Driving a car is the rightmost people have in the United States, however, Thailand does not have the same system as the US. In fact, if you are living or visiting Thailand and plan on driving a vehicle be prepared to pay about $200/month for insurance.
When someone asks you to buy car insurance in Thailand it means that they want you to buy Motor Vehicle Insurance (MVI) for your vehicle(s). MVI has two components:
Liability coverage
In the US, most people have the right to drive a car. In Thailand, you need to pay around ฿200 เดือน/ เดือน for insurance.
When someone asks you to buy car insurance in Thailand it means they want you to purchase Motor Vehicle Insurance (MVI). MVI has two components:
– Liability coverage protects individuals from being liable if injuries or damages are caused by an accident that was their fault. It also protects the vehicle owner from being sued for any incident that happens on the road
– Third-Party Property Damage Liability covers damages that were not the driver’s fault but are connected with the vehicle they were driving.
– Protection against losses and damages resulting from accidents and disasters due to natural causes, such as Fires. Storms, Floods. Earthquakes. etc…
In addition to the above liabilities, there is also a component for damage to your own vehicle which can be incorporated into your policy as either Comprehensive or Collision coverage depending on the type of insurance you purchase. In most cases, if you rent a car it will already be covered by its rental agency insurance which makes buying these additional coverages not necessary unless you are driving a personally owned vehicle in Thailand
Full Coverage (including liability)
The reason why you need to buy car insurance in Thailand is that it’s required by the government and there are many reasons why this is a good idea. If you’re driving in your personally owned vehicle, then you need to buy car insurance in Thailand. It protects individuals from being liable if injuries or damages are caused by an accident, which was their fault. It also protects the vehicle owner from being sued for any incident that happens on the road, such as fires, storms, floods, and earthquakes. There’s also a component for damage to your own vehicle which you can get with your policy either through comprehensive or collision coverage depending on what type of insurance that you purchase. In most cases, if you rent a car, it will already be covered by the rental agency’s insurance, which means buying these additional coverages won’t be necessary unless you’re driving a personally owned vehicle in Thailand.
In Thailand, there are two main types of motor vehicle insurance: ประกันภัย 3rd party and Full Coverage (including liability) With Third Party only your vehicle is insured so if you have an accident with another person or their property your own vehicle would not be covered. In addition to the above liabilities, you can also include damages to your own vehicle as either comprehensive or collision coverage depending on what type of insurance that you purchase. If you rent a car it will already be covered by the rental agency’s insurance, which means buying these additional coverages won’t be necessary unless you’re driving a personally owned vehicle in Thailand.
If you are driving your own vehicle in Thailand, then it is absolutely crucial to get 3rd party only or full coverage (including liability) MVI Insurance. There are some advantages and disadvantages of having Full Coverage (including liability) MVI Insurance compared with Third Party Only MVI Insurance
Liability ;
Liability only covers injuries and property damage that occurs directly from driving your own vehicle. Full coverage includes all of that plus any damages done by your passengers or other cars involved in an accident with you. So full coverage is a little more expensive but it’s worth it for various reasons.
While you can buy car insurance in Thailand that only covers liability, you really should consider buying full coverage as well. If someone gets into an accident with your vehicle and causes damages above the MVI coverage amount, your insurance will not be responsible as the other person was at fault. In this type of situation, if you do not have Full Coverage, then those people who got injured or damaged property may take legal action against you to pay for those damages beyond what your MVI policy pays out.
If they find evidence that you were negligent and caused the accident then you could face difficulty getting back home to America, or even jail time depending on the severity of damage/injuries.
The best thing to do if you plan to drive in Thailand is purchase car insurance through the Thai state system which will provide full coverage for about 1/5th the cost of what an American company would charge or even less!
So should I or shouldn’t I buy Car Insurance in Thailand?
Yes, definitely Buy Car Insurance in Thailand. Buy it anyway because chances are you’ll get into an accident with other vehicles within your first year here. Just hope that’s not true and good luck
