Etaoin Shrdlu

Commercial health insurance provides a poor solution for real risk transfer when one gets older and starts to have chronic medical conditions associated with aging. Exclusions for pre-existing conditions, no guaranteed renewal at expiry and the ability to increase premiums and add additional exclusions at each renewal all make commercial health insurance problematic. 

Foreign insurers in general usually do better than Thai insurers, although there are Thai insurers that do a reasonable job. The only way to remove the possibility of an insurer, including a foreign insurer, invoking the pre-existing condition clause for undetected conditions would be to have the exclusion deleted from the policy by endorsement or to have the exclusion limited to the pre-existing conditions specifically listed in the policy's declarations section. I am not sure whether any insurer would be willing to do this.  Beware of any insurer offering coverage without requiring a physical exam, especially if you are older. These insurers will be underwriting their policy via their claims department, something that is considered unprofessional but common in some markets.

From an underwriting perspective it becomes difficult to profitably insure a population that has a great propensity to incur large medical bills and commercial insurers are in business to make money. In the US the insurer of last resort, the taxpayer, takes on the task of providing medical insurance for over-65s in the form of Medicare. Even this program has its limitations and some cost-shifting back to the participant. 

There really is no attractive solution for most when it comes to insuring medical expenses when we get older if we cannot participate in government schemes.

I wonder if perhaps he holds Cypriot citizenship under his birth name, Hun Bunal.

On 10/4/2021 at 3:49 PM, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Damn ! so Jayboy its just the money they want for PR, i.e. Profitable Thai Company then ! 

Ownership of a Thai company is not a requirement for PR. Being employed with a work permit and paying taxes for three consecutive years on the same extension of stay is. There is also a minimum salary level. 

My wife successfully applied for a tourist visa about three years ago. She applied so that we could accompany our daughter to start university in the US. 

The interviewer was more interested in knowing if I had strong ties to Thailand and asked my wife for whom I worked, how long I had lived in Thailand and the like. The interviewer wanted to see my passport, but my wife did not have it with her. She was also asked if our daughter is a US citizen. The interviewer had no interest in seeing any of my wife's financial documents, property deeds or anything else related to her situation.

It seems that in the case of applying for a tourist visa for a Thai spouse, the US spouse's connections to Thailand are very important.

13 hours ago, Swiss1960 said:

 The non-Thai company (Cigna Global) accepted me without any pre-condition.

It might be worthwhile to dig a bit deeper to see what Cigna's intent really is. Did the policy originally contain a pre-existing condition exclusion and did Cigna issue an endorsement deleting it? Or does the Cigna policy limit the pre-existing exclusion clause to conditions specifically stated in the declarations section of the policy? If not, and the original pre-existing exclusion remains in the policy, then Cigna could still invoke it and deny a claim if they believed the condition existed prior to the commencement of the policy.

14 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I studied Pure Maths at university and couldn't work that out ???? 

This is something that is learned early on when working in the insurance industry. It is frequently necessary to calculate a gross premium (one that includes the broker's commission) from a net premium with the commission being a specified percentage of the gross premium. We called it "grossing up for commission" but it probably has a more elegant name in the world of math.

4 hours ago, Taco said:

Don’t teach your wife to golf.

Because she might become a hooker?

There are a number of insurance brokers that can help with corporate property and casualty insurance programs. Don't try to do it yourself directly with insurers, find a good broker to help you.

Some of the larger multinational brokers have units that help SMEs, so you might want to contact Marsh, Aon or Lockton. They have offices here. If they are not able to meet your needs, there are smaller insurance brokerage companies that can do a good job for SMEs and which may be a better fit for your business. PM me if you want me to suggest someone.

Well-researched, fact-checked journalism citing credible sources and with well-reasoned op-ed pieces tends to be behind paywalls, regardless of whether the publication in question is on the left or right of the political spectrum. Misinformation, disinformation, outright lies and conspiracy theories tend to be found on websites that do not charge admission. This does not entirely explain how misinformation spreads so easily, but I think it contributes to the problem.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

 

A friend, Insurer cancelled insurance when they claim something was pre-existing, want money back for prior unrelated claims

This can happen when there is material non-disclosure at the time the insurance proposal was completed and submitted to the insurer. If the medical condition that wasn't disclosed was such that the insurer would have declined to insure the proposer under the company's underwriting guidelines, the insurer would be entitled to void the insurance policy ab initio and claw back any claims that had been paid regardless of whether they were related to the non-disclosed condition.

In practice, this remedy is usually only pursued by insurance companies in cases where the non-disclosure was believed to have been intentional. If it is any consolation, the insurer would be required to refund the premium if this happens. This isn't peculiar to Thailand, it is well established in law and practice in developed countries as well.  

Check in the Play Store settings to see which country it is set for. Perhaps LINE is not available from the country to which your Play Store is set.

Open Play Store, tap your initial in the upper right corner of your phone, then choose Settings > General > Account and Device Preferences. Halfway down that screen you'll see which country your Play Store is set to. If not already, set to "Thailand" and see if you can find LINE.

GreatGameIndia is a notorious conspiracy theory website. 

I wonder at what point the Thai embassies and consulates abroad become overwhelmed with COE requests and either outsource the process or have it significantly streamlined. I can't imagine Thai consular staff keeping up with applications if tourism picks up in any significant way for the coming high season, or what there may be of it. Perhaps this outage is in preparation for a new system that is outsourced. 

15 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Nothing good happens to vacant properties.

 

Any competent, reliable in-laws?

 

Is it in an area where you could rent it? 

hire  

Is it in an area where you could hire a property management company? 

 

This is good advice.

Also be aware that many insurance companies' policies will automatically suspend coverage if a residence remains unoccupied for more than 30 days or so. 

I will lend my voice to those recommending the 70 mai dash cam. I have the 70 mai Pro Plus a500 dash cam and it works very well. It adheres to the windshield by an electrostatic decal instead of a suction cup and it has yet to fall off in the year i've owned it.  It can resolve license plate numbers quite well.

Note that there are two types of 70 mai Pro Plus front cams; the a500 without the ability to connect a rear cam and the a500s that has a port to accept the RC06 rear cam's wire. If you want the rear cam, make sure you get the a500s along with the RC06 rear unit.

My taste in breakfast food is a bit different than yours, but yes, the Gray Lady has indeed lost her way.

While being properly licensed by the regulator in the country in which they operate is no guarantee of ethical behavior, lack of proper licensing is to me a big red flag. You might wish to determine whether this company has an insurance broker's license issued by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner here in Thailand.