crippling rate that they do in most western countries.

However, even in Thailand medical fees can quickly mount up. Phang Nga is generally a safe place but there are many traffic accidents and of course, anybody can fall ill at any time. Thefts do occasionally happen. There are so many other things that can go wrong when travelling such as air traffic problems, lost baggage, etc.

There have been several recent stories of visitors finding themselves in serious difficulties because they did not have travel insurance. One recent visitor from New Zealand found himself stuck in Thailand after he could not pay his medical bills from a nasty motorbike accident. As if the life threatening injuries and more than a month in hospital were not bad enough, he then found he was not allowed to leave Thailand until he paid his medical bills. It was 2-months before his friends back home and an anonymous benefactor raised enough money to pay the hospital and allow him to return home..

We really do advise visitors to Thailand to get some form of travel insurance. Things can and do go wrong and it is best to be protected. Travel insurance is not expensive and it gives peace of mind and invaluable protection when things go wrong.

You should not purchase your travel insurance from your travel agent. Travel agents offer good deals on package holidays. They offer very poor deals on travel insurance. You should get your insurance from a reputable insurance broker.

For residents of the US and Australia we recommend the following travel insurance services.

If you live outside those countries or if you are planning some kind of higher-risk adventure holiday then we recommend World Nomads. They are earning a growing repuation for their international coverage offering comprehensive travel insurance to residents of 150 countries.

World Nomads travel insurance is designed for adventurous travellers with cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and you can cover some of the more adventurous activities you may get up to.

One final point to consider. If you are a regular traveller then rather than getting an insurance package for your two-week holiday, you may want to consider an annual multi-trip insurance package. If you have more than one holiday a year or even a few weekends away then these can be very good deals.