So you’re planning on going abroad to Thailand – you’ve packed your necessities, fuelled up, and you’ve double checked for anything that you might have forgotten. Keys? Check. Map? Check. Documents and money? Check. Car insurance? Well, that’s the tricky part.
You might’ve already ensured your car in your own country, but in most cases, your coverage gets halted as soon as you cross the border. That means that you’ll have to get a new insurance plan in Thailand. There are different types of car insurance plans, and if you even thought about not getting one, we’re here to persuade you to think otherwise.
Why do I need a Thailand-based car insurance?
There are two main reasons why you’ll need a special car insurance for as long as you’re in Thailand. First of all, your own car insurance works only within the borders of the state/country. Secondly, Thailand is known for, due to the lack of better words, bad drivers. The place is crowded, and the majority of population drives low-budget cars and don’t pay too much heed to damages while driving.
You might think that the law is on your side in case you get hit by another car, but that’s not necessarily true. Namely, even if the other driver is at fault, you won’t be able to squeeze out full compensation unless your car is ensured.
Now, it might be worth your while to know that car insurance plans in Thailand aren’t exactly expensive. Even the most expensive plan is several times cheaper in comparison to US and Europe standards.
What are your options?
Generally, there are three types of car insurance plans for you to choose from. They’re graded as class 1, 2, and 3 (the latter being 3- and 3+), and the numbers stand for the obvious – class 1 is the best and provides the most coverage, and the 3- is the “worst”, or provides the least comfort when things go south.
Generally, class 1 car insurance will allow you compensation in virtually all cases – unpredictable events, such as floods or fires, theft, collision, and such.
The ประกันชั้น2, or class 2 usually excludes unpredictable events (fires or floods), and even in the best case scenario, you could hope for partial damage compensation.
The least expensive, as well as the least reliable car insurance type is type 3 – the type 3+ refers to damage done to your own vehicle while the type 3- revolves around third party damages.
You’re free to choose any of the car insurance types, or even none at all, but we warmly recommend that you give class 1 car insurance a shot – it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and it will mean a lot by a long shot.
