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Etaoin Shrdlu

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Everything posted by Etaoin Shrdlu

  1. This had been my experience for a number of years as well, but in May last year my wife and I were turned away from the US citizen line at JFK and were told we had to use the non-citizen line. Perhaps it now depends upon the airport one arrives at.
  2. In the case of serious illness or injury, travel insurance will only pay medical expenses up to the point where it becomes possible and more cost-effective for the insurer to repatriate you to your home country for further treatment. In such a situation, your choice would be to say in Thailand and pay for further treatment yourself, or be repatriated to the US and be covered only for whatever Medicare Part A would pay on its own. Thai health insurers will exclude pre-existing conditions, so coverage may be less than ideal. If you do plan to apply for Thai health insurance, make sure you make proper disclosure of your medical history. If you omit anything that is material to the insurer's decision to grant cover, the insurer may void the policy from inception and deny any outstanding claims and also claw back any claims they may have paid previously. Best way to avoid disclosure issues is to attach copies of your medical records going back as far as possible when you submit the proposal form. Use an insurance broker to help you find a solution that best fits your needs and who can help you understand your duty of disclosure when you apply. A broker can also help with claims issues. Don't try to do this by yourself.
  3. One has to consider Trump's statements about the strikes on Iran in the light of Roy Cohn's advice to a young Donald Trump: Attack, attack, attack. Deny, deny, deny. Regardless of the outcome, declare victory. The third line is operative in this instance.
  4. A Thai should hold a broker’s license from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Brokerage is, or at least used to be, a profession reserved for Thai citizens. If you have contact with a foreigner, you could ask whether they held a license in their home country. There are a number of professional certificates or designations granted in different countries..Some may be specific to certain types of insurance. In my line of work the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation (CPCU) was considered a good credential. There may be others more relevant to life and health insurance, however. The UK has different ones.
  5. Shave every day and you'll always look keen.
  6. An ITIN does not convey any rights to Social Security spousal benefits.
  7. One question to ask is whether the individual you are dealing with holds an insurance broker's license from the OIC, or, if the individual is a foreigner, if they were licensed in their home country before they came to Thailand and if they hold any professional designations or certificates. This helps to establish at least some technical knowledge and experience in the industry. Also ask the broker which insurers their company has formal distribution agreements with. If they have agreements with larger insurers and the local operations of multinational companies, then you stand a better chance of having your risk placed with a financially sound insurer. Then you can ask your friends and acquaintances or you can ask on a forum like this for others' experiences.
  8. Until the floods of 2011 it was possible to insure a dwelling in Thailand for the full sum insured for the peril of flood. As a result of the flood claims in 2011, insurers introduced both sub-limits for the peril of flood as well as a premium surcharge. Typical sub-limits were ten percent or less of the total sum insured for the property. A couple of years ago the insurer covering our house dropped the surcharge, but retained the sub-limit. These changes were driven mostly by the cost and availability of offshore reinsurance coverage for flood. Because of this, it is unlikely that a local insurer is going to stick its neck out and provide flood coverage for the full value of the dwelling, even if the dwelling isn't in a flood zone. The local insurers just don't have the financial capacity to do so without reinsurance support.
  9. The insurance company is the insurer. The terms are used interchangeably in the industry. Perhaps you're thinking of the insurance broker. Insurance brokers won't be rated by AM Best or S&P as the broker is not responsible financially for claims payment. More relevant to a consumer would be the broker's reputation for market and technical knowledge as well as service capabilities. Personally, I would choose an insurance company with an AM Best rating of B+ or higher if possible.
  10. Some of the articles I've read have stated that the present proposal would tax remittances of non-US citizens residing in the US who remit funds abroad. If this is accurate, then presumably a non-resident alien with an account at Schwab registered to a foreign address would not be impacted. But it is difficult to say at this time.
  11. Mrs. Shrdlu used to string up old CDs around the balcony thinking they would scare away the birds. I told her that I didn't think that the pigeons would bring CD players, and perhaps if they did they'd like the music on the CDs and we'd never get rid of them. The neighbors had huge plastic hornets on their balcony, but it did not take too long before the pigeons perched atop them. We had a similar experience when we tried plastic owls and snakes. We have spikes on almost all places where a bird could perch and we don't have a pigeon problem any longer.
  12. I was just thinking that there is some consistency in the competency, or lack thereof, in Trump's cabinet. Noem doesn't know what habeas corpus is and Kennedy, the top health official, can't give a straight answer on vaccines. I will state, however, that I think Marco Rubio is competent. I may not agree with his policies, but I don't think he'd be caught out like Noem and Kennedy.
  13. Gosh, Elon Musk telling the truth and projecting all at the same time!
  14. Well, we also have the nation's top health official stating that people should not take medical advice from him. While this is technically correct, I think this hearing also confirms that he should not be making decisions on medical policy, either, and it appears that the CDC is indeed ignoring him I do credit him with attempting to improve Americans' diets and getting food colorings and other chemicals out of the food supply. But that's not enough
  15. She was asked point blank and her answer is clear. She did not know.
  16. Ok. So it is possibly only Krisit Noem who does not know what habeas corpus is. Still shocking that a cabinet level person would not know.
  17. Here you go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_UIbsre2cY
  18. Others have written about this. https://news.ku.edu/news/article/2020/12/17/new-book-reveals-how-racial-resentment-unites-trump-voters-battleground-states There are other sources that discuss this as well. Not difficult to find with an internet search.
  19. Kristi Noem said that habeas corpus is the right for Trump to deport immigrants without due process. Do you think she didn't say that?
  20. The real MAGA base supports Trump because he's channeling their racism and resentment. If Trump's cabinet members don't know what habeas corpus is or the head of FEMA doesn't know there is a hurricane season, how could the rank and file MAGAs know anything about foreign policy or the war in Ukraine.
  21. OK. Then you should not have the same issues that Americans have with respect to whole life policies. There are potential tax and reporting implications and some Thai insurers won't sell certain life products to Americans. Good luck.
  22. Brunswick Group is a UK public relations firm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunswick_Group
  23. What citizenship do you have?
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