Tips & Tricks When Applying For Thailand Car Insurance

While every country has some kind of law regarding driving records, there is no such law for Thailand. In fact, many people have asked for a record only to have their request denied simply because Thailand does not have any record of their driving infractions. For the most part, Thailand authorities do not check out your driving record at all and this can be a real problem when it comes to getting coverage.

Have An Acceptable Driving Record Ready

However, if you wish to purchase auto insurance in Thailand, it is imperative that you make sure you are able to present an acceptable driving record. In addition, you need to check to see if your record is clean or not. This is really important because there are many people who have had their driving records expunged. As these records do not remain on the criminal record, they do not technically exist and will not help you get any kind of insurance policy. One of the main reasons that Thailand authorities don’t check out your driving record is because of how popular they are with the Thai people. 

Each and every time you turn around, there are thousands of tourists visiting this country. They are a very large percentage of the population so you are extremely unlikely to have any problem getting a quote from any insurance company. If your record is clean, you should have no problem getting quotes from any of the leading insurance companies. It is very likely that most of them will ask you for your original document so they can check it against your records.

Going Premium?

If your documents are clean, you will probably have to pay a bit more money for the premium. Keep in mind that this premium will usually cover the damage to your vehicle and any medical expenses incurred during an accident. Thailand insurance is designed to protect against loss of income due to an accident, so you are not likely to see much benefit from increasing the amount of coverage.

Understand Your Policy

Car insurance in Thailand (locally translated to ประกันรถยนต์ชั้น 1) is unique in many ways. First of all, they are not required to check your driving record or financial history before offering you their insurance quote. This means that if you are just starting to drive in Thailand and haven’t had an accident or any tickets against your name, you are probably going to be offered the bare minimum amount of coverage. If you are driving a new car, then you will have to buy comprehensive insurance which will cover the cost of damages to your car as well as any medical costs that need to be covered. Make sure that you read through your policy carefully before you sign on the dotted line.

Distance Matters & Frequency Of Travel Matters

As you can see, Thailand car insurance has got to be one of the best values for money available anywhere in the world. Many leading insurance companies now base their policies on the number of kilometres you drive in a year. If you live in a rural area and only travel to the city occasionally, you can probably get away with just a basic policy. However, if you do drive between Bangkok and other major cities or you drive over a lot of miles per year, you should definitely look into getting more extensive coverage that takes into account the high level of vehicle traffic in the country.