Etaoin Shrdlu

When settling claims, insurers usually require the policyholder to provide proof of loss. Proof of loss means that ownership and value of the lost items needs to be established as does the fact that the items are indeed lost or damaged in a manner not excluded by the policy. Receipts are the best way to prove ownership and replacement cost, but many insurers will be a bit lenient if the items are not high-value or unusual.

Photos can also help establish ownership and also value if the brand or model can be established from the photo. If receipts are not available, make an itemized list with estimated replacement values and take photos of the items prior to travel. You can get estimates of replacement values by finding ads online for the same or similar items.  A photo of the items, evidence of replacement cost from an online ad along with a lost baggage document from the airline or a police report may suffice in many cases.

Does your ebay account have a record of past purchases? I haven't used ebay, but my Amazon account has a record of items I bought going back more than ten years. Those records would probably suffice for most insurers. 

Note that some travel insurance policies only cover your luggage when it is in the care of a common carrier and not while in a hotel room, taxi or in an airport prior to check-in. Use a good insurance broker and ask him/her to explain how the policy would work.

Travel insurance is generally a very profitable line of insurance for most insurers and claims are often paid with a bit less scrutiny. But it varies by insurer and the facts of the loss in question, however.

It isn't completely clear whether you are already in Thailand or are contemplating traveling here, but I think that the insurance that Joe is referencing above is only available to inbound travelers prior to departure from their home country.

If you are already in Thailand, I think the best option for meaningful Covid coverage is to buy a health policy that does not exclude Covid except for the inevitable initial waiting period at inception. This may indeed be the only option as the policies that I have seen on offer as "Covid cover" from Thai insurers tend to be personal accident policies that provide very low limits of thb100,000 or 200,000 for medical expenses.

If there are cost-effective options for Covid-only insurance available in Thailand, a good insurance broker that works with several different insurers should be able to guide you. I suggest that you seek out one and discuss your needs. 

This time of year the southwest monsoon blows the plastic waste back towards the beaches and makes a mess. The northeast monsoon, which coincides with the tourist season, blows it all back out to sea and the beaches look cleaner. It is an annual occurrence. 

This one?

https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/กระท้อน

It gets translated as "Shepherd" by my browser.

Here's a link to the SCB registration page for online banking:

https://www.scbeasy.com/online/easynet/page/rgt/rgt_st1_withpin.aspx?LANG=en

16 minutes ago, THAIPHUKET said:

That is helpful. Nevertheless, that doesn't give an Idea if cash payor is any better off than what a insurance is being charged.

Insurers with direct billing agreements may receive discounts that won't be available to the patient if the patient settles with the hospital. This is the reason that insurers often have co-pays or higher deductibles when patients pay the hospital first and then submit bills for reimbursement. Those who pay cash probably pay more than an insurer does if the insurer has a direct billing agreement with the hospital. 

I think insurers negotiate reduced prices for hospital services when concluding agreements for direct billing.  You can get a detailed receipt showing the costs that you incur, but you may or may not see any discounts that would be applied when the insurer actually settles the bill via direct settlement. I doubt either the insurer or the hospital would disclose this information. No harm in asking, however.

Usually travel insurance is more limited in scope than regular health insurance. The Safetywings travel product excludes treatment for cancer, for example. 

Travel medical is normally intended to provide cover for minor accidents and illnesses and to treat and stabilize people that encounter a severe accident or acute, major illness so that they can return to their home country for further treatment. It usually isn't a good substitute for proper health insurance. Part of your premium also goes to pay for things like trip cancellation and lost luggage in many cases.

I think Safetywings offer another product designed to cover people staying abroad for longer periods that covers cancer and perhaps other situations that a travel policy would exclude or limit.

Safetywings is an agent or broker and the actual insurance cover is provided by Tokio Marine Insurance. 

I had a similar experience a few years ago with my US stockbroker, although my account was not closed, just restricted. The only checking account I had was with the broker, and to this day I am not able to deposit funds from external sources or use a debit card or checks. I also have restrictions on the brokerage account and can only sell securities, not buy them. Funds can only be transferred out by phoning the broker.

When this issue arose, I started looking for a way to open a checking account while here in Thailand. At the time (2018) TD bank would open an account while I was overseas. I don't recall the details, but the process could be started by phoning them.  Citibank will also do this, but will require a minimum $50k balance across checking and investment accounts. Neither required me to physically present at a branch. I did not pursue either option.

When I accompanied my daughter to start university the US later that year, I went with her to the local Chase bank to help her open an account. I also managed to open an account in my name using my Thai address. Chase did require me to provide them with a copy of a bank statement showing my Thai address. I used a copy of the US brokerage account statement for that, so I don't know if a copy of a Thai bank statement would have worked.  Chase then sent my debit card and a box of checks directly to me here in Bangkok by courier. My Thai address is even printed on the checks. The only 2FA I've had to use has been via email, so no issue with having a US phone number. I'm sure this only worked because I was physically in their office with my passport in hand.

Good luck.

On 6/20/2021 at 9:38 AM, mackayae said:

Also, no appointment vacanies at the Embassy for June, July and August. Did not look any further.

I had an appointment this month at the US embassy for passport services. When I first tried to make the appointment in April, nothing was available for the remainder of April or May. June appointment slots had not yet been posted.  Towards the end April the slots for June appeared and I booked an appointment. I just checked today and slots are available in July and August. You might wish to try again now before they all get taken.

Both FWD and AIA are life insurance companies and the policies they offer are whole life policies and not straight health insurance policies. If your wife is looking for just health insurance, these policies might not be the most cost-effective as you would also be paying for an investment feature and life cover. 

Life insurance companies in Thailand rely mostly upon agents and banks to distribute their products, neither of which can give you competing quotes from different insurers or provide a commentary comparing quotes.  I'd suggest you seek out a good insurance broker and ask for assistance.

As far as I am aware, there are no Thai-based medical insurers that would guarantee renewal or that would not be able to eventually raise premiums to unaffordable levels over time. Forty years is an extremely long time horizon and companies can go bust, withdraw from markets or discontinue products at any time.

Are you working and contributing to the Thai Social Security Fund? If so, this may become your best source of medical insurance, especially after you reach retirement age when commercial insurance starts to become much more expensive. While it is possible that the Thai government could change the SS system, it is likely more stable and reliable over longer time periods than commercial insurance.

Some Thai life insurance companies offer whole life cover with riders that provide medical coverage. Normally these are not a cost-effective solution unless one wants or needs life insurance, but to some extent, they could address the issue of non-renewal or premium increases over time. You'd need to check the fine print on this, however. Whole life policies can trigger FBAR and other tax reporting requirements if you are a US citizen or green card holder.

From what I've seen, the only products on offer in Thailand are whole life policies that have a multi-year pay-in period that stops at age 60 when benefits can be taken. Some Thai insurers require a policyholder to have a work permit in order to buy a whole life policy, but this is not always the case. You might want to contact an insurance broker to see what is available.

You would probably have better options available from US annuity providers. There can also be US tax compliance issues with foreign whole life policies and other non-US financial products.

46 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The iPad Air 2 will run iOS 14. The only way you could have an iPad Air 2 running iOS 13 is if you buy a used one that has been updated to iOS 13 but hasn’t been updated recently. 

You can not install an intermediate  iOS version on a device that will accept a newer one, unless you have hacking skills not normal available. 

You're correct. Thank you for clarifying.

If it is the original iPad Air that was released in 2013, the newest iOS it can run is version 12. iOS version 13 will run on the iPad Air 2 that was released about a year later. If you have the earlier version, the person at the Apple store is correct.

If I get five or six years use out of an iPad before it either quits or can't run the newer apps, I'm satisfied. It would be nice if they would last ten years, but technology moves forward too quickly for that.

I have an iPad from 2011 running iOS 6.1.3 and have re-purposed it as a bedside clock and streaming device. It works just fine in that capacity.

Could you store all of your important things in Dropbox or similar cloud storage service and then buy an inexpensive PC here to access it? Might be easier and cheaper.

7 hours ago, rott said:

Yes, I was just looking for a cheap approx 1000 baht policy for a farang which does not seem to exist. ????

I think there are some personal accident policies available in that price range that provide a limited amount of medical expense coverage for Covid, perhaps thb100,000 or thb200,000 plus a larger amount for death. I think there are a couple of insurance brokers that advertise on Thai Visa that may be able to help you.

5 hours ago, rott said:

Thanks for that GB, I am just home from SCB where I was rejected for their Covid policy because I do not have a wofk permit. 

The "Covid" policies sold by SCB are actually whole life insurance policies with a rider providing some cover for Covid. The insurer providing these policies via SCB is a life insurance company and life insurance companies sometimes require a work permit for whole life policies. I suspect this is driven by a regulation regarding selling investment products, which is what a whole life policy is. A life insurance policy is usually not a cost-effective way to cover Covid, especially if you have no need or desire for life insurance.

You might want to contact a broker to discuss better options.

A year ago we visited one of the durian farms near Kantharalak and bought several lava durian and brought them back in the car. The wife also shipped several boxes of them back home to Bangkok for sale and distribution among her friends.

Those who like durian in general will likely find the lava durians from Sisaket to be quite good. For those who can't stand durian, these won't be any different.

We'll be making another trip to Sisaket later this month. Lava durian is high on the must-get list.

I think that government hospitals were given permission to charge foreigners higher prices than Thais. My recollection is that work permit holders and those with PR could be charged up to 50% more than the Thai price. Other foreigners up to 100 percent more. The hospitals are allowed, but not required, to charge the higher prices.

I think free care under the social security scheme is restricted to the one hospital where the social security participant is registered unless referred by that hospital to another.

I will defer to those with more current or correct info on this however.

Some multinational insurers have a policy of not competing against their local operations, so you might find that April International refers you to April Thailand if you use a Thai address in your application. There are also Thai regulatory issues that may make April International reluctant to insure someone with a Thai address. That aside, it is often the case that offshore insurers provide higher limits and broader coverage than Thai-based insurers. This holds true in the case of multinational insurers with both offshore an onshore offerings. Offshore health insurance tends to be more expensive due to the higher limits and generally broader coverage.

Offshore insurers will usually employ more rigorous underwriting procedures when considering an applicant, but will then be easier on claims once someone has been accepted. Local insurers will often not properly underwrite risks and then rely upon extensive investigations after a claim is filed as a substitute for good underwriting on the front end. It can be argued that both approaches can result in situations where no coverage applies, but the latter approach is much more likely to cause a policyholder to become disgruntled when a claim is denied for something that should have been clearly written in the policy and understood as an exclusion when coverage was taken out.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is generally pro-policyholder in its attitude when it comes to complaints, but the Thai regulatory framework is not nearly as comprehensive as France's.

Good luck.

26 minutes ago, kralledr said:

If they really close down, why a new branch just opened here in hua hin?!

Citibank is looking to sell its operation in Thailand instead of actually closing and I understand that there is interest on the part of other banks. Until sold, Citibank would likely continue to execute the business plans that were in place on the local level prior to the sale so as to either maintain or increase the value of the operation in order to get the best sale price. 

Other than the branch at Asoke in Bangkok, I think all of the other Citibank locations are only allowed to provide limited service to their credit card and loan customers as foreign banks are limited to having only one full-service branch in the kingdom.