For all intents and purposes, excess payments are intended to reimburse you for any losses that you sustain in the event of a vehicle accident. It is a legal requirement in Thailand that every driver on the road must have minimum coverage, which can be achieved by making an excess payment.
They’re Not Paid In Cash
It is important to realise that these excess payments are not paid in cash. Rather, they are applied in kind, which means you will receive a certain percentage of your actual claim as a surplus payment. This is calculated based on the coverage you have chosen and on your driving record. However, you will not receive any money upfront, instead, your excess payments are deducted from your final payout.
The law clearly states that no insurer shall ever ask you to make an excess payment at any time. If an excess payment has to be made for any reason, it will be paid by the insurer after deducting the amount you agreed to pay from your final payout. As such, there is no way to avoid paying the excess amount due. Your only option is to request that your insurer make this payment for you, but this request may be refused.
The legalities surrounding Thailand’s car insurance rules are not entirely clear, but it is likely that excess payments are only made if the car is completely paid for in the event of a claim. It is also possible that the insurance company will only pay out the actual value of the car, with nothing left over after the agreed excess. It is important to remember that your premium will always be based on the final cost of your insurance policy, so it is not necessarily the amount you are left with to pay after the excess has been deducted. Given these facts, it is likely that you will receive a standard excess payment when applying for car insurance in Thailand.
What You Can Do
There are some ways you can help yourself when applying for the best auto insurance Thailand (if you are reading this from Thailand and need a local translation, use ประกัน รถยนต์ ชั้น 1) can provide. One way is to arrange to make your excess payment as a lump sum. By doing this you should ensure that your premiums will be at their most affordable level. Another way of helping yourself is to agree to make monthly excess payments until your car has been fully paid for. This is usually around three months and will mean that you will only have to make one single excess payment to the insurance company.
Rules Are Stricter For Foreigners
When applying for car insurance in Thailand, it is important to bear in mind that the rules are stricter for foreigners than they are for Thai residents. In addition, foreigners will often find themselves facing extra charges on top of the excess payment they must make, such as higher excess fees and premium insurance premiums.
Foreigners looking to save money on insurance premiums can often reduce their premiums by agreeing to pay a larger excess payment. Also, many companies will allow you to pay excess over and above your excess payment each month. However, it is essential to remember that the excess payment you agree to pay is a large amount of money, and therefore it is important to consider whether this amount is something you can realistically afford.