Thread: You thought you got insurance?

My wife (non-Thai) had an car accident a short while ago.
She misjudged the speed of an oncoming motorcycle while attempting a right turn.
Nothing happened to her, but the bike rider (22 years old) fractured his lower leg.
She was taken to the next police station, and pressured (mainly by the rep of our insurance company) to sign a “self statement” that put all blame on her.
They threatened to hold her passport should she not sign and told her she couldn’t leave town…
The Bike rider had been carted of by the “ambulance” - even before the police arrived I think.

I was in BKK at that time, so unable to be there with her, but even thought the accident was obviously her fault, I told her not to sign anything.
They finally let her go, keeping only the car in the compound.
We visited the guy in Rayong Hospital the next day.
He had had a surgery during which the broken bone was mended with 2 metal plates.
His parents were with him, but it was a pretty sad environment on the first day of Songkran, because the wards are so full, the patients are laying in beds along the corridors. No aircon, no fans…
We told the hospital to put that guy in a private room.
Said private rooms come with an attached visitors room and don’t cost the earth.
My wife and I stayed in one of those when she had a surgery 10 years ago, before the Bangkok Hospital Group build their Rayong branch.
The first possible day we went to the Insurance company, nagging about their rep and confirming that they would cover all cost.

Here came the first shock.
Even thought we have full insurance, medical costs are only covered up to 500.000 Baht!
Property damage is only covered up to 2.000.000 Baht!
Funny thing that they value property 4 times higher than life and limb…
But in any case absolutely underfunded I thought.
I told my wife “ What a luck the guy only got a broken leg, that should be covered even with 500.000 Baht. But for any serious injury that wouldn’t be enough.”

But of course I hadn’t considered Thai ingenuity in creating cost if farangs are involved.
One week after the surgery (my wife had visited the hospital 3 times meanwhile) they called us in urgently.
When we arrived they told us, that after the initial surgery the wound had been kept open, but would need now to be closed and required plastic surgery.
That could be done either in Chonburi or at the Bangkok Hospital Rayong. Since one or both of the guys parents stayed with him at all time, Rayong would be the better (more comfortable) option.
So we should decide where the guy would go.

I told them, that I personally would agree that Bangkok Rayong Hospital would be the easier option, but it would be up to the doctor and the insurance to decide.
Also they should keep in mind that Bangkok Rayong isn’t the cheapest.
The doctor assured me, that the patient would only undergo surgery there and be back in 2, max. 3 days. The room was only 2.000 Baht a night anyway.
They told me, they need my signature (car owner) to have him transferred, but I told them once more, that I wouldn’t sign anything.
Since the insurance guy didn’t pick up his phone, we went to the local branch again , checked that they cover the cost and got them to contact the hospital so they could move the patient.
He was transferred the same day and got the surgery done.
My wife visited again the next day and all seemed quite fine.
Only thing suspicious was, that Bangkok Hospital Rayong kept calling 5 times a day, not us- but Thai relatives and the office, demanding that we bring signed copies of our passports, drivers licence, work permit, home registration etc.
I told them once again to get in contact with the insurance…

Today, with the day off, my wife thought about another visit and found out that the patent is still at Bangkok Hospital Rayong.
We visited and found out, that the bill at Bangkok Hospital Rayong alone is standing at close to 180,000 Baht and clocking up another 17.000 per night.
While the doctor agrees that the after treatment could be done at Rayong hospital as originally planned, the patient “would like to stay” another week at his suite at the Bangkok Hospital Rayong.
We have no idea right now how much the bill at the Rayong Hospital is, but with no end in sight only for the treatment of the broken leg, let alone physiotherapy or who knows what, the 500.000-limit seems to come close.

I’m glad we never signed anything (I hope the wife really didn’t)!
But I have the feeling that business is far from over and we are going to couch up extra dough anyway.
Now one shudders imagining that guy would have more than a broken leg.
So much for your 1st class insurance….

no suprise how the monkey thinks

should have put the slagdog in Queen Sirikit Hospital

worrying tale, who is your insurance company?

Very sad tale....my sympathies. I have heard of many cases like yours. People assume that they are driving a new car with full comprehensive insurance and that everything is covered. Not so. I only have 3rd party insurance on my old car yet was surprised to find that it gave more 3rd party cover ( 1,000,000 ) baht than my friends fully comprehensive !
I think you did the right thing in not signing anything and perhaps it might have been better if your wife had not admitted liability. After all, the bike rider hit her and might have been speeding , that usually counts for something when two Thais have an accident, although being a foreigner , you're a soft target unless you speak fluent Thai and immediatly ' go on the attack ' by trying to point out the bike rider hit your car.
Mind you, this is Thailand, you're a foreigner and sometimes its really tough to get a fair deal.

Originally Posted by oxyjohn

worrying tale, who is your insurance company?

AYUDHYA

I do think there is some piss taking going on here.
I,ve never had probs like this with Bangkok Rayong.

You should carry a handgun in the car, like the Chinese Elite do

seriously though, I bet if the roles were reversed, you wouldn't have seen him for dust