Fighting in Thailand, insurance

[RB Coop]

Hey guys, so i was searching for this topic, but couldn't find one, i hope this will be useful for me as much as for others who have interest in having fights in Thailand. I was wondering abouth health insurance. How do you go about it when you're having training and fighting in Thailand? What does it cover? Do you really need health insurance? Does stitching up coast loads if you have no health insurance? Sorry for so many questions, i just think not only me but many people who would go train in Thailand would benefit from these kind of questions considering they get injured and don't want to end up in the bad place where they have to pay loads of money just so they get stitched up or something. What does it take in the Muay Thai world in Thailand to get you to go to International Hospital? Can you train and fight without health insurance or it isn't worth it?  Thanks in advance everyone and have a nice day.

[Snack Payback]

You should definitely take out insurance before you get there. A lad I knew in Chiang Mai when I was staying there a while back was telling me about a friend of his. He went back to his hotel room drunk and realised he'd left his key in the room. He tried to climb onto his balcony from the neighbouring room, fell and broke both his hips. He didn't have insurance and was given a $50,000 US bill. So yeah, insurance might be something you want to look into   

 

 

 

[RB Coop]

4 hours ago, Snack Payback said:

You should definitely take out insurance before you get there. A lad I knew in Chiang Mai when I was staying there a while back was telling me about a friend of his. He went back to his hotel room drunk and realised he'd left his key in the room. He tried to climb onto his balcony from the neighbouring room, fell and broke both his hips. He didn't have insurance and was given a $50,000 US bill. So yeah, insurance might be something you want to look into   

I don't drink, i don't get out at night and i don't do things like that, the main question for me was insurance when it comes to the Muay Thai fighting in the Stadium, injuries, stitches and so on .  

 

 

 

[Snack Payback]

20 hours ago, RB Coop said:

I don't drink, i don't get out at night and i don't do things like that, the main question for me was insurance when it comes to the Muay Thai fighting in the Stadium, injuries, stitches and so on .  

Ha, I'm sure you're a very sensible person mate, but shit does happen. Your taxi could crash on the freeway, or seeing as you're planning on fighting, you got a pretty serious injury in the ring. Better to have the insurance and not need it, wouldn't you say? Others on here who've fought in Thailand should be able to advise on policies, I'm sure it would have to be more comprehensive than a standard travel insurance policy. Or maybe you could take out private health cover once you're in Thailand.

[LengLeng]

@RB Coop 

I have private insurance and have to pay out of pocket when seeking medical care which has given me an idea of what things cost. 

I've never had surgery in Thailand or got stitches but I go to the doc frequently and compared to other countries care is very affordable. I also recently needed to be taken by an ambulance to nearest hospital and got some urgent check and treatment done after an obstacle race injury. The event organizers took care of the bill so I don't know the exact amount but I don't think it was that much judging by the look at the guys who accompanied me and insisted to pay. 

Anyhow at international high-end hospital in Bangkok I've payed 20 EUR for expert consultations (orthopedic, ENT, cardiology, dermatology). 30 EUR for X-ray. 90 EUR for ultrasound scan plus surgeon consultation. 28 EUR blood test. Most expensive was a thorough heart check including stress test and loads of other tests for 1200 EUR. I had to drain my clinch ear, total cost 60 EUR. Physiotherapy following a muscle strain was 40 EUR/session. Treatment for the shingles was pretty expensive, medication cost me around 100 EUR. In general, imported medication will be pricey. 

But this is at a really expensive hospital and I could've opted for cheaper clinics or cheaper medication. They usually inform you about pricing before you say yes to anything. 

When I lived in the EU as EU citizen I managed to get really affordable and great travel insurance for when traveling outside of Europe, around 8 EUR/year. I would go for one of those that will cover emergency care. You might already have insurance if you booked your trip with visa or Mastercard, worth looking into. Depending on location you might need medevac (but it's not like an helicopter will airlift you out of the jungle, you'll still need to find your way to nearest airport). Thailand has excellent hospitals and doctors. 

I don't have any stats but my impression is that most common issue for tourists are scooter accidents. 

[RB Coop]

18 hours ago, LengLeng said:

@RB Coop 

I have private insurance and have to pay out of pocket when seeking medical care which has given me an idea of what things cost. 

I've never had surgery in Thailand or got stitches but I go to the doc frequently and compared to other countries care is very affordable. I also recently needed to be taken by an ambulance to nearest hospital and got some urgent check and treatment done after an obstacle race injury. The event organizers took care of the bill so I don't know the exact amount but I don't think it was that much judging by the look at the guys who accompanied me and insisted to pay. 

Anyhow at international high-end hospital in Bangkok I've payed 20 EUR for expert consultations (orthopedic, ENT, cardiology, dermatology). 30 EUR for X-ray. 90 EUR for ultrasound scan plus surgeon consultation. 28 EUR blood test. Most expensive was a thorough heart check including stress test and loads of other tests for 1200 EUR. I had to drain my clinch ear, total cost 60 EUR. Physiotherapy following a muscle strain was 40 EUR/session. Treatment for the shingles was pretty expensive, medication cost me around 100 EUR. In general, imported medication will be pricey. 

But this is at a really expensive hospital and I could've opted for cheaper clinics or cheaper medication. They usually inform you about pricing before you say yes to anything. 

When I lived in the EU as EU citizen I managed to get really affordable and great travel insurance for when traveling outside of Europe, around 8 EUR/year. I would go for one of those that will cover emergency care. You might already have insurance if you booked your trip with visa or Mastercard, worth looking into. Depending on location you might need medevac (but it's not like an helicopter will airlift you out of the jungle, you'll still need to find your way to nearest airport). Thailand has excellent hospitals and doctors. 

I don't have any stats but my impression is that most common issue for tourists are scooter accidents. 

Thank you! I'm really only worried about the fight, might get stitches, and i bet for that they bring you to hospital, so i think i need insurance for that, need to call and ask.. Insurance won't cover the scooter accident just because our license is not valid there, won't be using one anyways. Do you know how the weight in goes? Is it the same day before the fight or is it 1day before, so you can rehydrate? 

[Oliver]

Can't remember exact insurance companies that offer sports related injury cover, its a good question actually. Stitches was cheap if I remember right, just paid at the time. It only becomes expensive if you need a lot of different tests done for more serious medical problems and then the price of each test and scan adds up. But medical care in hospitals that speak English is amazing compared to Eu and quite affordable. For example a headache or food poisoning problem - the doctor's time plus the medication was like 25 Euros or something. A training related injury on my leg was similar.

But realistically you will more likely need help because you're sick, not because of Muay Thai. Our bodies aren't adapted for the local flora, climate, bacteria and stuff thats everywhere in Thailand, so we get sick in the beginning before our bodies get used to it. 

[LengLeng]

6 hours ago, RB Coop said:

Thank you! I'm really only worried about the fight, might get stitches, and i bet for that they bring you to hospital, so i think i need insurance for that, need to call and ask.. Insurance won't cover the scooter accident just because our license is not valid there, won't be using one anyways. Do you know how the weight in goes? Is it the same day before the fight or is it 1day before, so you can rehydrate? 

@Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu has plenty of experience re stitches hopefully she can give an overview. All I know they usually have a doc ringside and I've seen people being stitched up after fights at location (no hospital)..

Weigh in is fuzzy. I have limited experience but. Depends on skill level. Rajadamnern (I think...) and Lumpinee weigh in same day (early morning). Other places no clue but if you're not that experienced they probably won't check weight at all. A friend of mine is fighting at Lumpinee tomorrow and weigh in is around 6am fight around 8pm.

It is very common at less prestigious fight venues to have weight difference. A guy at my gym (64kg) fought at Asiatique BKK yesterday, weight (never checked though) was 70kg. I've been asked to fight someone 15kg heavier than me.

Hopefully you'll have a trainer you can trust and consult on this. It's not super easy getting a fight in Thailand so you might not have the opportunity to be picky about it. 

[515]

If you would take one, read the rules very well! A lot of companies exclude martial arts.

[RB Coop]

On 10/18/2019 at 9:05 PM, LengLeng said:

@Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu has plenty of experience re stitches hopefully she can give an overview. All I know they usually have a doc ringside and I've seen people being stitched up after fights at location (no hospital)..

Weigh in is fuzzy. I have limited experience but. Depends on skill level. Rajadamnern (I think...) and Lumpinee weigh in same day (early morning). Other places no clue but if you're not that experienced they probably won't check weight at all. A friend of mine is fighting at Lumpinee tomorrow and weigh in is around 6am fight around 8pm.

It is very common at less prestigious fight venues to have weight difference. A guy at my gym (64kg) fought at Asiatique BKK yesterday, weight (never checked though) was 70kg. I've been asked to fight someone 15kg heavier than me.

Hopefully you'll have a trainer you can trust and consult on this. It's not super easy getting a fight in Thailand so you might not have the opportunity to be picky about it. 

I'd love to get her option ! Considering she has so many fights i bet she knows how things like that go.

[RB Coop]

More insight would be appreciated!!

Edited October 25, 2019 by RB Coop

[RB Coop]

Any more input/insight from anyone? 

[Tanya]

Have you tried "SportsCoverDirect" ? They offer muay thai training/fighting insurance. 

[RB Coop]

On 12/21/2019 at 6:17 PM, Tanya said:

Have you tried "SportsCoverDirect" ? They offer muay thai training/fighting insurance. 

We don't have this one in our country.