British travellers to Thailand make more insurance claims than any other country

According to a survey, the ‘Travel Smart Insurance Index’ recently released by the UK Post Office, more British travellers to Thailand made insurance claims for medical costs of repatriation after visiting Thailand than any other country.

According to the report, the Post Office teamed up with the Centre for Economic & Business Research and analysed 17,295 claims from its Travel Insurance customers, as well as 27,000 Consular Assistance requests to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2018 of 49 of the destinations visited most by British travellers.

The researchers looked at six categories for claims and consular assistance: accidents, baggage, cancellations, travel documents, victim of crime assistance and emergency assistance.

Overall, Thailand topped the table with a score of 5.9, followed by New Zealand 5.7 and Sweden 5.6. Thailand also topped the table for the Accident and Emergency category.

According to the report “Thailand has long had a reputation as a backpacker’s dream, but in addition to a higher rate of accidents and emergencies which led it to the top spot on the index, it also had a higher incidence of cancellations, and the second highest cost of cancellations”.

The report continues… “Thailand is considering making travel insurance a requirement for entry in a similar way that Cuba already does.”

“The overwhelming number of claims when abroad were for medical reasons, making up 60% of all claims and 84% of overall claim cost. The difference in these percentages highlights how expensive medical care can be overseas, particularly when in countries where the cost of treatment is highest, such as the USA, Japan, Canada and India.”

The index also revealed that 37 percent of Brits go on holiday overseas without buying travel insurance.

Meanwhile, compulsory travel insurance for foreign visitors at a 20 baht premium each is expected to debut this year, according to the Office of the Insurance Commission. Foreign travellers will be required to pay for the compulsory insurance at immigration offices in airports, while the premium will be directed to Thailand’s Tourism Promotion Fund for coverage of payments in the event of claims.

SOURCES: postoffice.co.uk | ThaiVisa

GRAPHICS: postoffice.co.uk