I want to try and do things proberly this time round. I assume that we are not insured for falling off motorbikes and that we have to claim off the drivers insurance (yer right)

So if i fall off a taxi motorbike is my medical expenses covered by the standard insurance?

If i fall off my own rented motorbike (assumed no insurance) can i claim? even if i claim to be a passenger?


Just worried about coming off and not being able to pay. On my first trip i got a full sports package added on to the insurance just to cover my ass a bit better!! Does anyone have any advice?

Read the policy before you buy it. I'd suggest paying particular attention to the list of exceptions. It is here that you will find out if you are covered on motorbikes or not.

Thats the thing i dont think any insurance company covers it, does any one know a company that does?

if you have alcohol in your system your not covered, guess were,re all fucked

Jupps, so it is for sure

I have had a look at the insurance that I usually take. It says as long as you have an Australian motor cycle licence you are covered. It also says you are covered if you are a passenger with a driver with a local licence.

It states that if you are affected by alcohol you are not recovered. I'll have to take care as I am not covered for sexually transmitted disease.

I got some travel insurance in the UK a long time ago. I remember that the cover was fairly limited (compared to Australian policies.) In Australia things like skiing and other sports are covered in the standard policies. I found that in the UK you have to pay extra on top of the standard fee for the same cover.

This is my first post of this board and must say that I am enjoying reading the stories and looking at the the good photos. It is good to see a board that has no links to any particular business.

Anyway back to the topic of this thread. Whatever you do make sure you have travel insurance. I have just spent 5 weeks in Pattaya and thinking I was bullet proof I never worried about getting insurance.

I got sick on Boxing day and felt like shit, so the next day I ended up going to hospital and they said I had dengue fever. They wanted to admit me but I said just give some medication and send me home. Not getting any better and after a couple more visits for more pills they demanded that I be admitted. They quoted 30,000 baht for the 1st night and 17,000 baht for each other night. They put me on an IV drip for 24 hours and gave me all sorts of pills and after 24 hours I was well enough to go home. The bill ended up being 18,000 baht so I don't know where the original quote came from.

So if I got admitted when I first got sick then maybe I wouldn't have felt like I was on death's door for the last 2 weeks of my holiday. I urge all BM's to take out insurance before they travel.

PS: My Thai wife had enough of me hanging around the house being sick that she told me to get out and go have a short time somewhere. If only I had some power, then she wouldn't have seen me for a week.

Firstly a quick warning re the above - if you are diagnosed with Dengue for f***s sake get in hospital. Dengue is a KILLER. ChonBuri Province has the 2nd highest incidencerate of Dengue in Thailand. Two young European girls died from dengue not all that long ago. The hospital was NOT being money grabbing this is SERIOUS stuff. There are about 75,000 (reported) cases a year of which less than 1% are fatal but PLEASE don't take the risk - the fatal ones are almost certainly the ones that fail to take medical advice. Even if you are not sure - a quick blood test is cheap.

With regard to moto cover - if you know you are going to hire a bike or car it would be best to insure via a broker and ask for a policy that specifically covers that. Like any insurance it will be invalidated if you are not up to speed yourself i.e. if you ride a large bike with no bike licence or dont wear a helmet. I posted a few weeks ago that the Bib seem to be cracking down on farang riders recently whereas historicaly they have left farang alone and concentrated on Thais.

Remember, although a lot of the guys will hire you a bike willy-nily you are SUPPOSED to have the correct licence to drive it and the law requires you to wear a helmet at all times.

Hi grogmonster, welcome to PA.

going by the costs in chiang mai that sounds like a serious rip off.

In chiang mai at the BEST hospital in north Thailand

1 night in a private VIP room with private 24 hour nurse care is 2000 baht, even with a IV that would not add much more they just made up a number on the spot to see your reaction they do it all the time.

My wife needed an operation that is how I know the costs in the hospital as I got a total breakdown befored I signed the papers, at first they said it would be 75000 baht I laughed at them and said I would take her to Yannee hospital in BKK the price dropped to 38000 baht 10 mins later after they give me a "special discount" (out of that the surgeons fee was 28000 baht),they take the piss it is standard policy to have dual pricing in hospitals.

GOOD post mate. The hospitals are (probably) the worst protagonsists of the dual pricing ethos here in Thailand.

I don't want to be hypocritical as I used to get REALLY annoyed about the thousands of Germans nd other EU members coming to the UK to "use" the free NHS so I AM prepared to pay more than a Thai (especially as I am a non tax payer here) but they really do take the piss.

When we first came to Pattaya my son had stomach cramps. All the family have had enteritis in Thailand many times but I never take risk with a 3yo so my wife took him to the Bangkok Pattaya Hosptial on Sukhumvit road. The fist thing they asked was "have you got insurance" and she told them that we had. They then asked his name - David Fletcher.

She was quoted 20,000 for ONE nights observation!! While waiting for the doctor she talked to another Thai whose daughter had just been admitted for a fee of 2000 per night!!?? When she asked why the difference they just said straight up "because he is farang". She showed them his Thai Passport but they were still reluctant saying he had an "obvious farang name". They also started banging on about why should we worry as the insurance company would pay anyway.

BUT its a lot easier to pay 2000 cash and not have to bother with a claim form and all the rigmarole that goes with it - to say nothing of the risk of increased premiums.

The difference bwtween 2,000 and 20,000 is just ridiculous as the sevice level (I assume) would be the same.

They came down to 6000 but would NOT budge lower than that - repeatedly citing the "farang name" issue.

I am a little surprised that the big insurers such as BUPA havent lobbied about this as it is usually THEM who foots the bills.

Sorry to effectively repost guys but we have noticed a MARKED increase in the Mozzie population in the last week or so. I m not sure if its "mozzie season" but the increase is real and quite substantial.

2 points I wanted to make

1. Get a good repellant and use it.

2. If you get the symptoms get a check up, a blood test is a few hundred baht at the hospital. It feels like flu, you don't (usually) feel sick but feel run down and aching especially in the liver, kidney and bones (hence the nic-name breakbone fever). if you feel this way do NOT be complacent about it.

As the original post says, Chonburi Province is 2nd highest in the dengue league - spending a few baht on a repellant is a worthwhile precaution.