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[aussiebebe]

Quote

Don't ever combine savings with insurance. They should not even be talked about in the same breath.

Just wondering why? all Thai insurance companies I've seen offer health/life policies with some form of savings - what's going on there then?

[allan400]

Many Thai insurance companies offer Life Insurance with Savings build in, simply due to the tax savings they give. They are popular among Thais, because of the Tax savings, and not due to the Life Insurance part. Actually most people buy because they can save tax, and it give some small return of interest after e.g. 10-15 years policy duration. But when you pay the premium, for let's say 5-10 years, all those premiums can be deducted from your salary pre-tax, so no tax. That will mean a 30% instant saving on that money, if you have a high salary.
I have calculated, a typical Life Insurance with Savings, and a 30% tax bracket, will give approximately a return of 6-7% per year (including the regular yearly payments from policy, and the tax savings). But actually the insurance is not an insurance, because it just pays back the exact amount of money you invested as premium.... So insurance pays just 1 to 1....

[rgs2001uk]

^^^
allan,
I appreciate your comments, can you please tell what would be the benefit to a Thai with no tax number on these policies.
I concur, why should I pay in to get back what I paid in 20 years later , we havent even mentioned depreciation.
To tell you the truth, apart from being a tax "dodge" I cant really see the benefits of these policies.
Awaiting your "professional" advice.

[thaiericsweden]

In Thailand, the majority of health insurance is sold by life insurance companies.
AIA Life insurance company commands the largest share of the market, over 30%.
The simple reason for this is that they are the pioneers in the life insurance market in Thailand.
AIA had a very long head-start before the competition realized this was a very profitable business.
There are more than 20 life insurance companies registered in Thailand.
You are sure to get a better offer from an alternate company, AIA is the market leader and does not have to try as hard as the competition.

I would suggest that you avoid to buy health insurance from a life insurance company.
There's nothing wrong with buying a little life insurance, but keep it separate from the health insurance.
(If you want me to discuss life insurance, I have lots to say...and most of it proves that there are alternate investment choices with much better returns.)
The Thai insurance regulations issued by the Office of Insurance Commission stipulates that life insurance companies must include a life insurance policy when they sell health insurance.
Your cannot buy a stand-alone health policy from a life insurance company.
In addition to this restriction, the health insurance plans offered by life insurance companies will have fixed sub-limits on the medical benefits.
Once a sub-limit is reached, the excess balance has to be paid by the customer.

The majority of life insurance customers in Thailand are from the lower income brackets.
These customers usually have no other options for saving money, many are not able to purchase a home because they cannot get a bank loan......hence, their only option is life insurance.

The life insurance plans promoted by life insurance companies are usually the ones that make the best profits for life insurance companies. Agents promote these plans because they earn the highest commissions from these types of plans. The customer is actually the one person to this agreement that benefits the least from the life policy.

Foreigners that do not have a work permit can buy life insurance. Life insurance agents always ask for a work permit because that is what they are taught to do. The work permit is only needed to show a legal address in Thailand. The  local immigration office can supply you with a document that states you legal address in Thailand which should satisfy any life insurance company.