The short answer

If your family might move again, or wants cover in pounds, dollars or euros, look first at international life insurers such as RL360 and William Russell, or specialists such as Atlas Life. If you're settled in Thailand for good and want cover in baht with a Thai tax deduction, consider Thai insurers such as AIA, Allianz Ayudhya, Muang Thai or Krungthai-AXA — usually through an independent broker. Be cautious with bank-sold combination plans. Older applicants may find specialist no-medical plans, such as Pacific Cross's, easier to obtain. Whatever you choose, pair life cover with good international health insurance, write it in trust and size it to your family's real needs. We take leads for insurance and introduce specialists; Lawrence will help you choose, free.

Life protection providers at a glance

The providers expat families in Thailand most often come across, side by side.

From Thailand Starter Kit (September and October 2026), our RL360 profile and our life insurance guide. JLIT takes leads for insurance and introduces specialists; it does not sell insurance or represent these providers.

International or Thai: the first decision

Before comparing individual providers, decide which kind of policy suits your family. It narrows the choice quickly.

International life insurance

Policies from international insurers are designed for people who live abroad. They usually pay in pounds, dollars or euros; can pay beneficiaries anywhere in the world; can be written in trust; and are more likely to keep covering you if you move to another country. They're often the better fit for families who may leave Thailand, whose children may study abroad, or whose obligations — a UK mortgage, UK university fees — are in another currency.

Thai life insurance

Thai insurers sell policies in baht, regulated in Thailand, and premiums of up to ฿100,000 a year on qualifying policies running ten years or more can be deducted from Thai taxable income. They can be good value for families whose lives and costs are firmly in Thailand. But Thai-issued policies usually can't be kept if you move abroad, and claims and paperwork may be partly in Thai.

UK policies

Many UK, US and EU insurers won't cover people living permanently abroad. If you already have a UK policy, check whether it still covers you in Thailand — and don't cancel it until new cover is in place.

1. RL360 LifePlan

RL360 is an Isle of Man international life company, part of International Financial Group Limited, widely used by expats in Asia for savings, investments and protection. LifePlan is its life protection product.

• Type: whole-of-life cover with a term element and accidental death cover.
• Minimum: from US$200 a month.
• Cover: up to US$7.5 million.
• Currencies: three.
• Trusts: RL360 offers a range of trusts, so the payout can reach your family quickly.
• Access: through financial advisers.

Best for: families wanting substantial, long-term cover in a hard currency, often alongside RL360 savings or investments. See our RL360 profile.

2. William Russell

William Russell is an international insurer specialising in expats, offering health insurance in around 160 countries and a life plan designed for people living abroad.

• Cover: up to 20 times salary in principle; its online quote tool is capped at US$2 million. Many families choose around five times salary.
• Currencies: premiums and payouts in pounds, dollars or euros.
• Beneficiaries: can be anywhere in the world.
• Terminal illness: early payout on a terminal diagnosis with less than 12 months to live.
• Claims: should be made within 12 months of death.

Best for: working expat families who want straightforward term cover in a hard currency, and who may move country.

3. Atlas Life and 4. Pacific Cross International

Atlas Life

Atlas Life is a specialist offering fully medically underwritten life policies with international cover for expats. Full underwriting means you answer detailed health questions — and may need medical checks — but you know exactly what's covered from the start, which is valuable when the policy may run for 20 years or more.

Best for: expats wanting fully underwritten international term cover.

Pacific Cross International

Pacific Cross is a regional insurer well known in Thailand for health insurance. It offers plans with no medical underwriting or health exams, aimed at older applicants. Plans without underwriting are simpler to buy but usually provide lower amounts of cover and may limit payouts in the early years, so read the terms carefully.

Best for: older expats who may struggle to get fully underwritten cover elsewhere.

Where to start

A free review to work out what you need, introductions to specialists for quotes, and a better rate for paying premiums.

Thai life insurers

Thailand has a large, well-established life insurance market, and several of its biggest companies are joint ventures with global groups. Foreigners can buy cover with a valid passport and a long-term visa — business, marriage or retirement — and there's no legal requirement to have lived in Thailand for a year first. Some insurers ask for a residence certificate; others accept a lease or utility bill as proof of address.

5. AIA Thailand

The largest life insurer in Thailand and in Asia Pacific, with more than 21% of the Thai life market. AIA sells life and standalone health cover, mostly through agents and brokers — so the choice of adviser matters as much as the insurer.

6. Allianz Ayudhya

Allianz's Thai business, operating with Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri). It offers life, health, motor, travel and personal accident cover, making it a one-stop option for families who want everything with one company.

7. Muang Thai Life

One of Thailand's largest local insurers and known mainly for life insurance. Its health plans tend to have lower cover and lower prices than international plans.

8. Krungthai-AXA

AXA sells life insurance in Thailand through its partnership with Krungthai Bank. Its general insurance arm offers health and travel cover.

Best for: families settled in Thailand who want baht cover and the Thai tax deduction. Use an independent broker to compare, and ask for English documents.

Bank-sold policies: proceed with care

Thai banks are a major channel for life insurance — local banks account for around 35% of the local life market. When you open an account or apply for a loan, you may be offered a policy at the counter, often a savings-and-life combination with a long term.

These products can be convenient, but they're designed to be sold quickly. Combination plans often provide limited life cover for the premium, tie up savings for years, and can be costly to cancel. One example cited by Thailand Starter Kit combined ten years of life cover with 25 years of health cover — a structure the guide advised against.

• Don't buy on the spot — take the documents away and compare.
• Separate protection and savings — term life cover plus a separate savings plan is usually clearer and better value.
• Ask for the cover amount in plain numbers, and what you'd get back if you stopped.
• Check you're not required to buy a policy to get a loan or account.

International health insurers expat families use

Life cover protects your family if you die; health cover protects them while you live. These are some of the international health insurers most often recommended for expats.

From InternationalInsurance.com (13 October 2026), Thailand Starter Kit (October 2026) and Thaiger (July 2026). We take leads for health insurance and introduce specialists.

Medical checks and underwriting

How a provider assesses your health affects both the price and the certainty of your cover. With full underwriting, you answer detailed questions and may need tests; the insurer then accepts you, adds exclusions, charges more or declines. With simplified or no underwriting, there are fewer questions, but cover is usually lower and may be restricted in the early years.

As a rough guide from Thailand Starter Kit, applicants under 45 seeking around US$200,000 of cover may need only an HIV test, while those over 45, or seeking more than about US$500,000, usually need medical checks. Insurers may also ask questions if there's a large age gap between the policyholder and the beneficiary.

Whatever the process, answer every question fully and honestly — including where you live and any risky activities such as motorbiking or diving. Non-disclosure is one of the main reasons claims fail.

The types of cover providers offer

• Term life — pays if you die within a set term, often 10–20 years or until the children are independent. Usually the cheapest way to buy a large amount of cover.
• Whole of life — pays whenever you die, as long as premiums are paid. Useful for estate planning and inheritance tax.
• Endowment — combines savings with life cover, paying out at the end of the term or on earlier death.
• Retirement plans — pay an annual income after retirement age, with some life cover before.
• Critical illness cover — a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed serious illness, often added to life cover.
• Income protection — a monthly income if illness or injury stops you working.

For most young families, term life cover sized to the family's needs, written in trust, is the core. Our guides to international life insurance for expat families and critical illness and income protection explain each in depth.

International vs Thai providers on what matters

How the two main types of provider usually compare for an expat family.

A general guide — individual policies vary. From Thailand Starter Kit (September 2026) and our life insurance guide.

What life cover costs

Prices vary widely by age, health, smoking, cover amount, term and provider, so the only reliable figure is a quote. As a rough indication, TheThailandLife suggests premiums of around ฿4,000 a month for ฿3–5 million of term cover over 20 years, though your own price could be higher or lower. RL360 LifePlan starts from US$200 a month, reflecting its whole-of-life design and higher cover limits.

A few things make a big difference to the price:

• Term vs whole of life — term cover is usually far cheaper for the same amount of cover.
• Age — every year you wait usually costs more, and some providers stop offering new term cover in your 60s or 70s.
• Health and smoking — smokers and people with health conditions pay more.
• Guaranteed vs reviewable premiums — guaranteed premiums cost more at first but can't rise later.
• Combined plans — savings elements add cost without adding protection.

Because cover gets more expensive with age, the cheapest policy is usually the one you buy now.

Insurers, agents, brokers and advisers

Most people don't buy life cover directly from an insurer. In Thailand, you'll usually meet one of four routes:

• Tied agents sell one insurer's products — helpful for that company's range, but they can't compare.
• Bank staff sell the bank's partner insurer, often combination plans.
• Brokers can compare several insurers — the best route for most expats choosing between Thai policies.
• International advisers arrange cover from international insurers, often alongside savings, trusts and investments.

Whichever route you use, check the person is licensed, ask how they're paid, and ask them to show you at least two or three alternatives. A good broker or adviser should be just as happy to tell you which cover you don't need. We take leads and introduce you to specialists who work with expat families, and Lawrence can sense-check any recommendation for free.

Cover for older expats and retirees

Many expats in Thailand are in their 50s, 60s or older, and their protection needs are different. The children may be independent, but there may be a younger partner to provide for, a Thai home to pass on, or a UK inheritance tax bill to plan for.

Term cover becomes more expensive and harder to obtain with age, and some providers set maximum ages for new policies or for the end of the term. Whole-of-life cover written in trust can help with inheritance tax and leave a guaranteed sum, but premiums are higher. For those with health conditions, simplified plans without medicals may be the only option, usually with lower cover.

For many retirees, the priorities are a lifelong international health plan, a Thai will, money in a partner's own name, and — where it makes sense — a modest amount of life cover in trust. Our guide to what happens to your estate if you die overseas covers the estate side.

Questions to ask any life insurer

• Will this policy cover me while living in Thailand — and if I move again?
• What currency are premiums and payouts in?
• Is it term, whole of life or a savings plan? What's the actual amount of cover?
• Can it be written in trust, and is there a trust form?
• Are premiums guaranteed, or can they be reviewed?
• Are there exclusions for activities, countries or health conditions?
• How are claims made from Thailand, and in what language?
• Who regulates the insurer, and what protection exists if it fails?

Write it in trust

Whichever provider you choose, how the policy pays out matters as much as who issues it. A policy written in trust usually pays your family without waiting for probate and usually sits outside your estate for UK inheritance tax. For expats, that can mean weeks instead of months — and avoids Thai bank accounts frozen on death becoming the family's only source of money.

International insurers commonly provide trust forms, often free. Thai policies usually pay a named beneficiary. Either way, keep beneficiaries up to date. Our guide to beneficiaries and cross-border policies explains how.

Paying premiums and receiving payouts

An international policy in pounds or dollars means paying premiums from a hard-currency account, and a family in Thailand receiving a payout they'll need to convert into baht. Annual premiums, large payouts and school fees are exactly the transfers where a specialist FX provider can save hundreds or thousands compared with a bank. Leave your family a contact so they know where to turn.

The most common mistakes

• Buying at the bank counter without comparing.
• Choosing a combination plan when term cover plus separate savings would give more protection.
• A Thai policy for a family likely to move — and losing cover later.
• Relying on a UK policy that no longer covers you abroad.
• Too little cover — forgetting school fees and university.
• Not disclosing everything — health, residence, motorbikes, diving.
• No trust — and a payout stuck in probate.
• Life cover without health cover — or the other way round.

Three real-world examples

These are illustrations, not real clients.

Tom and Lisa, 38 and 36 — two children, may move on

Tom's job could take them to Singapore or back to the UK. They choose international term cover in pounds, written in trust, sized to school fees and income, plus an international health plan for the family.

Somchai and Helen, 45 and 44 — settled in Chiang Mai

Helen is British and married to Somchai; they plan to stay in Thailand for good. They compare Thai insurers through a broker, choose baht term cover for each of them, and claim the Thai tax deduction on qualifying premiums.

Graham, 63 — retired, supporting a younger partner

Full underwriting is difficult because of his health history. He looks at a no-medical plan aimed at older applicants for a smaller amount of cover, alongside a Thai will and money in his partner's own name.

Your provider checklist

1. Work out how much cover you need — school fees, income, debts.
2. Decide international or Thai — based on whether you may move and which currency you need.
3. Shortlist providers that accept your age, health and residence.
4. Get quotes through a specialist, not at a bank counter.
5. Compare like with like — cover amount, term, currency and premiums.
6. Disclose everything on the application.
7. Write the policy in trust or name beneficiaries carefully.
8. Pair it with health insurance and review every few years.

Checking who you deal with

Before buying any policy in Thailand, check that the insurer and the agent or broker are licensed with Thailand's insurance regulator, the OIC, and be wary of anyone who contacts you out of the blue. Confirm payment details directly with the insurer, and use a private, protected connection when you log in to insurer portals on public Wi-Fi.

How we compiled this directory

This directory draws on Thailand Starter Kit's guides to life insurance in Thailand (modified 22 September 2026) and insurance companies in Thailand (modified 14 October 2026); InternationalInsurance.com's 2026 list of international health insurers (13 October 2026); our RL360 profile and life insurance guide, including William Russell's published terms; and TheThailandLife (May 2026). Providers are listed for information only. JLIT takes leads for insurance and introduces specialists; it does not sell insurance or represent any provider listed. Checked 14 October 2026. This directory is general information, not personal financial or insurance advice.