Etaoin Shrdlu

I will concede that not al muslims are Arabs, but many are: https://globalnews.ca/news/10035853/israel-hamas-conflict-islamophobia-antisemitism-canada/

A proper reportage of anti-semitic incidents would need to include attacks on Arabs and Ethiopians and their homes, businesses and places of worship, as they are Semites, too. This article seems to only mention anti-Jewish incidents.

I haven't been able to find much in the way of claim settlement ratios apart from those of Indian insurers, but I tend to agree that the total percentage of medical claims paid is probably in excess of 90 percent. It may differ a bit from market to market, but a denial rate of greater than 10 percent or thereabouts on a market-wide basis would surprise me. The Indian regulator seems to do a good job of getting insurers to be transparent. It would be nice if regulators in other jurisdictions were as good.

Even in heavily-regulated markets like the US, it is extremely difficult to obtain information on the percentage of claims that are denied or not fully paid by insurers. Here are a couple of links to articles that discuss this issue: https://www.propublica.org/article/how-often-do-health-insurers-deny-patients-claims https://www.kff.org/private-insurance/issue-brief/claims-denials-and-appeals-in-aca-marketplace-plans/ These articles mention that the denial rates can range between 2% for some insurers, to almost 50% for others. A company co-founded by the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in one year denied 66% of claims according to the ProPublica article linked above. Given the lack of transparency on the part of insurers, and legislators' apparent unwillingness to pry open that black box, it isn't possible to determine what portion of claims are denied for completely legitimate reasons and which part are denied due to bad faith or unethical practices by insurers. The ProPublica article mentions that less than 1% of policyholders whose claims were denied appeal the denial, which may or may not mean that most denials were for legitimate reasons. While hard data on claims denial rates is difficult to come by, an insurance broker will usually know how well or poorly his clients have been treated and will avoid placing his clients' business with insurers that have poor claims-paying attitudes. Not surprisingly, insurers that charge higher premiums tend to have better claims-paying attitudes than those that charge lower premiums, but not in every case. This whole issue highlights the drawbacks of having to rely upon profit-driven private sector insurers to spread the risk of healthcare costs, especially when regulatory oversight is poor and insurers are not held accountable for their misdeeds.

IMG is a well-established insurance broker and Sirius Point is rated A- by AM Best, which is a good financial strength rating. Sirius is most likely the one that will decide whether a claim is payable. Brokers usually do not have claims settling authority. IMG should be able to help you if you have any issues with Sirius. I'm not suggesting that they can get claims paid when the illness or injury isn't covered, but they can assist with communications and understanding what is needed. IMG should also have enough commercial influence with Sirius to allow them to see things in a favorable light. One way to head off disappointment is to read and understand the insurance policy before you give the order to bind coverage. Make sure you understand your obligations under the policy, especially your duty of disclosure when completing the proposal form. Under the law of agency, an insurance broker is your agent, not the insurance company's, and should be your advocate in all matters when it comes to dealing with the insurance company. You might want to ask for a scope of services agreement or engagement letter from IMG so that you know what you can expect from them in terms of service. Good luck.

This company is a managing general agent and not a retail insurance broker. Their website states that if you make an inquiry, they will refer you to a broker that has a distribution agreement with them. I don't think it is possible to know how good the broker's service is in this instance since we don't know to which insurance broker they would refer you or which you might select from their list of "providers". They are up front with their providers, which includes the names of brokers or other agents they may work with and the AM Best ratings of the insurers that these providers use, although they do list a broker that uses an insurer that isn't rated by AM best. With the exception of Cigna Global, all of the providers listed have US addresses, so one could presume that they fall under the state insurance regulator in their respective states. This is probably better than trying to hold a broker responsible if they come under the regulation of an insurance authority on a Caribbean island or under no regulation in a Middle Eastern free zone. Cigna Global would be regulated by the PRA and FCA in the UK, so that's ok. You are probably going to be ok if you contact this company and they refer you to one of their providers, but I would avoid an insurer that does not have an acceptable AM Best financial strength rating.

A bit longer than that. In the Georgia election racketeering case in which he is a defendant, the RICO sentence is five to twenty years.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

We have a Philips 1215 air purifier and it works well. Replacement filters from Philips Thailand run about 1,500 baht for the charcoal filter and 2,000 baht for the HEPA filter. Replacement filters on Lazada cost less than 350 baht for both. I suspect the Lazada HEPA filters aren't really up to standard, but will test one using an air quality monitor and see if it is ok.

If you started your contract in August of 2023, then you only worked for five months in 2023. Your average tax rate for five months' salary will be less than the average tax rate for the full year's salary you'll earn in 2024 under your two-year contract. This is due to progressive tax rates used to calculate your tax liability.

Chances of getting a tourist visa may not be so great for your stepson. With a parent in the US and no strong ties to Thailand (no job, assets, etc.) he may be turned down. Consular officials deny tourist visas to people whom they suspect will seek to convert a tourist visa to a green card once they arrive in the US.

Yes, it's a major thing here. Just try to get a table in a popular restaurant on Valentine's Day evening.

Valentine's Day. Everyone taking their tilac out to dinner tonight.

Yes, and this is also true of some medical insurance policies, so careful review of policy terms and conditions is advisable, as is clarification from the insurer in the event of any ambiguity, before entering into a contract of insurance.

Personal accident and travel insurance proposals don't require the same level of underwriting scrutiny as medical insurance policies for a number of reasons. For starters, the limits are low and the coverage is fairly narrow in that it only covers urgent care and the policyholder is expected to return to their home country once able to fly if longer-term treatment is required. The insurer isn't going to pay millions of baht to treat cancer, stroke or heart problems on an on-going basis. Also, the definition of pre-existing conditions is anything, whether diagnosed or not, that is present at the time of policy inception or start of travel. This gives the insurer broad latitude to deny or limit cover. Detailed disclosure of pre-existing conditions isn't normally required for the type and level of cover this policy provides.

Yes, medical expenses arising out of an accident, unless an exclusion applies and subject to the policy limits (and sub-limits if applicable), are covered. The main insuring agreement in the terms and conditions actually refers to "injury or illness". I think the term "injury" is actually broader than "accident" since an injury could be the result of a foreseen or intentional event, while "accident" requires a lack of intent and/or being unforeseen. Being assaulted in the course of being robbed isn't an accident, but injuries sustained should be covered. Some coverages, such as the optional Accident Extension Benefit would only apply in the case of an accident and not illness. Sorry to digress.

With respect to your final paragraph, my reading is that this limitation applies only to the optional "Accident Extension Package Benefits" that provides a cash benefit of Euros 50 per day subject to a two-day deductible. I don't read it as applying to necessary urgent hospitalization expenses arising from a covered accident or illness. This is a typical cover under a personal accident policy and a previous employer of mine referred to it as "hospital cash". In my opinion, it isn't a meaningful benefit. With respect to your penultimate paragraph, I suspect that the underwriter is trying to differentiate between non-urgent manifestations of a pre-existing condition and acute exacerbations of a pre-existing condition requiring urgent care. The former would be excluded, but the latter possibly covered. As you stated, it is worth asking for clarification from the underwriter to make sure.

I think this product is primarily marketed in EU countries, so these shortcomings may be less of a disadvantage. Still, the low limit would seem to preclude adequate limits for serious accidents or illnesses requiring lengthy hospital stays and/or medivac to the home country. These are things a good insurance broker should be pointing out to their potential clients. Thai insurance regulations also prohibit an insurance broker licensed by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner from inducing someone in Thailand to contract insurance with an offshore insurance company.

Another thing to consider: If a serious accident or illness occurs, and in the insurer's opinion the policyholder is fit to travel back to their home country to obtain treatment, coverage would not continue if the policyholder decides to stay abroad. If the policyholder repatriates, coverage under the policy would also terminate and further treatment in the home country would be at the policyholder's (or their regular medical insurer's) expense. Read Article 6 2.2.

It is a travel insurance policy and the coverage, limitations and exclusions are typical for this type of cover. It isn't a medical insurance policy and won't provide the level of cover that a real medical insurance policy is intended to provide. The limit of Euro 100,000 is also too low to contemplate a catastrophic accident or illness and/or full medivac expenses.

Option 2 is likely your best bet. Our children attended international schools and had outside tuition in Thai language, but this would not have been adequate preparation for a Thai university's domestic program. Some Thai schools have very good bilingual programs. I saw evidence of this when our children competed against students from Thai schools in debate competitions. I would avoid the government schools.

I have no illusions about teaching you anything.

Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man. - Aristotle.

Johnny Carson is a native Iowan. John Wayne, too.

Just about very Thai citizen is registered in a house registration book and recorded in an amphur somewhere. Not too difficult to get a fairly good estimate based upon this.