pablo el sueco

The process I went through yesterday, to convert to the 3.5M policy, consisted of these steps: I signed the Change of Coverage form, on which I selected 3.5 M Limit, Plan 3 (100,000) deductible; I signed the Renewal Notice form, renewing the policy I've had for the past 2 years; I paid the premium of 36,700 baht; I submitted the Change of Coverage form, the Renewal Notice form, a copy of my passport, and the payment receipt via e-mail to the insurance company; I received a response from the insurance company stating they will send a Health Certificate, and an E-Policy within 2 working days by e-mail; and they will send a Health Care Card by snail mail within 15 working days. After I receive the Health Certificate and E-Policy, I will query the insurance company whether they have updated the TGIA database with the new information so I can process my extension through Immigration.

I have just now paid the 36,700 baht premium for another year of LMG insurance; and I plan to submit my extension application next week. Meanwhile I am waiting to see whether my application for Elite Visa gets approved.

I went to my immigration office today to inquire about the self-insurance provision of the Police Order, and here's how it went. Communication was through an interpreter who accompanied me. I was told that in order to self-insure, one must reject the insurance policy due to its exclusions (this rejection will elicit a denial letter from the insurance company); receive the denial letter from the insurance company -- this letter must be an original hardcopy letter, not an electronic scan of an e-mail, not a printed PDF document, and not a photocopy; have bank deposits totalling 3 million baht for at least 2 months prior to extension application. When applying for the extension of stay with the self-insurance provision, one must submit the original insurance denial letter; a copy of the bank passbook showing a balance of at least 3 million baht for 2 months; a bank statement confirming 3 million baht on deposit for 2 months; a bank letter certifying 3 million baht on deposit for 2 months. It's not a problem for the funds to be in more than one bank, however, the funds to self-insure (3 million) absolutely may not be in the same bank account as the funds for the extension of stay (800,000). This wrinkle surprised me as it is not mentioned in the Police Order. The reason I was given was a bit of a stretch: because the bank letter and bank statement confirming the funds would be too confusing for the immigration officer to interpret. Since, in my case, funds for self-insurance and extension of stay occur together in one of my accounts, I shall not be allowed to self-insure -- at least that is the ruling of my immigration office.

You may be right. I'll have to see what Imm. requires. Imm. may simply accept the insurance company's statement of exclusions as proof that I should be allowed to self-insure (self-insurance might be preferred in lieu of a policy with exclusions because it assures full coverage more reliably). To my mind, this is the unstated essence of the police order's provison for self-insurance -- reliable total coverage. Or, as you surmised, Imm. may require me to reject the exclusions outright; receive a rejection letter; and then be permitted to self-insure. There is at least one other outcome: My IO might be a rogue office that will just ignore the provisions of subparagraph 6.3 of the police order. My window for extending my stay opens up in two weeks on October 3. I hope to visit Imm. before that to get full details on how my IO plans to interpret the new rules for self-insuring. Wish me luck, please.

Yes, I agree with you that insurance companies write policies which exclude pre-existing conditions. LMG excludes certain pre-existing conditions from my policy, and documents those exclusions in their policy offering. If I reject the exclusions, the policy offering is rescinded. Thus, I believe LMG denies me full coverage and offers me only partial coverage. I don't know how else to interpret the terminology used in the police order -- it seems crystal clear to me despite the fact that sub-paragraph 6.3 is a massively overwrought run-on sentence. My hope is that my IO will interpret the police order as I do. I shall present the policy's documentation of my exclusions to my IO and ask whether I shall be permitted to self-insure using deposits of 3 million baht in the bank. Like you, JimGant, I have ample global insurance coverage as a benefit of my pension plan. When I came to Thailand 16 years ago, my US-based health coverage was in place. I do not want to throw any more money away on worthless insurance like I did for the past two years; the new police order, I believe, gives me an out. By the way, I have been extremely worried about having two policies in effect -- I am concerned whether each insurer will tell me that the other insurer has to pay. ????

This is hugely confusing for me to comprehend. The latest requirements for the extension which you posted, state "100,000 USD or 3,000,000 baht". The figure is mentioned in paragraph 6 of the Police Order: "3,000,000". For those, like me, who must self-insure because the insurance company partially or totally denies coverage, the amount required to be on deposit in Thai banks is 3,000,000 baht according to paragraph 6.3 of the Police Order. I cannot find any mention of 3,500,000 baht in the Police Order. If the Police Order truly dictates the requirements for the extension, then the requirement is 3,000,000 baht -- not 3,500,000 baht.

In another thread, @ubonjoe posted a link to RTP-Order-No.654-2564-1-1 dated December 27, 2021. Here is that link https://aseannow.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=865656&key=f655ef0f2aed6f222098efa9db805511 Paragraph (6.3) of this Order appears to confirm that the O/A retiree seeking an extension of stay must be FULLY insured for 3,000,000 baht otherwise the retiree can self-insure with bank deposits totalling 3,000,000 baht. To take advantage of this provision, however, the insurance company must certify that the retiree cannot be fully insured. Since the insurance I obtained for my previous 2 extensions did not cover pre-existing conditions, I have requested my insurance company to send me a certification of partially denying coverage. I have yet to receive a response from the insurance company. If anyone else has been able to obtain such certification that was acceptable to Immigration, please post details. If my insurance company stonewalls me in this, I will contact immigration to see whether the pdf of my insurance policy which itemizes the exclusions will be acceptable (though I fear it will not, ASEANNOW members have mentioned before that Immigration does not read insurance policies).

(6.3) states that the insurance company must certify evidence of partially denying health insurance purchase, and that the retiree must have 3,000,000 in bank deposits if the insurance company partially denies purchase. For my past two O/A retirement extensions, the LMG coverage I purchased excluded my pre-existing conditions. Question 1. Is exclusion of pre-existing conditions the same as partially denying health insurance purchase? Question 2. What is required from the insurance company to certify that they partially deny coverage, and to whom must they submit this certification? Question 3. Can the 3,000,000 in bank deposits be spread across multiple banks (since only 1,000,000 is insured in any one bank); and what documentation is required to prove the 3,000,000 -- passbook, statement, bank letter?