timoti

Hi,

For example if we are not in the country for a time and don't have a condo, and want to ship items that might not fit a regular mailbox, are there rented places we can use for this purpose? It's not always easy to find a friend who is willing to let you use his address.

It won't pile up boxes at this place but more like there might be a package once a month where I could pick it up shortly after.

Any ideas?

Thanks a lot in advance.

What if you opened a new store that looks like 7 11 like 7even, with similar colors then you will avoid all the fees, the scrutiny and insider competition right?

Does Thailand have strong IP laws?

I confirm true money works. Finally i can go without cash. Although just had the bolt driver argue i had to pay him despite showing him it's paid by card and also showing the same amount deducted from my bank card.

I didn't pay him of course but it's a hassle if they don't realize the payment is done. Not sure if anyone else experienced this.

Hi,

Basically now I have local Thai bank accounts so it helped me a lot with paying bills but can I also pay by scan in 7-11s for example? When I asked they said no, but not sure what options are available. I am trying to be cashless and ideally don't have to carry card also. I noticed even Bolt now allows bank accounts or even credit card.

Thanks a lot in advance.

8 minutes ago, BritTim said:

The official website for Thailand Elite is http://thailandelite.com.

 

Try to get a guarantee in writing that you will always be able to upgrade to 20 years for 400,000 baht if you go ahead with the five-year option.

Thanks a lot I will do that. Wow I was talking to the people in the link I sent.

15 minutes ago, BritTim said:

There is no pattern discernible on when changes are made to Thailand Elite memberships. At the current time, individuals who are only interested in the Easy Access visa that comes with an Elite membership have two rational options: five years for 600,000 baht and 20 years for 1,000,000 baht. If you buy the five year membership, current rules allow to to upgrade later to the 20-year membership by paying the difference of 400,000 baht (a sweet deal, in my opinion, that might well be withdrawn in the future).

Thanks a lot that makes sense. I was thinking the same. I just asked them they said if you get the 600K one, the upgrade price is locked so that's good. In that time 400K could be worth a lot less in USD.

Btw do you know if this is the official website?

https://www.thailandelitevisas.com

Hi,

I remember covid time someone buying it for 500K, but then this year when I checked the prices, it was doubled up. I guess it's due to THB going down against USD so they just try to keep the same USD value? Anyone knows if there is a timeframe when they increase the prices?

Also on their website they have 800K and 1M versions where the former is called Family Alternative. Is it possible to get these as single individuals?

Thanks a lot in advance.

On 5/23/2023 at 3:06 PM, richard_smith237 said:

As with many insurance policies.. You can tailor your cover - but usually once you exclude the USA the difference in premium is not much. 

 

i.e.

- Full World Wide 

- World Wide Excl USA, Canada 

- World Wide Excl. USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Singapore 

- World Wide Excl. USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Japan, Singapore 

etc etc... 

 

 

 

Oh ok that's interesting. It would be nice to compare all these 1 to 1, but April this year seem to remove cover limits in all countries except USA, Singapore, Japan. So before it was 1.5M for the one before the best plan, now it's unlimited. That's pretty good also.

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

"regardless of the coverage zone selected, benefits are valid worldwide (including in your Country of nationality if it is not in your coverage area) in the event of an Accident or Medical Emergency during temporary stays, for non-medical
reasons, not exceeding 90 consecutive days."

 

From the General Conditions 2023 which should be downloadable on your portal

 

Wow maybe I should get rid of my $150 annual credit card with 90 day health insurance benefit.

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

I got the plan documents from the broker prior to application.

 

They do have the option to revise  the schedule of benefits (limits on reimbursement) with advance notification.  So far the only thing that changed on that front was the reimbursement for private room  and that was more of a clarification.

 

I don't know if they can totally drop a benefit such as you suggest. It would certainly be an unusual thing to do.

 

Oh ok I just looked at the new docs, it seems like they revised them a bit. In the top 2 plans, now it says the cover limit is unlimited except some countries. I am very sure it wasn't like this before.

And I was looking at the cover zones, it seems like a lot of countries are missing. I asked chat gpt, it's about 136 countries. Now I dont plan to visit most of these countries but some of excluded ones I am interested are:

Argentina
Colombia
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Indonesia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Malaysia
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Romania
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Vietnam

I am surprised they don't cover Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines for example. I guess travel insurance via a solid credit card will be useful when visiting these places.

Or are these countries included in zone 5?

On 1/11/2023 at 4:06 PM, Sheryl said:

It is not necessary - nor is it at all advisable - to get a policy from a Thai company to be covered in Thailand.

 

A number of international insurers offer expatriate policies. At age 49 you have your pick of quite a wide range of choice.

 

You should ultimately get a policy through a broker, but to start off you can get quotes online for a number of companies  e.g.

 

AXA Global (not to be confused with AXA Thailand!)  https://quote.axaglobalhealthcare.com/quote/info?camp=online-default

 

Cigna Global   (ditto- not same as Cigna Thailand)  https://www.cignaglobal.com/quote/pages/quote/PersonalInformationLiteV4.html?new=true

 

Allianz  https://apps.allianzworldwidecare.com/#/1/getNewQuote

 

April global (ditto - not same as April Thailand)  https://fr.april-international.com/en/living-abroad/myhealth-international

 

William Russell https://www.william-russell.com/expat-health-insurance-thailand/

 

ACS (limited to SE Asia but that might work fine for you)  https://www.acs-ami.com/en/expat-health-insurance/acs-asia/

 

 

Do you find it hard to find the plan policy documents for April? Normally they should be listed under the website very clearly. I normally access them via the personal details page but I mean for non members these PDFs should be easily accessible.

Do you know if they can increase or reduce benefits in the future? I just don't know if the benefits are set it stone when you purchased them or if they are flexibly adjusted as time goes on. Maybe they could remove pre/post-op benefits for in patient hospitalization for example.

32 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

 

What do you guys think about vumi vs cigna vs bupa vs april?

I checked their preimums before but they were way more expensive.

I think bupa was 3x april and cigna was 2x. Vumi was similar but they don't cover some countries like Singapore if i am not wrong.

Cigna doesn't have pre post op coverage unless you buy OP module which doubles the price.

Bupa had many clauses in their brochure and still way more expensive.

3 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

... except for the scar.

Not all operations will leave scar. I had people tell me they had all kinds of operation through their genital organs.

12 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

So in plain English, would you be asking the hospital doctor to falsify the pre-admittance evaluation?

If I had pre-existing, I don't see any issues. Many doctors are willing to help the patients but some doctors could be overzealous to try to write down everything without any diagnosis. For example you might mention pain in one of your hand bones, and the doctor could write arthritis which could cause issues on your claims, despite not having it.

So you have to be on top of what the doctor is writing down. It's up to the individual.

10 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

One of the other issues with insurers is they do little checking when people apply for insurance, but when making a claim there the digging really starts, really you want to know when kicking off insurance exactly what you aren't covered for

 

 

 

 

 

I think it will be hard for them to find out every issue you had unless it can be observed by other doctors and noted.

For example let's say you are from Singapore and lived in Italy then in Japan and had a simple procedure. Later you bought an intl cover while living in Thailand, it would be pretty close to impossible for the insurer to find out about the operation in Japan.

The only thing they could do is to request full data from the hospital in Thailand that you visited and made the claim.

I think one should also ask what the doctor will write in medical certificate so it's within the insurance registration date and not mention anything that could create problems.

On 2/28/2023 at 7:41 AM, pontious said:

April International  have increased premiums by 15% this year for over 65,s - this does not include 2-3 % increase for age . My policy this year has increased by 700 USD. it is getting very expensive.  4411 USD.

May I ask which plan and area of cover you have? I have everywhere except USA and one before the best plan and it's over 2K for 35yo. So I imagine you have emergency plan? From what I saw the highest premium for my plan was 7-8K at age 89? Something like that.

On 2/28/2023 at 7:32 AM, Lucky Bones said:

"Another passport with slightly different date of birth?"

 

Please explain.????????

Photoshop ???? But I think to be safe you also need to use a different phone number and also different passport. Every hospital is different so not sure how they are indexing patients.

On 1/18/2023 at 4:11 PM, Sheryl said:

Dr. Anna is unquestionably the best doctor for skin cancer in Thailand. But OP (1) apparently doesn't to suspect cancer/ feels sure it is not (just wants cosmetic mole removal) and (2) asks specifically for Bangkok.

 

 

Would you also recommend this doctor to laser unwanted flat small (1-5mm moles) from body and face?

I don't trust beauty clinics and their prices are insane like 100K for whole body or something. Or 1-2K per mole, etc.

I think pattaya intl hospital said 10K for removing some of the moles from the body using liquid nitrogen.

The moles I am talking about are very small and flat, so just the usual harmless ones just for cosmetic reasons.

So VUMI worldwide is not true worldwide like April? It seems like that, even if you exclude USA, etc. For example VUMI excludes Singapore?

Otherwise the included OP seems good.

19 minutes ago, timoti said:

Oh I see, I thought they use passport number also. From what I have been told April or other insurance companies only check the name for bills.

 

So I guess having another passport with slightly different DOB and number is advisable?

 

Do you think April would classify a new kidney stone as preexisting within a year or 2? I ask this because I know some insurance companies say even if you never had this, because it takes time for the stone to form, they classify it as pre-existing. But then how can you know about this in advance if it's forming in 1-2 years?

 

Is Vumi only in Thailand? I think I was mentioned them before.

Edit: also i think record sharing between hospitals depend on the country. I think in Thailand no because when i sent to different hospital the new doctor also wanted to do xray despite me telling him the first doctor did also.

On 12/30/2022 at 10:33 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Same hospital - records from just under 5 years previously stated - kidney stone present in ultra-sound during medical check-up the previous year, no longer present / has passed. That was sufficient for them to classify the kidney stone as a pre-existing condition...

 

Treatment at a different hospital may not have had the same notes (I’m not sure if hospitals can share information). 

 

Using a different passport won’t work - we are still identified by Name & DOB if we have existing hospital records. 

 

 

 

 

Oh I see, I thought they use passport number also. From what I have been told April or other insurance companies only check the name for bills.

So I guess having another passport with slightly different DOB and number is advisable?

On 12/30/2022 at 10:42 PM, Sheryl said:

It is also possible the the doctor in his notes  for the current condition  mentioned the prior stone.  In fact that is the most likely explanation.

 

Having had 1 kidney stone does in fact put you at greater than avetage risk for another. 

Do you think April would classify a new kidney stone as preexisting within a year or 2? I ask this because I know some insurance companies say even if you never had this, because it takes time for the stone to form, they classify it as pre-existing. But then how can you know about this in advance if it's forming in 1-2 years?

On 12/30/2022 at 11:29 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Correct. Notes from 6 years prior to taking out the insurance stated presence of a stone. 

Also, notes from 4 years 10 months (approx) prior to taking out the insurance that a stone was no longer present and likely passed. 

 

These notes were in my medical file and the insurance company had access to these notes. 

 

The insurance policy had a 5 year moratorium on pre-existing renal conditions and as there was a note within that 5 years (at the time of taking out the insurance) a kidney stone was considered a pre-existing condition (even though the note stated a stone previously observed was no longer present / had passed).

 

Additionally, the ’new' stone was found in the other kidney (if it matters)...  towards the end of that years period of cover.... in effect nearly 7 years after finding the first stone and 5 years 10 months (approx) after the Drs notes stated no stone present. 

 

All a very flimsy argument from the insurer who at first pre-authorised cover, then refused to pay following treatment. 

 

In hindsight I should have gone to a different hospital which did not have my records. 

 

IMO - based on the wording of the policy the Insurance company should have paid. 

April had just enough wiggle-room to work their way out of payment. 

I was threatened with legal action from the hospital - I need to travel frequently for work, it wasn’t worth the hassle or money to fight the issue. 

 

Another point: VUMI may very well have reacted the same way, it's impossible to know. 

 

VUMI have paid out without an issue for some treatment required by my Wife (something similar to an Ectopic pregnancy).

 

As I now have cover though work, I renewed VUMI for only my Wife and Son this year.

VUMI tried to get a little tricky - VUMI wanted to start cover for my Wife and Son from new, and include a ‘pre-existing condition’ for my Wife (based on her previous years treatment) - I had to argue with VUMI that the cover was ‘continuing’, I was just being removed from the Plan and my Wife and Son were not starting new cover, but continuing existing cover. 

 

IMO - All / many insurance companies are deliberately tricky - VUMI did agree in to cover without pre-existing conditions in the end, but still, I had to force the issue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is Vumi only in Thailand? I think I was mentioned them before.

On 12/3/2022 at 4:08 PM, richard_smith237 said:

I had April insurance - the refused a pay out. 

 

Perhaps my fault for failing to disclosed what they called a pre-existing condition within 5 years. 

 

Approx 5 years before taking the insurance (about 4 years and 10 months to be precise) - I’d passed a kidney stone... (Scans showed no more evidence of a stone - the passing of the stone and no evidence of further stones was noted on my record). 

 

Over 5 years later, half way thought that years April Insurance coverage a routine medical checkup identified another stone.

 

I decided to have lithotripsy to have the stone removed (that failed) - the cost was 130,000 baht, with one overnight stay at Bumrungrad. 

 

April pre-authorised treatment and authorised payment on departure from hospital. 

 

Two months later I received the bill from Bumrungrad - April had refused payment because a kidney stone was considered a pre-existing condition. 

That there was proof that I had no stones 5 years earlier, that I had previously had a stone was considered a pre-existing condition and on that technicality they refused payout. 

 

I argued that having a broken leg is not a preexisting condition and they can’t refuse treatment for having another, but they still classify a previous kidney stone as pre-existing. 

 

A further facet of this: IF April had not preauthorised treatment I would have gone to a chapter hospital for treatment - Thus, not only did they refuse to pay, but I ended up paying for more expensive treatment than I would have had I known they were not going to cover payment. 

 

Come renewal, I removed my family and from any cover with April  (April International BTW). 

 

 

 

 

How did they find out about the previous kidney stone? Was it the same hospital or thai hospitals share policies? I bet if you used different passport, they wouldn't know about this since the new operation would be under a new record.

1 hour ago, NativeBob said:

isn't it a little bit excessive for 30 days extension? I rented house for 15+ years and haven't seen any of these papers from our owner/landlord [in Bangkok]

Yes i think so. Anyway i didn't see this new paper of requirements handed out before. And they gave me a new form to be filled by owner.

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That is not really a new requirement if staying in a private residence. 

Oh ok. I am surprised last time they didn't ask. But now they are giving the same requirements papers to everyone.