British Expats - Driving in Thailand: Thai Insurance

There is a previous post here about driving cross border into Thailand: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=thailand

I travel across the border regularly and am well acquainted with a large Thai motorcycle club and some of the senior cops in Hat Yai and Songkhla.

Many of the websites and forums make mention of what they commonly refer to as 'Thai 3rd Party Insurance' that you can purchase for RM 15 (for 9 days cover), just before or just after the border. The danger is that people just buy this and merrily drive off thinking they are covered fully for 3rd party. I would stress that it's important that people realise that this cover is actually what is termed 'Compulsory Insurance'. It is for 3rd party BUT it covers injury caused to PEOPLE only. If this is all you want and you cross the border regularly you can get annual cover for this costing RM 105 (in which case you will also get a car windscreen sticker).

For full 3rd part cover the same agents that sell 'Compulsory Insurance' (who confirm that this is the insurance that the vast majority of people get) also sell 'Optional 3rd Party Damage' cover for either RM 50 per trip or RM 360 for annual cover (over and above the Compulsory). Buying both will mean you are fully covered for 3rd party risks.

Extending your Malaysian insurance should cover your own vehicle and, one would expect, Thai 3rd party damage also. Clearly not everyone will get this extension though and I am also exploring other options given that: it's not cheap (RM 25-40 upwards), it's on an accommodative (per trip) basis and, more worryingly, that I have heard of people facing problems when involved in a collision trying to arrange repairs and claims while still in Thailand from their Malaysian insurance, and problems when damage is caused to other vehicles with the insured vehicle being Malaysian. It's something worth exploring when you extend your cover. What precisely is covered and what is the claims procedure? None of the many Malaysians I know and travel with ever get such an extension to their insurance, mostly because of cost, their willingness to accept the risk and that many companies say they need 7 days notice to approve cover (albeit I have got it done in less).

It's been suggested that Siam Insurance (the one many of the agents provide Compulsory Certificates from) ALSO provide fully comp cover in Thailand for around RM 800 annually. This may be better for those making frequent trips, (I'm not sure if they provide this on a per trip basis also) and would, one would suspect, make claims and such like much easier. I plan to explore this more fully next time I visit as I was out of time last trip. Digging down about various insurance issues with both local cops and the owners (biker chums) of two Thai auto-repair centres has sure been an eye-opener over recent months though. I travel often so it will be good to ascertain the most cost effective and efficient solution.

Personally I wouldn't drive in Thailand without being insured FULLY 3rd party one way or another :fingerscrossed: