The Devil's in the Details: Playing the Expat Insurance Game [S8.E56]

Greg 00:00:05 On this episode, we discuss the ups and downs of shopping for and buying health insurance as an expat.

Ed 00:00:11 So if you've ever wondered whether you can squeak by without it, probably a bad idea or buy the biggest plan possible, you'll dig this episode of the Bangkok Podcast.

Greg 00:00:37 And welcome to the Bangkok Podcast. My name is Greg Jorgensen, a Canadian who came to Thailand in 2001 to start a religion based on the mythical Naga River serpent, only to learn that religions based around snakes are not as popular as I thought they'd be.

Ed 00:00:50 That's actually a pretty good idea, man.

Greg 00:00:52 Why not? Yeah.

Ed 00:00:54 And I met Kenneth, an American who came to Thailand on a one year teaching contract over 25 years ago. Fell in love with the shocked look on Thai people's faces. When I tell them that I like some dumb, I just don't tell them I get it with one chili instead of five, so I never left.

Greg 00:01:11 Don't overstay yourself. It's like. It's like meeting someone and saying you're rich. And then when it comes time, they learn a bit more about you and they're like, oh, this guy is actually full of crap.

Greg 00:01:19 You know, I.

Ed 00:01:20 Always.

Greg 00:01:20 Tell them the spice level.

Ed 00:01:21 I always tell them I like spicy food and I do, but not Thai spicy. That's the truth. Not what they mean, not what they mean by spicy.

Greg 00:01:30 Context is key.

Ed 00:01:32 We want to give it big thanks to all of our patrons who support the show. Patrons get every episode a day early behind the scenes photos of our interviews, a heads up to send questions to upcoming guests, and access to our discord server to chat with me, Greg, and other listeners around the world. But best of all, patrons also get an unscripted, uncensored bonus episode every week where we riff on current events and Bangkok topics. On this week's bonus show, we chatted about my ongoing tech troubles and my newfound determination to finally, permanently find a solution. A discussion about a YouTube warning Greg got, saying that a six year old video of his then four year old son doing typical kid things violated its guidelines on child safety. And talk about a tea party that I've been invited to that has a floral theme with Greg Black shirt everyday Jorgensen offering me some surprisingly useful fashion advice to learn how to become a patron and get all this good stuff, plus full access to over 800 bonus and regular back episodes.

Ed 00:02:38 Click the support button at the top of our website.

Greg 00:02:41 You know, in another life, I could have been a fashion influencer.

Ed 00:02:44 I okay, another life. That's the key phrase that's doing a lot of work there.

Greg 00:02:48 I can still be a fashion influencer now just for people who like wearing black t shirts.

Ed 00:02:52 That's right. Black t shirt. Each show of yours would be like the new black.

Greg 00:02:59 Black is the new black. That's right. And everyone, don't forget, if you are out and about in Bangkok and see a Bangkok podcast sticker. Take a picture. Send us three pictures of three different stickers and we'll send you a gift. I've put a few more up around town over the past few weeks. Editor. But the problem is, I've only been out in some really sort of like back backwater areas when a bike rides and stuff. Oh funny, I gotta, I gotta get out on Sukhumvit and Silom and put a few more around those areas.

Ed 00:03:23 Yeah, yeah, more well-trodden paths.

Greg 00:03:27 That's right. All right. On this episode, we are going to do a free range discussion on something that all of us have to deal with in some way or another health insurance. Now, Ed and I both know that we are old, probably older than a lot of people listening. But with age comes knowledge often gained through cold, hard experience between us. We've had a lot of exposure to how the insurance game is played, from not having any to having too much. So following a discussion we were having with a friend of ours, we thought it'd be interesting to have a chin wag about the ups, the downs, a few inside stories, and a few tips and strategies for dealing with the tricky topic of health insurance as an expat in Thailand. Now this funny because you suggested this topic after our discussion recently, but just this morning I signed the paper for a brand new insurance company that I just did. I just signed up with you.

Ed 00:04:18 So you changed your your your package, so to speak.

Greg 00:04:21 I did, yes, yes, my package was getting old, so I got a new package. So yeah, it's a good, good timing for this conversation.

Ed 00:04:27 Yeah. So we, listeners, Greg, myself and a buddy of ours, we we happen to have a long discussion about it, discussing each of our approaches, and we figured we'd make a show out of it. And, Greg was nice enough to let me kind of frame the topic. So here's how I think expats should begin thinking about it. I think the the main thing you want to think about is where you spend your time and where you expect your primary care to be. And then what you need a safety net for. So this this discussion is focusing on actual expats living in Thailand. tourists have have different issues. So we're talking about, foreigners based in Thailand. And so here's how I think about it. there's basically three issues or three areas of coverage you got to worry about. Obviously, if you're based here, you need coverage in Thailand, and you want to make sure that what you're covered for in Thailand is what you want to be covered for.

Ed 00:05:29 But most of us travel back home to where we came from, where our family and friends are. So you have to worry about whether you have coverage when you're back, wherever that is. In my case, it's the United States. In Greg's case, Canada. As a listener, you might be going back to England or France or Sweden or wherever, or or Brazil. And so now so and, and most of us do try to go back. I mean, I try to go back at least once a year as I am older, I actually have a desire to go back more. It's a little bit weird because I have. I have some friends who I don't know. I don't I don't want to say they've totally cut their ties, but I have some friends who are like, nope. I'm like, I'm not going back. I have nothing there.

Greg 00:06:10 I'm done. The hell with them.

Ed 00:06:11 But I'm, I, I, I definitely want to live between the two worlds. Like, you know, in my case, I teach American studies, so it's a little bit weird if I never go back there.

Greg 00:06:21 Right? Fair enough. Yeah. Okay.

Ed 00:06:22 Yeah. So I need coverage in Thailand. I need coverage in the States. And then, the third thing is, what if you're traveling somewhere else? A lot of expats are big world travelers. I happen to not be, but I actually am planning a trip to Europe, over the Christmas holidays this year. So. So that's my initial frame. There's coverage while you're in Thailand. There's coverage when you're back home, where presumably you might be spending more time than, like a tourist necessarily. You might go back for a couple times a year, you might go back for a month or two. But then, as expats were probably more travel friendly than the typical Canadian or American. So this raises this question. Now, I know some of your background, and I'm not getting into my personal stuff too deeply or your personal stuff, but you and I talked about, you know, this topic of, do we really need just worldwide global coverage? Because you can't you can't buy pretty expensive packages that just cover you around the world.

Greg 00:07:30 Yeah, completely. And I, I had something like that recently, which I'll talk about in a bit. But one of the things I thought was funny about the conversation we were having with our friend was that, you know, you guys were both talking about, oh, what's what's your deductible and your copay and all this stuff. That's right. And I mean, I've heard those words before. I kind of get what they mean. But, you know, coming from the socialist Paradise of Canada, I, I never had to deal with that. That's right. You go to the hospital and you walk out and you never have to think about paying because it's all free, right? You know, so so, you know, I moved to Thailand when I was 26, so I didn't have to worry about insurance my entire life. I never needed to learn the vocabularies or the ins and outs, you know.

Ed 00:08:09 Well, American Americans, we are we are the experts of health insurance because we have to know all this minutia.

Greg 00:08:15 You have created entire structures of language just to describe what you need to do. but, you know, for my first God, my first probably ten years in Thailand, I didn't have health insurance at all, which I think is probably it is. But I think it's probably quite common for for people who have who who are not actively continuing to up, you know, to keep their their ties back in their home country, their bank account, their taxes, all that stuff. You know, like, I think there's a lot of people like myself who who move here and just kind of let things go. Yes. And don't worry.

Ed 00:08:54 And especially when you're young. I mean, this is, you know, the classic mistake is when you're young, you feel invincible. So I think there are plenty of people in their 20s and going into their 30s who who probably lack health insurance. And this is part of our kind of strategic discussion. As we've talked about many times, health care in Thailand is a good deal for what you get.

Ed 00:09:16 And in general, the amount you have to pay for care is going to be less than a country like the United States, for sure. So so the idea of being without health insurance in the States for a long time is just insane.

Greg 00:09:30 Like, you know, terrifying.

Ed 00:09:31 Yeah. but the idea of having no coverage in Thailand, as a young person, and I'm not recommending it, but I'm just going to say it's not actually insane. So, like in the States, you're nuts. In Thailand, it's you should probably always have some insurance. But just given that the the quality of care and the cost is lower, especially if you're young. I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I wouldn't say it's crazy to have no insurance in Thailand.

Greg 00:09:57 No, I agree, and for those ten years when I was uncovered, there were a few times where I had to go and get an X-ray or check something out of the hospital. And it was, you know, a few thousand baht even even if you go to a nice hospital like Summit Watch or something like that.

Greg 00:10:11 You know, it's three, not 5000, but not insane. Not insane. You can handle it, you know? Back in the day, I was making, you know, 30,000 baht a month or whatever it was, and, you know, it was a hit. But as a young kid with no family, no kids, and, you know, some disposable income, it wasn't a big deal. I will say, though, that there was one time when I was on the back of a motorcycle, my friend was driving, and we had to sort of get away from a traffic checkpoint really quickly, a different story. I'll tell it another time. and he accelerated and I fell off the bike, and I really, really sprained my ankle very badly. Oh, that's right, that's rough. And I just, I just kind of let it heal. And at the time, I was.

Ed 00:10:53 Oh.

Greg 00:10:53 Geez, at the time I was 28, something like that. And to this day, you know, this is 26 years later, 25 years later, I can still when I flex my ankle in a certain way, I'm doing it right now.

Greg 00:11:05 I can still feel it in there. Something's weird. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ed 00:11:10 So, I mean, it's, in general, it's probably always a good idea for anyone to have some kind of insurance. But let me continue with how to frame this. So I think that's the first the first question for expats is is this kind of regional issue? I think if you do travel a lot, like you and I have friends who travel a lot, I mean, they're going to Europe, they're going to the US, they're going to South America. So I think if that's you, if you if you are a global expat, then you need global coverage. That's the smart move. Instead of trying to buy like travel insurance, every time I get on a plane, then I think you you should front for you have insurance that's primarily here, but you've got global coverage. that's the right move, but, I, I really think, can you and I kind of reach this conclusion? I think if you're just a regular traveler, if you're spending a couple weeks here, I think if you're spending a month outside of Thailand, man, I just don't think it makes sense.

Ed 00:12:10 Those packages are pretty expensive. And I, I just I think that that the total global coverage thing, you know, of course, all of these decisions depend on how wealthy you are. So if if you're wealthy enough, just pay it. Just pay it. You know.

Greg 00:12:23 Just do it.

Ed 00:12:24 But I think that, so a person like me who, you know, I really normally travel once a year, I'm trying to up my game and travel more, but my issue breaks down to something like this. I'm mostly in Thailand and then I'm mostly in the US. So for me, the big problem is trying to figure out, what am I going to do when I'm back in the States? Because most Thai health insurance does not cover you outside of Thailand, and certainly not in the US. Like sometimes it does cover you outside Thailand, but not in the US, like the US is the one place where insurance companies are like, no, we're not, we're not, we're not covering you in the US.

Greg 00:13:00 It's funny you say that because let me get a little bit into my situation. So for the past, God, probably six years or so, I have had very good international health insurance.

Ed 00:13:12 Oh, so you paid or your company helped pay. Right.

Greg 00:13:15 Well, here's the thing. So when I was, when I was working with a Goda, a Goda really took care of its employees. And I think I can't remember the details, but I think a go to subsidized health plans 50%.

Ed 00:13:26 Oh, gotcha.

Greg 00:13:27 Okay. And this was a long time ago. Things may be very different now, but, you know, that that was significant. And they had very good insurance. So that was a very, very good deal. But then when I went, it was worldwide.

Ed 00:13:39 So that was worldwide.

Greg 00:13:40 Yes. Worldwide insurance. So it I didn't even think about it. It was just something I they took out of every paycheck and it was done. but after I left to go to, I had to worry about my own insurance and I can't remember the specifics, but I bought a very good package that had global coverage, and it was very good for for me and my son, you know, health care anywhere in the world, medical evac, all this kind of stuff except America, except for that country, every country in the world except America.

Greg 00:14:10 That's right. So I don't travel to America, so it was no big deal. But recently I just turned 50 recently. And that is like the magical cutoff moment. So suddenly when you're over 50, insurance companies start getting a little bit nervous. They're like, ooh, that's right. Premiums are going to have to go up a little bit. That's right. And long story short, my my insurance renewal came around this year. And it was crazy expensive, like 50% more expensive than it was five years ago.

Ed 00:14:38 So now so did you end up, so did you limit the global coverage? Because when we were chatting before, we were kind of saying like, like global coverage. Seems to me, I mean, again, if you can afford it, it's your business. But, I mean, if you're not traveling a lot. Do you really need coverage in Africa?

Greg 00:14:55 Exactly. And this is something that I didn't really think about it like I'm. I don't like to think about these things too much.

Greg 00:15:00 If someone says, I think you should have this, and they they do the like the here's why, blah blah blah. I go, great. Sounds good. Where do I sign? I probably should think about it more than that. So I probably bought an insurance plan that was a bit bit over. A bit of overkill for what I needed. Gotcha. yeah. So I actually a few years ago, I went back to my insurance company and I said, hey, this is starting to get a little bit expensive. Can I drop this down to just like Thailand, only because I don't travel as much as I used to. I just need coverage in Thailand. And they said no. If you do that, you have to basically rejoin as a new customer again and tell me what you think about this. My fear is that basically every time I pay my insurance bills to the insurance company, I'm buying a little bit of goodwill from them. Oh I see.

Ed 00:15:46 Right.

Greg 00:15:46 So if I get smoked by a bus or something, they're going to say, oh, this guy's been paying us for like eight years.

Greg 00:15:51 Oh, right. He's giving us a lot of money. No problem with his coverage covering his his.

Ed 00:15:56 Right. So if you're like a newbie, if you're like, if you're a brand new guy, they're going to try to screw you. Screw you.

Greg 00:16:01 Yeah. This guy got smoked by a bus. Oh, geez. He's only been paying us for six months. This surgery is going to cost more than he's paid us. So we're gonna try and wiggle out, because that was my fear. I don't know if that's legit or.

Ed 00:16:11 Well, the bottom line is, I mean, I hate insurance companies and I've really almost never had a problem with him. But he says, I feel like in general, people have run into so many problems, and I do. I have had friends who have to fight to get coverage. So it is kind of a national pastime to hate insurance companies. So, yeah, you know, you might you might be in the right.

Greg 00:16:29 So anyway, so I just decided to say, oh, the hell with it, I'll just stay with him.

Greg 00:16:32 So I stayed with him. But just until this most recent bill came around and I was like, okay, that's something's got to be done. I can't afford that. Right, right. So long story short, I talked to some friends. I found an agent that a few people have used and they trust. And I got a brand new insurance plan, that is basically half of what I would have been charged this year.

Ed 00:16:53 So gotcha now. Now, did you end up going with the same company and different plan, or you just scrapped it and you started with a new company.

Greg 00:17:00 Totally different company, and it was Thailand only plan. And now my strategy is when I travel, it's just, you know, what is it, a thousand baht, 1200 baht or something like that. Okay.

Ed 00:17:10 Well, this is a good segue because this is exactly what I wanted to talk about. Okay, I so my situation is this, I, I always had decent Thai insurance. I didn't have quite the gold plated coverage you had from your companies, but I had a I worked for a Thai company that had good insurance, and then Thai government insurance that I have through my university isn't great on the high end, but it's pretty solid on the low end.

Ed 00:17:38 And so, you know, and and this is kind of this is kind of how Thai health insurance works in the US. The way we usually think about health insurance is I'll pay for the small stuff. The insurance is for the insane high end stuff. Because obviously American insurance bills can be $1 million. So the idea is, hey, I'm going to pay this deductible $10,000 or 5000. I just need insurance for the big stuff. Well, in Thailand, because the prices are much cheaper, Thai people tend not to think about anything above a million baht like to them. For a lot of Thai people, medical bills like don't go over a million baht. And so okay. What they want is coverage for the small stuff or small to medium, small to medium. And so I've had coverage like that for a long time. But here's the problem. as you get older, as an expat in Thailand, the bills can get high. That's the thing. So you can't you I don't think you can.

Ed 00:18:37 You should think like a Thai person and say, oh, my bill will never go over a million baht. No. Yes it will. Like a million baht is, you know, a million baht is $30,000, like. So that goes pretty far in the Thai system, but not if you need a open heart surgery. You know, it's like. Or, you know, but the bottom line is medical bills in Thailand can go into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So they can go you can get a 10 million baht bill if you if you have like a major problem that a 65 year old guy might have.

Greg 00:19:06 Right, exactly.

Ed 00:19:07 So this is why. So I'm so I'm I'm turning the big six. Oh. in in a in a in a month. Basically, I'm turning the big six. So and so this is part of the reason what that started our, our health insurance conversation because I'm realizing now is I cannot just ride my decent Thai insurance anymore because my, my Thai insurance is like low to mid.

Ed 00:19:31 I need catastrophic holy shit. Like three 300 like half $1 million. I need like higher end coverage. I need I need American style insurance now. Right.

Greg 00:19:43 And you need. I didn't see that meteor coming. Insurance.

Ed 00:19:47 That's right. And so I, I'm going to so here's my without going into too much detail. So I have this government insurance which is solid on the small to medium stuff. So what I'm trying to find now is coverage in Thailand that is higher. And that's going to cover the disaster things but not be too expensive. And so I'm still I haven't, purchased it yet. And you know, because of Thai laws, we can't really name companies or rip on companies. But some of the companies, based on my research. So I haven't gone, you know, I'm going to need to do the medical exam. So maybe we'll do a later show on this because I'm going to go through this whole process. I'm going to have to go in and get medical exams. So it'll be kind of like we can do a show on old guy insurance, because I'm going to have to give them all.

Ed 00:20:35 I'm gonna have to give them all my medical records. And I, you know, I am a cancer survivor, so I don't know how much my coverage is going to be. But here's the good news that I discovered is that, the two most popular companies which which if you're in the know, you could probably guess which ones I'm talking about. The two most popular companies for expats there are pretty flexible, with deductibles and things like that. In other words, you can kind of negotiate with them. So because I already have like low to mid insurance, I can tell I can tell them, hey, I don't need anything under 100,000 pot or I don't need anything under actually probably two. I probably don't need an insurance for anything under. Again, this is what I have to work out. I probably don't need any insurance for anything under 200,000, but I think I got that covered. I just want the serious stuff. And it looks like, based on my research, that my premium premiums won't be insane.

Ed 00:21:30 Like, so they'll do a deal with me. They'll be, because they'll be happy to be like, oh shit, you don't need, you don't need like anything. That's 5000, 10,000, about 20, 30,000. But I'm like, don't worry about that.

Greg 00:21:42 Yeah, right.

Ed 00:21:43 so it looks like I'm going to be able to Craft more like catastrophic insurance, and I obviously have to pay more. So I'm gonna have to pay for it, but it won't. I don't think it's going to be too insane, but we'll do a future show on this. We'll do a ed ed old guy insurance show, and I'll. I'll, I'll tell you guys what I came up with. but that's one thing. But I did want to talk about this. I still have the problem of the United States. Like, as an American citizen, we don't have the socialist Paradise. Which means when I go back to the States, I have to worry about coverage there myself.

Greg 00:22:20 Right.

Ed 00:22:20 And let me tell you this, this is a actually another one of the reasons I wanted to do this show.

Ed 00:22:25 I have always thought that Thai health care is really good, but if I needed anything really serious, you know, like the proverbial, like open heart surgery, I always thought I'm going to go back to the States for that. So like the, you know, the US. The US, I do. I think the US has the best medical care in the world. It's just insanely expensive. But if you want, you know, if you want the best, if you if you have a very if you if you need brain surgery. Go to the US. Right.

Greg 00:23:00 Okay. So I dig I dig.

Ed 00:23:01 So a bit of a confession. So I've actually I've never been without health insurance in Thailand but I, I here's my confession. I've had this plan for a long time. I should sign up for Obamacare, the ACA, the Affordable Care Act. and just pay the premiums. Even though I'm not back in the US very much, I still go back there for weeks at a time.

Ed 00:23:24 And like, I've like I already said, it's really dumb to be in the US with no insurance.

Greg 00:23:29 Yeah, man. I mean, that's when you slip on a on a bit of ice and that could. That's it. You're bankrupt.

Ed 00:23:34 And my Thai insurance does not cover the US. But I'm. Here's my confession I like I basically I have bought the truth is over the years. You know, when I go back to the US, I do. I have occasionally like remembered or been willing and I've just bought some travel insurance. I want to go back to the States, but dude, I think I've done that twice. So my confession is I've gone back to the US many times with no coverage, which I do not recommend. Like that is just dumb and in my head.

Greg 00:24:04 So like a short visit to the States without insurance is more dangerous than living in Thailand. That's right. For years without insurance.

Ed 00:24:12 I've done it. But like, this is. This is like my confession, you know, not, you know, my mom.

Ed 00:24:16 My mom just passed away. I'm about to turn 60. And I'm realizing, like, for years I've been telling myself, oh, I'll sign up for the ACA. Like, that's been my plan for ten years and that I've never done it. Like, I've just like, it's like my plan was, oh, I have my good Thai insurance, I'll sign up for Obamacare. I'm covered. And then I've never done it. I just didn't do it. And so here's what I was planning. I was thinking, okay, finally I've got to do it. I'm going to sign up for the ACA. So I got on, AI, I'm talking to Gemini, you know, trying to make a smart decision and check this out, dude. Gemini said I don't need it. Gemini said that Thai healthcare now has gotten so good. It gave me data on heart transplants in Thailand. And they basically said it's as good as the US. I was.

Greg 00:25:06 Shocked, really.

Ed 00:25:07 Hard to like, hopefully I'm not going to need literally a heart transplant, but wow, they basically it basically said, so I'm turning 60, in at age 65.

Ed 00:25:18 I qualify for Medicare in the US, so we actually do have I wouldn't call it a Paradise, but we have socialized medicine for 65 and above now. There's still a it's not totally free. There's still a I still have to pay something for it. But basically AI was saying, dude, if you have good Thai insurance and you can make it to 65, like don't, don't sign up for the ACA.

Greg 00:25:43 Really interesting.

Ed 00:25:44 Yeah, it was like basically they were saying that even on the high end now, like it basically I think I'd have to go back and check it out. But I think it said that at Bauman grad, they have a 100% success rate for heart transplants like the most. It basically was saying that even at the high end now, like because this is as we've talked about before, this is a medical tourism destination, as you know, from your wife, you know where your wife works like the richest people in the world come to Thailand to get high quality care.

Greg 00:26:18 Yeah, I, I have full faith in the Thai health care system, especially if you go to one of the expensive private hospitals.

Greg 00:26:23 Okay. I mean, there's there is a tiered system in Thailand where the public hospitals are maybe, you know, not as desirable for for expats and stuff. But if I was going to a bummer grad or a cemetery wed, I would have full confidence in in their ability to do almost anything.

Ed 00:26:37 Well, well, that's what I'm saying. I, I did I did have that confidence, but not for the most difficult stuff, like you said, almost anything but. But basically Gemini said everything.

Greg 00:26:49 All right, well, that's good to know, I guess.

Ed 00:26:51 Everything, I mean, I mean, this is part of. I'm just researching this now. but it does mean that I need. So basically, basically my lesson is I have to get travel when I go to the US, I have to get travel insurance. So what I'm going to so my whole my current strategy is to get catastrophic insurance entitlement that I pay for. So I got my government plus catastrophic. But if I step one foot out of Thailand I have to buy I have to buy travel insurance for every trip.

Ed 00:27:21 I mean, it's an added, it's an added thing to worry about, but.

Greg 00:27:25 So you don't travel that much.

Ed 00:27:26 Well, I don't, but I like I said, I've got a Europe trip planned or planning. I'm going back to the States in two weeks from my sister's, my, my niece's wedding, my sister's daughter's wedding. I'm going to be back in the US again. And, I just have to not be lazy and not be an idiot and just get the travel insurance. I'm covered when I'm back there.

Greg 00:27:46 Well, funnily enough, I'm going to Vietnam in a few weeks as well. And there you go, you know. Now, now, I'm not on my old plan, which covered all countries in the world. Now I've got to get travel insurance when I go, but, you know, it's 800 baht or something like that.

Ed 00:27:58 The truth is, it's just, you know, I mean, I'm, I'm I'm in the old guy world now. It's like, I can't think like a kid.

Ed 00:28:05 I can't I can't think like a young person. Like, I'll be fine. Nothing to worry about. I just can't, I can't, I can't do that anymore.

Greg 00:28:12 No. If I fell off my friend's motorcycle today, I would lay on the ground until someone brought me to the hospital. I wouldn't.

Ed 00:28:19 That's right, that's right.

Greg 00:28:21 One. One thing that I thought was interesting was that in my old plan, and I think probably it applies to a lot of different insurance companies, was there was a no claim bonus that you get for some plans here. So for instance, if you don't go to the hospital, if you don't use your insurance policy for a year, the next year you sign up, they can reduce it by like 10%. They'll take 10% of your premium.

Ed 00:28:43 Very cool.

Greg 00:28:44 But it's interesting. It's tricky because say. Say I'm paying just for sake of argument. Say I'm paying 100,000 baht for insurance. I go to the hospital and I get a couple X-rays or whatever, and it's it's 5000 baht.

Greg 00:28:57 And I say, oh, that's 5000 baht. That's not nothing. That's a good chunk of money. I want my insurance company to cover that. So I use my insurance. They say no problem. 5000 baht. We'll take care of it. You just go home and relax. So I've. The insurance company now has paid 5000 baht. But if I don't use my insurance plan for the year, I get a 10% reduction. So if I pay 5000 baht for my X-rays out of my own pocket, don't let the insurance company know I was there. And I don't claim anything else. For the end of the year, I get a reduction of 10,000 baht.

Ed 00:29:29 You're going to save.

Greg 00:29:30 Money, Bill. That's right. I'm saving money. Right. So it's these these little rules. I mean, this is the fine print that exists in any contract. But it's funny how they work here, and you got to be careful and stuff like that.

Ed 00:29:41 Yeah, well, I'm, I'm opening up that Pandora's box, like, I've just been.

Ed 00:29:45 I've been riding on. Okay, Thai insurance. I've been foolishly uninsured on most of my trips to the States, and I just can't. I just can't do this anymore. Like, I got I got to wake up at some point. I gotta have to act like a mature adult at some point.

Greg 00:30:00 Yeah, and a bit of an elderly man advice here too. I know someone recently, a young person who had, no insurance but who had a fairly serious issue. And, they are caught up in a, in a, in a shitstorm right now, so.

Ed 00:30:17 Oh, it's a nightmare.

Greg 00:30:18 You know, it's it sounds it sounds so cliche, the old person telling the young people what to do. But young people, if if it's within your means, if you're having a health insurance in Asia is really not that prohibitively expensive. That's right. Let's say it's a you're buying peace of mind and it is well worth it.

Ed 00:30:36 Yeah. I mean, like I said, I think I think not having insurance in the States.

Ed 00:30:40 It's just insane. Like, never do that. not having an insurance in Thailand. It might not be insane, but it's still not smart like you should. No, no. You know, everyone should do it. You don't know what's going to happen.

Greg 00:30:52 Yeah. And, you know, the the the shitty part of it all is that you want your health insurance to be a complete waste of money.

Ed 00:31:01 That's right.

Greg 00:31:02 You want that money to go out the door and never see it again and never have to think about it again, which sucks.

Ed 00:31:07 Yeah, but you're buying peace of mind. But you actually said it's a good way to, end the discussion. You. What you're really buying is is peace of mind. That's what you're getting, actually.

Greg 00:31:17 Yeah. And that becomes more valuable as you get older. So for sure, for sure. There it is. Anyway, that's our take on having a health insurance in Thailand. It's, it's a good thing to look into. It's a great thing to have and especially as you age.

Greg 00:31:30 So look into it. It's reasonable and do some shopping around. And if anyone is actually if anyone is looking for an agent or something like that. Send us an email. I got the person I'm dealing with is very good, and I've got a few names as well that have come highly recommended. These are how these things work, isn't it? Like, hey, do you know someone who can fix shoes? Oh, I got my shoe guy.

Ed 00:31:50 Well, dude, I'm gonna I'm gonna probably call you a person, so, like, I'm, I'm, you know, like I said, I'm. I'm opening up this Pandora's box. I need a I need, like, high end coverage. So I'll talk to your guy.

Greg 00:32:02 Yeah, yeah, I got an insurance guy now, so I'll. I got the number. And if listeners, if anyone wants the insurance guy that I deal with, just send me an email. Oh, cool. I'll hook you up. Then I'll only take 2% off the top.

Greg 00:32:15 All right, let's get into some love, loathe or live with where one of us picks a particular aspect of living in Bangkok, which we discuss to decide if it's something that we love about living here, loathe about living here, or have come to accept as something that we just have to learn to live with no matter how we feel about it. And this weekend it is my turn to throw something your way.

Ed 00:32:31 Cool.

Greg 00:32:32 So I went out the other day to a restaurant with my son, and it's not a restaurant I've been to recently or often, but it is something I've been to throughout my life. And I was sitting there and we were having food and I said, my son, what do you think of his food? And he's like, it's really, really good. And I thought, yeah, damn, I'm really enjoying this. So I want to know what you think about Sizzler.

Ed 00:32:54 Oh. It's funny. okay. Here's here's the truth. I've never been into it, but.

Ed 00:33:02 Really? Yeah. But part of the problem is that when I came here, I was vegetarian. And then after a few years, I switched and I went back to eating meat. And, for some reason, I never got into it. And I know it's one of those, it's one of those kind of common chain restaurants. And I know it's I know people who like it, like it's got a it's a little bit it's almost like to Claudia at Foodland. It's got it's not everyone knows it's not high end. It's not high.

Greg 00:33:31 So but it's no, it's, it's, it's got kind of a McDonald's esque. Yeah. Or a Reputation, you know. Yeah.

Ed 00:33:39 And then for some reason, I never got into it. And then, you know, as again. Actually, it was around the time I turned 50. and I started to get more health conscious. I went back to being vegetarian. So now now I'm kind of out of out of that market. But it is it is kind of weird because it, that brand, it it has it's just to me, I don't know what it reminds.

Ed 00:34:03 I don't know what I would what it would remind me of in the States, maybe something like Applebee's. It has a very mid thing. It just has like a for everyone kind of vibe. It's like lotus. It's like lotus.

Greg 00:34:15 Chi. Yeah.

Ed 00:34:16 Yeah. Like it just has a very mid thing and I have no problem with that. Like I'm not like I grew up mid like everything about my life. I grew up in the suburbs in a little box house. I have a total mid. I'm culturally mid. but I don't know man. I just, I never got it. I never understood why people like you like that brand.

Greg 00:34:35 Well, it's funny because. Because it's got it's. It gets made fun of people. Sort of like Sizzler, you know? But that's right. I was sitting there eating the meal. I'm like, this is really good. The salad bar is unlimited and there's tons of veggies and stuff. And of course, there's unhealthy stuff too. But we we quite enjoyed our meal and I thought it was pretty good.

Ed 00:34:54 Yeah, I know that. There's this. There is I know, I know people like that. And then then I never I never got it, you know, since we are, we are mentioning, brands and I'm only going to say something good. I've always liked sunrise tacos and and I have, I have I have friends who rip on sunrise like, they treat sunrise like it's Taco Bell. And number one, I like Taco Bell.

Greg 00:35:18 Like like, hold the Cyclospora, please.

Ed 00:35:22 That's right. Yeah. True that. But, sunrise tacos is is it's not. It's kind of mid-level Mexican food. It's not like a nicer Mexican place. So I have friends who like they they won't go to sunrise. And I've never understood that. Man, I like sunrise.

Greg 00:35:42 I've had sunrise. It's fine, you know, it's like both of you.

Ed 00:35:44 Both you and I are the same way about, like, the pizza company. Like I have friends who won't. They won't order pizza company like that.

Ed 00:35:50 Dude. That's horrible. And I'm like, I don't get it.

Greg 00:35:53 I like it, it's fine. Although I did order Soho Pizza a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed that too, so.

Ed 00:35:58 Oh, so it was good too. Yeah, I think this is just a highly individual, but, in a way, it's funny that that food in Thailand is a little bit like the health care like you. You like what you get for the price. You kind of can't complain.

Greg 00:36:12 That's right, that's right. So I'm, I'm a, I'm a live with, bordering on love with Sizzler. I think it's every time I've been there, I've had a very nice meal.

Ed 00:36:22 I would say I'm gonna live with. I'm not a sloth, but never, never was a big fan, to be honest.

Greg 00:36:26 All right. Interesting.

Ed 00:36:28 All right. A final thanks to our patrons who support the show. Patrons get a ton of cool perks and the warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that they're helping in our never ending quest for cool content.

Ed 00:36:39 Find out more by clicking support on our website and connect with us online. We're Bangkok podcast on social media Bangkok podcast. Com on the web or simply Bangkok Podcast at gmail.com. We love hearing from our listeners and always reply to our messages. Unless, of course, you're a PR agent who pitches clients who have no connection to Bangkok.

Greg 00:37:01 That's right. You can also listen to each episode on YouTube. Send us a voicemail through our website. We'll feature that on the show. Hit me up on blue Sky and be great. Thank you for listening, everyone. We'll see you back here next week for sure.