Etaoin Shrdlu

A broker has an obligation to notify a client of an upcoming renewal and will often send out reminders at least a month in advance. If a policyholder uses a broker, the insurer will usually send a renewal notice to the broker, not the policyholder. It is quite possible that the broker sent a letter by post to your old address. I have also heard that there have been issues with backroom operations due to work from home and other Covid-related issues. Best to update your address and work with your broker on the renewal.

Don't leave anything to chance. Contact the broker through whom you arranged your policy and start the renewal process. There is always a danger in allowing a policy to lapse. If it does, you may need to apply as a new applicant. This carries the risk of having to take a physical exam that may lead to the insurer excluding additional medical conditions, increasing the premium or even possibly denying coverage completely.

Some Thai insurers will cover the cost of hospitalization for asymptomatic persons who test positive for Covid, but most of the insurance industry will not. It would be no different if confined to a hospital if the hospitalization were not medically necessary. From an underwriting standpoint there is a difference between covering expenses that are medically necessary and covering those that are incurred solely as a result of complying with public health policy. The former risk is fairly well known and understood by insurers, the latter less so making it more difficult to assess, quantify and cover. There is also a morale hazard issue that arises: if a government knows that people have insurance, the government may be motivated to order hospitalization when it might otherwise not, perhaps in order to support the hospital industry. This is something that other posters have labeled a scam. Some insurers possibly take a similar view and don't want to pay for this. As for insurers making money, the Covid situation is not a windfall for insurers. Many are facing much higher loss ratios due to Covid. Besides, would anyone want to do business with an insurer that loses money? It can be difficult enough to get claims paid by insurers that have the financial ability to pay. Try getting claims money from one that doesn't.

To whom was the question addressed? If it was asked of someone in authority at the insurance company, then that's one thing. If it was asked of someone who works at the hospital, that's another. It isn't the hospital that can say whether something is covered, it's the insurer. Also, be wary of verbal confirmations from anyone. They aren't worth the paper they're written on.

I think the Covid insurance required in order to get the Thailand pass is intended to address the larger issue of visitors incurring significant medical expenses as a result of severe, symptomatic Covid. I think it probably does that fairly well. The issue of forced hospitalization or isolation in hotels hasn't been adequately disclosed to incoming visitors (or even expats) and the fact that most insurers won't cover these expenses is also not well understood. Better disclosure is needed both from the Thai government and insurers.

AXA Thailand's Sawasdee product appears to only cover medically necessary expenses. If the hospitalization was mandatory but not medically necessary, I suspect AXA Thailand would deny the claim. Whether the claim gets paid might also depend in part on how the hospital describes treatment and fills out the claim form. But AXA is probably well aware of this issue and would possibly look closely at any claims submitted.

From the AXA Sawasee website's FAQ:

I recently tried to purchase goods on Amazon for delivery to my son in the US. I tried to use my Chase debit card but the transaction did not go through and I received a message that either something was wrong with the payment method or the delivery address. Purchases made prior to Thailand requiring Amazon to collect VAT went through with no issues. Maybe Amazon's systems have been set up to charge people with a Thai address or payment method VAT and then struggle with purchases sent to other jurisdictions that may also charge VAT or a sales tax for online purchases.

The Thai government could "ask" a few Thai insurers to offer a narrowly tailored product to all arrivals designed to address only the issue of forced medically unnecessary hospitalization when testing positive. There would need to be full disclosure of public health policy, the potential costs involved in forced hospitalization and the fact that most other policies won't cover these costs. Alternately, the Thai government could bear the cost of such hospitalization or hotel isolation if the latter becomes policy. Either approach is asking for things the Thai government does not want to do, but the present situation is not a fair disclosure or allocation of risk.

Most medical or travel insurance policies will cover the actual cost to treat symptomatic Covid to the extent that the treatment is medically necessary. Most policies won't cover the cost of hospitalization when it is not medically necessary such as when asymptomatic people are hospitalized by government public health policy simply because they test positive. The current requirement for Covid insurance for visitors allows policies that cover the actual medically necessary treatment of Covid. It does not require the insurer to cover the cost of hospitalization when solely mandated by public health policy. Thus there is often a gap between what is required for entry and the actual hospital expenses a visitor may incur when testing positive. Some policies issued by Thai insurers will cover the cost of mandatory hospitalization for asymptomatic people.

BMW conspicuously markets their vehicles based upon the driving experience, not their reliability. I guess this is part of the BMW driving experience.

Director-General Tares has it a bit backwards. The problem isn't that insurers won't pay for medically unnecessary hospitalization. The problem is that the Thai government mandates medically unnecessary hospitalization.

Son flew back to the US last week. Sukhumvit Hospital charged 1,200 baht for an antigen test. The lab report and certificate were ready within three hours. At check-in the airline staff were more interested to see the lab report than the certificate from the doctor.

Those were my thoughts as well when I read about this.

My PR was issued in the '90s when Chuan Leekpai was PM. It took about ten months from application until it was granted. It was simply a matter of paperwork and an informal Thai language interview with one immigration officer. I understand it is a bit more rigorous now and the fees have gone up substantially. The quota of 100 persons is usually not filled for applicants from Western countries, or at least it did not back when I applied. I heard that it does fill up for some Asian applicants.

The only thing on my pink ID card that would differentiate me from non-PR holders is that my Thai ID number starts with 8. That's too fine a point for most people to pick up on except perhaps for immigration officers, PR holders and possibly some other government officials. I have had some experience with showing my driving license at some privately-owned places and have gotten in at the Thai price, but not any government attractions. I don't expect that having PR will get me Thai pricing in most instances.

Naturalized Thais also have ID numbers starting with 8, so that may be why a PR's number is accepted when others are not.

After the first year, I've always opted for the 5-year extension as I've seen no reason to do otherwise. Up until my most recent extension of the red police book, I had always been required to provide a new photo and they were duly affixed in the book. I was told the last time I went to extend it that after 20 years I no longer needed to supply one.

For PR one does not take a Thai name or get a blue Thai ID card. My name appears both transliterated into Thai as well as in English in my residence certificate. The police book and blue tabien baan are both all in Thai using my English name transliterated into Thai. I'm not aware of any places that would give me Thai prices based upon having PR, although some will do so if I show my Thai driving license proving that I'm not a tourist. Those are mostly privately-owned attractions. I don't think any government ones would do so.

I have held PR for more than 20 years. A year after initially obtaining PR and the red police book, one has to return to the local police station where one's PR is on file and provide a new photo, pay a small fee, and re-confirm one's address. After that first year, this process is repeated at five-year intervals. In order to maintain PR if going abroad, a re-entry permit is needed in one's passport as is an endorsement in the residence certificate book. These stamps are obtained at the immigration office. The re-entry permit and the endorsement are good for one year. If one does not return by the end of the validity of the re-entry and endorsement, PR is automatically cancelled. If one has no plans to travel abroad, one does not need these items and there is no need to visit an immigration office. PR holders do not make 90 day reports.

Not much information to go on here. What is the status of the marine cargo insurance? Has the insurer denied liability?

If your policy is one of the low-cost personal accident policies that was marketed as a "Covid policy" it is unlikely that you will find an equivalent replacement. These are the policies that are causing an existential crisis for several of the smaller Thai insurance companies.

I have type 2, but so far no pins and needles. I know someone who was given antidepressants for peripheral neuropathy caused by type 2. Also gabapentin gets prescribed often.

Pins and needles can be symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, a common occurrence with type 2 diabetes.

No issues with two SWIFT transfers this week from Chase in the US to Citibank Thailand. Both in USD and each well in excess of the equivalent of THB50,000.