I was asked to find insurance for my teacher friend from the Philippines trying to return to Thailand and who needs Covid insurance in order to return. Here is what I found.

Trawick International seems the cheapest and easiest with Covid coverage to obtain, plus it is headquartered in USA and their policy is in English. Trawick International policies do NOT cover pre-existing conditions, which is one reason they are cheap, but I don't think any Thai company policies cover pre-existing conditions, do they? You have to get a complete physical for many Thai policies and the reason they make you get the physical is cause they want to eliminate coverage for anything that shows up in your blood work, etc.

For a 55-year old Filipino, Trawick International is around $700 for a year of coverage of $100,000, choosing the highest deductible, $5000. I think it will be less the younger you are. You can cancel at any time and they refund the balance, pro-rated by the day. Their policies cover Covid but no not cover pre-existing conditions.

Note there are two different names for health insurance policies they offer. 1) Safe Travels International and 2) Safe Travels International Cost Saver. I spoke with a phone rep from Trawick International and she told me both policies offer the same benefits and she said fill out both forms and then choose whichever is cheaper. (If you want the cheapest price on either policy make sure and choose the highest deductible you can, $5000).

Anyway, I priced two Thai company policies that will cover Covid for a returning-to-Thailand 55 year old female Filipino teacher: 1) Magellan and 2) My Health (by April International) and they are both very expensive, at least $1500 up to around $2000. I don't know if they refund anything if you cancel, say, 6 months down the road.

Note: the company I use for my insurance is IMGlobal, a USA company, but as of March 26 they stopped covering Covid on new policies written, so this company won't work for a Filipino teacher trying to return to Thailand to teach at her job.

Harrell Guy Graham