Do British expats need health insurance in Thailand?

Many people from the United Kingdom seem to have an affinity for Thailand. Not only does Thailand play temporary host to over 800,000 UK tourists each year (accounting for over 5% of the country’s total arrivals), but tens of thousands of Brits have decided that the Land of Smiles provides the lifestyle that they are looking for. Thailand is now home to over 55,000 British expats!

While they have yet to outnumber Elvis fans, is there any way that 55,000 British expats can be wrong? It seems that the answer to that question depends on who you ask. Thailand is a country that is not without its risks, for locals and expatriates alike. All of such risks should be considered when it comes to issues like health and safety in any country that one may be considering a move to. Here, Pacific Prime Thailand provides an article for people from the UK that are either expats in Thailand, or considering a move here. Read on for discussion of local risks and healthcare, and if obtaining private health insurance in Thailand is the best choice for them.

UK travel advisories

When analyzing the risks posed to Brits visiting or living in Thailand, what better source to use than the UK government? According to the foreign travel advice for Thailand provided on gov.uk, there are actually some sections of Thailand along the Thai-Malaysia border that British citizens should steer clear of unless travel there is deemed essential. These include the southern Songkhla province, Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani areas.

The UK government also acknowledges that Thailand’s current political climate is “unpredictable and sometimes volatile”. Terrorism is a concern in Thailand, and bombings due to it have occurred in Bangkok as recently as May of 2017. As far as other crime is concerned, while the majority of trips to Thailand taken by UK citizens are completed incident-free, criminal actions perpetrated against British tourists and expats are not that uncommon.

It should come as no surprise that bag-snatchers and pickpockets are found throughout the country, especially in urban centers, given Thailand’s developing nature. Other crimes to watch out for include:

• Drink spiking/drugging
• Passport theft
• Sexual assault
• Credit card fraud
• Gem scams
• Property scams

There are also a list of popular tourist activities that come with possible risks to safety. Visitors and expats in Thailand would do well to avoid them, but if the following are engaged in, participants should use a provider that is renowned and well trusted:

• SCUBA diving
• Jet skiing or other water sports
• Swimming, diving, rafting, or kayaking near waterfalls
• Swimming in waters where jellyfish are known to dwell, or during monsoon season
• Jungle trekking; with and without an elephant being involved
• Bungee jumping

One final risk to mention is the traffic in Thailand. A Thai or international driving license must be held by an individual in order to operate a vehicle in the country. There are a relatively high number of traffic accidents in Thailand, and the risk of injury or death as the result of a traffic accident increase when driving at night or just before and during any public holiday.

NHS use for British expats

Some Brits may move to Thailand expecting that they will be able to return to the United Kingdom in the event that they need a particularly costly medical procedure. After all, the NHS is designed to take care of British citizens’ medical needs, and expats are still citizens, right? These assertions are true, but expats operating under the assumption that they can depend on the NHS anytime may find themselves disappointed and economically burdened.

For instance, take the example of a British couple who had been living in Zambia for many years until they had an unfortunate circumstance occur in 2017. While travelling home to visit family members, it was reported that the woman in the couple, who was then 7 months pregnant, went into labor prematurely, and ended up having to have the child through the NHS system.

Unfortunately for the family, there were complications during birth that required the newborn to remain in the hospital for an extended time, and the resulting hospital bill came to over GBP 60,000! Expecting that they would be covered as British citizens by the UK’s universal healthcare scheme, the new parents were shocked to find out that, as expats who lived outside of the UK or European Economic Area, they would have to pay for their medical bills themselves. Even worse, due to UK law changes in 2015, as non-residents receiving NHS care, they would be required to pay 150% of the cost incurred, and without private medical insurance that provided coverage in the UK, the couple would have to pay out-of-pocket.

Needless to say, this is the type of situation that anyone would want to avoid.

Local healthcare and insurance

Once legally residing in Thailand, British expats will be able to receive healthcare in the country via the country’s universal healthcare system as long as they have a work permit. This involves each individual being assigned a local medical facility that is their go-to source of medical care, and care received in an assigned hospital will be free of charge, or otherwise highly affordable.

The issue for many British expats on this point is that, depending on where in Thailand they live, medical care received may not be up to their expected standards. It’s understandable that the British standard for healthcare may be beyond what is found in some Thai hospitals. While the local healthcare system is plagued by many of the same issues seen in other countries with universal healthcare, such as long waiting times or impersonal service, the care received is simply often of a lower quality. This can be because doctors are not as well trained, staff might not be able to communicate effectively in English, or simply because public hospitals in Thailand are not funded well enough to keep up with the latest medical technologies and procedures.

As such, many British expatriates in Thailand prefer to avail themselves of the private or international hospitals in the country for their healthcare needs, due to the superior care and 5-star accommodations found within them. This, of course, will not be covered by the Thai universal healthcare system, so medical bills in private hospitals must be paid for either out of pocket, or with health insurance.

In the event that an expat is not covered by insurance provided by an employer, as well as in cases where employer-provided insurance is insufficient, British expats will need to find a plan of their own. There are really two options on this point: Get a local health insurance plan that will cover medical costs incurred in Thailand alone, or purchase an international health insurance plan that will cover medical costs incurred in virtually any country or hospital around the world, including back at home in the UK.

Contact us

So, if you are or will be living in Thailand as a British expat, is securing a private medical insurance policy right for you? Hopefully with the information provided above you can set yourself on the right track towards coming to the best decision. The above article certainly can’t give you all the answers, though. Never fear! The helpful agents are Pacific Prime Thailand are ready to help!

Simply contact us today and our insurance advisers will gladly answer any questions you have about healthcare or health insurance in Thailand, or virtually any other country in the world, for that matter. What’s more, if you decide you do want to obtain a health insurance plan, they can present you with the best plans available from top local and international health insurance providers, as well as give you a free price quote.