Reading insurance fine print: everyone’s favorite pastime. Not. Handing off that responsibility to someone who actually knows the details so you don’t have to sounds like a tremendously useful idea. But for someone like me, who has a hard time relinquishing control over anything I’m about to sign, the bar for trusting someone else with these decisions is astronomically high.
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Insurance Brokers: Where Are The Exceptions?
In my experience, rare is the broker that actually delivers – and by deliver I mean help me make a better decision rather than just insert themselves into the process for a commission. I’d love to name some names here, but unfortunately the laws for that kind of thing in Thailand are somewhat strict. That’s also why you rarely find negative reviews of any kind of company in Thailand that aren’t anonymous or of unknown origin. So all we got, is trying to point out the good ones.
In addition, one of the major challenges in researching reliable brokers is finding one who has experience with expats – especially those familiar with all the complications you find in Southeast Asia, where bilateral agreements with your home country are often non-existent or unhelpful.
How Did I Find Out About Tenzing Pacific
Tenzing Pacific (or Ten-PAC) was recommended to me by an old friend who’s been working in the insurance industry all over South East Asia for more than a decade (but unfortunately doesn’t work as a broker herself, bummer). Tenzing is based in Vietnam but covering all of Southeast Asia, offering consultations on life insurance, health insurance and business insurance. They also offer savings and investment plans though I didn’t review any of those as that’s one thing I’ll always prefer to manage myself.
I reached out and connected with Quinn Miller, who seems to handle most things client-related there. My main objective was to get a good idea on life insurance options (I’m pretty familiar with health insurance already) and to see how they stacked up against other brokers I’ve dealt with over the years.
The Guy Who Replies to E-mails On Time
Right off the bat, I liked something about Quinn: he actually replies to messages and emails – and he does so fast. And if you spent any time in Thailand or anywhere else in South East Asia other than Singapore, you know that this isn’t a given. Let me rephrase. It’s infuriatingly rare. I can’t count how many lawyers, insurance brokers and financial consultants I’ve reached out to over the years, only to get no response or feel like they’d rather communicate by fax than email. It’s 2024. I’m not asking for a TikTok following, but for the love of god, just answer your emails. Anyway, I digress. Ten-PAC does this well. Test passed.
What Tenzing Is Good At
So, what else does Tenzing get right? Their knowledge of the expat insurance landscape is impressive – at least when it comes to life insurance. Given that tends to be more complicated than health insurance, I assume they’re decent for other products as well. They seemed knowledgeable and advised on multiple scenarios: From being permanently based in Bangkok, splitting time between multiple countries, and planning a cross-continental move. Quinn and the other people I talked to seem to understand that expat life comes with a laundry list of complications. Their recommended policies often include international portability and flexible coverage – basically non-negotiables for expats.
I’m familiar with insurance jargon. I write about it frequently and I don’t need any handholding there. What I do need explained to me is specific phrasing in the fine print and related exclusions: I can read it myself, but I don’t always know what it might mean in practice. I found Quinn to be able to provide (written!) answers in a way that’s refreshingly clear. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of finding out that verbal statements by sales people aren’t worth the time it took you to listen to them, you’ll appreciate someone who can provide reliable answers that you can refer back to.
What Tenzing Isn’t Good At
But let’s be honest: every rose has its thorn. Tenzing operates on a commission-based model, which means their recommendations could be swayed by the incentives they stand to earn. They seemed to do a good job of making it seem impartial, but if you’re reaching out to them, it’s wise to ask questions. Why this policy? Why this insurer? A little skepticism doesn’t hurt.
Their customer service, while mostly responsive, isn’t flawless. The team is usually quick to get back to me, but occasional delays do happen. Sometimes I have to chase down promised paperwork or follow up when I’m not dealing with Quinn directly. Still, compared to the often maddening communication standards in Southeast Asia, Tenzing service is miles ahead.
What I Used Them For: Life Insurance
While we’re on the topic of life insurance: One thing to watch out for: the cost of comprehensive coverage. It can be steep, and the peace of mind might come at a higher premium than anticipated. However, Tenzing did try to strike a balance, pitching a policy that seemed to provide a good trade-off between premiums and coverage.
Here you can see the options that were presented to me. If you actually want to learn more about this, I recommend reading my primer on life insurance in Thailand.
Why I Picked Them Anyway
What makes them compelling, despite these drawbacks, is their understanding of the expat experience. They didn’t try to shoehorn me into a local plan with meh-meh coverage that barely covers my needs or sell me coverage that makes sense only if I never leave Thailand. They understand the concept that I simply don’t know where I’ll live 5 years from now. This understanding translates into policies with the kind of flexibility that’s essential for an unpredictable expat lifestyle.
One additional – though albeit minor – benefit: Since Tenzing offers both, health insurance quotes as well as life insurance quotes – so there’s a chance to get everything (or at least everything important) out of the same hands.
Now, I’m not someone who usually gives a lot of weight to online reviews (I am aware of the irony) and I’ve green tired of people giving bad reviews for minor issues or giving positive reviews without really having tried something. This said, the fact that Tenzing has a clean 5.0 rating on Google Maps does count for something for me. It either means literally everyone is happy. Or Tenzing will reach out to everyone who left a bad review to make sure the issue gets resolved. Either works for me. As long as I know they care for sure. Here’s a selection of reviews people have left for them there:
Last but not least, Tenzing is large enough that you can always reach someone (even if your main contact is on vacation) but still small enough that you’ll likely know the person picking up the phone. With offices in both Thailand and Vietnam, there’s a good chance you can reach someone even during local holidays.
Tl;dr
Their policy selection and consultation process is solid. The commission-based model in the industry warrants a bit of healthy skepticism – so ask questions and compare options. Tenzing makes the insurance experience, if not painless, at least less excruciating. And in the end, in the sometimes unpredictable world of expat life (what? another coup? again?!), having insurance is worth overcoming a bit of insurance broker-induced cynicism.
PS: Quinn set up a custom quote page for ExpatDen readers: Here’s the one for health insurance and here’s the one for life insurance. If you use those links to reach out to him, ExpatDen gets a small kickback (at no additional cost to you) that helps us run the site.
PPS: If you do work with them – please let me know how it went (as well as if it’s okay sharing it with other readers!).
