Etaoin Shrdlu

The compulsory Por Ror Bor scheme is separate from the voluntary coverage you get when you purchase a proper auto or motorcycle policy. It is possible to purchase the Por Ror Bor cover along with the voluntary policy, but the voluntary coverages do not obviate the need to purchase and pay for the Por Ror Bor sticker as a separate item.

That makes sense. I would then expect Groupama to issue medical insurance policies and Chubb to issue personal accident and travel policies based upon the information above.

Chubb used to be somewhat of a niche insurer in the US. They used to specialize in insurance for high net worth individuals that had things like art collections, expensive automobiles and expensive homes. They also were a player in things like professional indemnity covers and other somewhat specialized property and casualty insurance lines for companies. They tended to charge slightly higher premiums than mainstream insurers, but were very good about paying claims. Kind of the Tiffany's of the insurance world. About seven or eight years ago, Chubb was purchased by ACE globally and I think, like all corporate mergers, the corporate culture of the acquiring company prevailed. I think Chubb has probably lost much of the allure that it may have had. It isn't surprising that ACE chose to use the Chubb name instead of its own and I think the Chubb of yore is gone. In my mind, Chubb was not associated with health insurance, but things may have changed after the ACE merger. Chubb's local office struggled a bit back in the day due to its high underwriting standards and higher premiums. I think it remains a small player in the Thai market.

First of all, I think it is useful to understand the difference between an insurance broker and an insurance company. For example, April and Luma are insurance brokers and if you use them to obtain insurance, your policy could be issued by any of a number of insurance companies they use. Your experience with claims will be a reflection of the insurance company's claims-paying attitude and ability and not April's or Luma's. On the other side, Cigna, Chubb and LMG are insurance companies, so comments regarding claims experience with these companies are relevant. In general, it is usually best to obtain medical insurance from a multinational insurance company's operation domiciled in the US, UK, EU or even Singapore rather than from their Thailand-based local venture. There are several reasons for this including better consumer protection and a stronger regulatory environment. Many offshore insurers use community rating for their products while few, if any, Thai insurers do. Community rating helps prevent large premium increases when one has a claim. This is something you should ask about when getting health insurance. Insurance brokers based in Thailand and licensed by the OIC are prohibited from offering policies from insurers located outside of Thailand, but some will do so. In such cases, the policyholder is usually asked to pay the premium directly to the insurer offshore in order to avoid an auditable paper trail going through the local broker.

Groupama Gan Vie is carries an A+ rating from Fitch: https://www.fitchratings.com/entity/groupama-gan-vie-88772891 This is equivalent to a Standard and Poor rating of A+. https://www.moneyland.ch/en/rating-agencies As for Chubb European Group SE, they received an "AA" rating from Standard & Poor. https://www.chubb.com/uk-en/about-us-uk/europe-financial-information.html Both firms have very good ratings from professional rating agencies, so this should satisfy those who care about their insurance companies' financial strength. Basically it means that they will likely be around and have the financial ability to pay claims in the future.

Yes, 1 million baht is not adequate to address an at-fault case where the other party's expensive vehicle is severely damaged or multiple vehicles are damaged. Typically the owner of an expensive vehicle will have first class insurance covering damage to the vehicle itself. In such cases, the insurance company covering the expensive car will repair the car and then subrogate against the at-faulty party's insurer for the cost to repair up to the limit of liability for property damage under the at-fault party's policy. Depending upon the insurance company's view on the chances of success and the amounts involved, they may then pursue the vehicle owner/driver for any remaining amount. If Somchai has few assets or the amount is not worth the cost and effort to pursue, the insurance company may do nothing. Since Thailand does not mandate any third party liability cover for vehicles, the result is lots of uninsured or underinsured accidents.

If you have travel insurance that doesn't exclude motorcycle risks and no other exclusion applies, you should be good. But you'll have to read and understand your policy in order to figure this one out. If the policy is tough reading, ask your insurance broker to help you. If you don't use a broker, you should consider doing so. Don't worry, you don't need to wear a helmet in order to have an accident. Many people don't wear helmets and have accidents. We read about it quite frequently on Asean Now and on Go Fund Me websites. But seriously, what is your question? The driver is likely to be a Thai, so he'll get treated a a government hospital at no expense to him. Don't worry about the mototaxi driver, but don't expect him to have adequate insurance to cover your medical bills. You're pretty much on your own here.

I think a printout from the Mor Phrom app will be ok. I also think they will probably be ok with a look at vaccination certificate on the app itself. I obtained the DDC MoH yellow Covid-19 booklet at MedPark Hospital when I received my booster back in March last year. Here's a link from Bumrungrad on how to obtain the certificate: https://www.bumrungrad.com/PDF-en/info_visit_00312_en

1) No, it is not available as part of the compulsory Por Ror Bor scheme. One must purchase voluntary motorcycle cover and usually add this on top of the standard policy cover. You could purchase the Por Ror Bor sticker as part of a voluntary policy and have both with the same insurer. 2) Most insurers will provide policies in both Thai and English, but the Thai language version will prevail. 3) The insurance company may offer several limits which you may select, but limits are usually not very high and I would not recommend anyone rely upon this exclusively. It isn't a substitute for proper medical insurance. It won't be enough for serious injuries. 4) Insurers may ask for a copy of your license when you insure your motorbike. 5) This is similar to personal accident cover and should operate regardless of fault. But beware of other exclusions that my void cover, such as riding under the influence of alcohol, no license, etc.

Yes, I intend to get the new bivalent vaccination as soon as I arrive.

Sure hope so. Can't postpone the trip. I have both the Mor Phrom app on my phone showing three vaccinations plus the yellow booklet issued by the MoH here showing same.

Same. I'm off on Monday for a week in the US. My last vaccination was in March last year.

I don't think anyone has made one that would work well enough to be certified as a medical device or be reliable enough to replace test strips in monitoring blood glucose levels for managing diabetes.

This thread kind of reminds me of some of the late Bernard Trink's recommendations for tinned foods, but his passion was Dinty Moore beef stew.

Procedure for one tooth using a 2.9 mm implant (Straumann, made in Switzerland) was 74,000 baht including both the implant and crown.

A family member recently had an implant performed by Dr. Atiphan at NP International Dental Clinic. The procedure went very well and the permanent crown will be installed on the implant after a few months. Dr. Atiphan was recommended by our regular dentist as being a very good dental surgeon. I understand Dr. Atiphan's day job is at Chulalongkorn Hospital.

A few years ago I bought I "new" Samsung Galaxy S9 from a seller on Lazada. The phone did appear to be new and was in what looked like an original Samsung Box, so initially everything looked ok. A check of the serial number revealed it was made for the Korean market. When first switched on, an unusual splash screen appeared. It had been rooted and some kind of non-Samsung software had been installed. Banking apps would not run and gave a warning that the phone was rooted. The seller offered to exchange it for an unrooted unit. I guess it all comes down to the seller.

I remember when it was necessary to obtain a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Department in order to be able to leave Thailand with a re-entry visa under a non-immigrant B extension of stay.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look into the viability of condo units as investments. Rents here tend to be low and one can't count on a condo significantly appreciating in value, at least not in Thai baht terms, although I'm sure there are exceptions. Then there are the running costs such as annual fees for the communal property upkeep, insurance, maintenance and repair, etc. combined with the difficulty and hassle of having a reliable tenant occupying the unit at all times. Also, don't forget Uncle Sam's hand in your pocket when it comes tax time, especially the recapture of depreciation when you sell. My apologies if you've already considered all of this or are a savvy real-estate investor. If not, you may wish to solicit others' opinion on this as well. My experience as owner of a rental property here was decidedly mixed. I would have done better with the money in a balanced stock portfolio in the US during the time I owned the unit.

There are dozens of small shops in MBK that repair phones and replace batteries. Not sure whether iPhone 5SE batteries would still be easily obtainable, but MBK would be the first place I'd look if I were looking for a battery for an older phone.

Foreigners with permanent residence status here may obtain conventional mortgages from Thai banks provided they have sufficient Thailand-based income from a job or other legitimate source and otherwise meet lending criteria. Often, the mortgage term can't extend past the borrower's 60th birthday, so if you're 55 years old, your mortgage would be for a maximum of four years and some months. So, yes, it is possible for a foreigner to obtain a mortgage, but relatively few foreigners meet these requirements. Foreigners without PR need to show that funds were brought into Thailand for the purpose of purchasing a condo. It may be possible to arrange a loan from an offshore bank or other lender and then bring the funds into Thailand, but such loans usually carry high interest rates. In the past, I think Bangkok Bank had a scheme in which their Singapore branch would grant a loan for this purpose. I'm not sure if this scheme is still available or what the lending criteria may be or other details. Given the requirement to bring funds into Thailand, seller or owner financing would not work here. Foreigners may rent out their condos as Nigel has stated above.

The compulsory motor insurance (Por Ror Bor) only covers medical expenses plus a death benefit for those injured or killed in motor accidents. It does not cover the cost to repair damage to vehicles involved in accidents. The current compulsory scheme was brought into force at the urging of the hospital industry as they were losing money treating people injured in motor accidents when nobody had any insurance at all. This is why it only addresses the medical expense and death elements of cover. The cover operates independent of fault and anyone injured in an auto accident can benefit, even if the vehicle involved cannot be identified, as in hit-and-run situations. Again, the idea wasn't to protect the owner/driver of the vehicle involved, it was to protect the hospital industry from unpaid bills, so it is fairly lenient when it comes to who can claim and under what circumstances. It is loosely modeled on personal accident coverage rather than on actual motor compulsory third-party liability insurance as is common elsewhere. I was working in the insurance industry here when this came into force in 1993 and it was quite a development at the time. The insurance industry initially wasn't keen on it. If someone had their vehicle repaired by an insurance company when it had only the Por Ror Bor cover, then it is likely that the other vehicle was at fault and the repairs were paid by the other party's insurance under their optional third party liability coverage. I would not rely upon someone else's insurance to cover my potential medical expenses due to a road accident. Best would be to have good medical cover. Second best would be to have personal accident cover, but the limits for medical expenses tend to be rather low and would not address a catastrophic situation. Also viable is self-insurance if one has the ability to set aside sufficient funds.

Guardian of the Sea, Koh Ngam, December 22, 2016.

Traffic, Rajprasong Intersection, Bangkok, February 11, 2017.

Wat Sirindhorn Wararam, Ubon Rachathani, January 3, 2020