Etaoin Shrdlu

Interesting that when one is a passenger in a car, one is "riding in the car" even though not sitting astride.

Mrs. Shrdlu was convinced that hanging CDs would deter the pigeons that used to hang around our house. I wasn't so sure since we did not know what music genre they despised and had not seen any pigeons carrying CD players anyway. We ended up blocking off any eaves where they could nest and putting out spikes on most horizontal surfaces where they could perch. No pigeons now.

Had a small one on my face that would bleed if I nicked it while shaving. Had it removed at Bumrungrad Hospital. The dermatologist used a laser. Cost was minimal, but that was a number of years ago. No scar now or any sign that it was ever there.

I have experience as a representative payee for my children. Here's the link: https://www.ssa.gov/payee/

Up until about five years ago, representative payees who managed SSA payments for minor children had to file an annual worksheet showing a breakdown of how the funds were used to support the child. While this form is no longer required, there is still the stipulation that the funds be used for the support of the child during the period that they are being paid. This means used for food, shelter, clothing and certain other items of support. The funds aren't supposed to be saved for use for college or other items later. Some years back, I read about a person who mentioned in a newspaper article that she had saved SSA payments for her dependent's college education. Someone at SSA read the article and contacted her with a demand to repay the funds, if I remember correctly. There is info about this requirement somewhere on the SSA website and also in the info you'll get if you're the representative payee.

The labels seem to state that the contents are made from recycled Pepsi.

I had the firm that handled my employer's legal, auditing and tax work handle the paperwork for my application. They did not charge that much since they already had the firm's audit and tax business. I convinced the directors that this would save money in the long run because annual visa admin and expenses would go away, so my employer paid the preparation fees. The auditing firm was, at the time, the local associate of one of the major US accounting firms, but I don't think that's the case any longer. But you might want to look into leveraging your employer's relationships with their legal or audit firms.

I had a couple of BMW 3 series back in the day. Fun cars to drive. Pricey service and spare parts. If you enjoy driving and can afford it, go for it!

Yes, of course. In the other post I was responding to someone who had his Thai medical policy cancelled due to non-disclosure of a condition that wasn't the subject of the claim he was submitting. It was probably something that would have triggered an exclusion for a pre-existing condition and likely not declination of cover.

In another post I cited the Thai Civil and Commercial Code's section 865 that defines an insurer's ability to void coverage for non-disclosure. Under this clause, it appears that non-disclosure needs to be intentional and there is also an apparent five-year time bar. I wonder how many ab initio cancellations could have been overturned if the policyholder had appealed to the OIC.

A policy of insurance is a legal contract between two parties. To deny one party the ability to review the contract before entering into it is in my opinion a sign of bad faith. If the insurer is denying a chance to review the policy, that's reason to exclude it from your search. If your broker is too lazy to get you a copy of the policy, you need a new broker.

May have been a Forest Crested Lizard. The spots look similar to this one: https://www.thailex.info/THAILEX/THAILEXENG/LEXICON/Indochinese Forest or Blue Crested Lizard (Calotes mystaceus) กิ้งก่าหัวสีฟ้า.htm

Good article. Unfortunately, it is a tenet of our capitalist system to put shareholders' interests above policyholders'. A better balance is needed, but I think that will be difficult under the present circumstances. As far as fraud is concerned, CEOs and other corporate officers will probably have to be put in jail in order for this to stop, and that does not seem to happen very frequently unless shareholders are harmed. Better regulation, oversight and enforcement is needed. There is one US political party that stands opposed to almost any form of corporate regulation and many of the people most at risk of being hurt by corporate avarice and fraud seem to be keen to vote for that party. Perhaps preventing women and their physicians from making reproductive healthcare decisions is more important than reining in rogue companies and sending CEOs to jail for fraud.

Section 865 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code imposes strict disclosure requirements on insurance applicants. It also appears to only allow an insurer to void a policy if non-disclosure was material and intentional. There also appears to be a five-year time bar, however it is not clear how this would work with a recurring disclosure requirement at renewals. https://library.siam-legal.com/thai-law/civil-and-commercial-code-insurance-section-861-868/#:~:text=Section 865.&text=If such right of avoidance,contract%2C such right is extinguished. This is something that may have been worth appealing to the OIC.

You did the right thing in seeking clarification. It should not have taken two months to extract this information from the insurer, however. I suspect the vague answers came from a lower-level underwriter or claims handler and your query did not receive appropriate attention until it was escalated to a senior person by your repeated requests.

This is certainly an area where the policyholder may wish to make sure they understand their policy. A policy may exclude hazardous activities and then provide a list. It is important to understand whether this list is exhaustive or only examples of the most common hazardous activities a policyholder is likely to undertake, with all other "hazardous activities", even if not listed, also excluded. If this is the case, then the policyholder may wish to seek clarification in advance if he/she is intending to engage in something that carries additional risk but is not listed.

There wouldn't be many surprises if people would read and understand the terms and conditions of an insurance policy, preferably before purchasing it. The insurance industry does not use "small print" to describe a policy's terms, conditions and exclusions. These clauses are printed using the same size type as the rest of the policy and it is disappointing to see the media perpetuate this trope. Those citing "small print" are those who didn't bother to read their policy before they purchased it. Insurers have every right to impose limitations on what they will cover and I don't think it should surprise anyone that hazardous activities like bungee jumping or motorcycling without a helmet would be excluded. Insurers are well aware of the frequency and severity of injuries involving these pursuits, certainly more so than most of those who would undertake them. Purchasing a policy online directly from an insurer may be convenient, but this means that the policyholder won't have the assistance and commercial influence of a major insurance broker behind them if they have issues with claims. When I worked for an insurer, one of the first questions raised when there was an issue with a claim was "who is the broker". The insurer did not want to jeopardize the relationship with the broker, so would take a more favorable view towards paying the claim from the outset. It does matter which insurance company you use. Coverages can vary as can claims-paying ability and attitude. A good broker will steer their clients towards insurers that treat their clients and their claims fairly and professionally. A policyholder should not hesitate to approach the insurance regulator if their claim has been denied incorrectly.

People are well-advised to read and understand an insurance policy before they buy it. It's rather careless not to do so.

Non-Thai insurers tend to offer a bit broader coverage with higher limits and are more professional when it comes to claims-paying approach than Thai insurers. They're also usually subject to a stricter level of regulation and better consumer protection laws. Thai insurers tend to exclude almost all types of pre-existing conditions. Some non-Thai insurers may cover some pre-existing conditions subject to premium loading. I would suggest you work with a good insurance broker to find a good solution. Note that insurance brokers based in Thailand may not be able to help with non-Thai insurance policies since they are prohibited by local regulations from doing so.

If you need to change your airline bookings for any reason, you'll have to go through the aggregator to do so. In addition to any airline change fees you'll probably also have to pay hefty fees to the aggregator. That has been my experience and I now only book directly with airlines, too.

It isn't possible to form any kind of opinion on the claims-paying ability of an insurer if its identity is not known or if financials and ratings aren't available.

This is one of the reasons why it is important to know where an insurer is licensed and regulated. Some countries have very low capital and reserve requirements and may not employ sophisticated analytics when reviewing an insurer's financials. Some offshore "financial centers" are known for their light regulatory touch and ease in securing a license.

Licensing, regulatory and compliance issues would likely keep some companies from offering insurance in the UK market.

I'm referring to the OP and you have yourself enumerated the reports on AN. I do not have any others to provide.

From the reports of policyholders who have had their claims paid, it certainly appears that WRLife has the willingness to pay claims, and that is very important. Policyholders should be encouraged by this. In addition to willingness to pay, the financial ability to pay going forward is important. Usually a review of an insurer's financial statements and ratings by agencies such as Standard and Poor or AM Best can give an idea as to an insurer's longer-term ability to meet claims obligations. One can't begin to perform this kind of review if one does not know the name and address of the insurer.