Etaoin Shrdlu

I use Roongroj near the corner of On Nut and Sukhumvit. Five minute walk from BTS On Nut. They are cheaper than most pharmacies and carry most meds. Can get busy at times.

Life insurance tends to be more expensive here in Thailand than in Western countries. This is due to the small size of the market and other factors.

Thai insurers tend to push their whole life products. These are the ones with  cash value and a savings or investment feature. For US citizens, owning foreign whole life policies can trigger FBAR reporting requirements just like a bank account and can make it extremely difficult or impossible to report the income they generate for US tax purposes. Term life policies don't present these issues.

You can try some of the brokers that cater to expats, but life insurance for individuals is mostly marketed directly by life insurers through their agency systems or through affiliated banks.

Good luck.

22 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

I was surprised that brokers (like AA) dont even handle Life Insurance.You have to go directly.

Brokers are required to have separate life and non-life licenses. Not all brokers obtain life licenses as this market is dominated by the agency channel here. Those that do often specialize in group life policies that form part of employee benefits packages for corporate customers.

6 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

 

Have it something to do with black money?

Possibly more to do with lack of demand for foreign exchange services since no tourists are about nowadays. Could also be due to fear of Covid on foreign banknotes.

I wonder if this was prompted by concerns about complying with Thailand's now-postponed new data protection law. 

29 minutes ago, dddave said:

I was trying to not be too wordy but should have explained electric is still in condo owners name so credit/debit card arrangements not possible. I just get the statement stuffed into my mailbox 

As the condo is owned by an individual, building management wants nothing to do with tenants bills.  I wouldn't trust them anyway...totally inept.

 

Correct: MEA, not EGAT

SCB's online banking website allows me to select MEA as a payee for payment directly from my account. I haven't tried it, but I think it would be possible to pay an amount equivalent to several months' bills that way. It is the SCB website I access from my computer, not my phone. See if your bank's website allows this.

Your understanding is essentially correct. Most countries only allow insurers that are licensed by that country's regulator to sell insurance products to their public. Thailand is no exception. Your UK insurer is aware of this regulation and is therefore hesitant to offer renewal. I am not sure whether there is any real difference if they offer renewal or if you request it, as it is still a cross-border sale of an insurance product and therefore technically not allowed.

The Thai regulator, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, is charged with promoting the Thai insurance industry. This is also interpreted as discouraging foreign insurers from offering products to the Thai public. The definition of "Thai public" for the purpose of this regulation is anyone physically in Thailand.

This regulation is primarily aimed at Thai insurance brokers and is intended to prevent them from offering insurance products from insurers not licensed by the OIC. The OIC could revoke the license of an insurance broker selling offshore insurance in Thailand. But the OIC has little enforcement ability when it comes to offshore insurers, so some will offer insurance products to the Thai public. I think some Thai insurance brokers may employ work-arounds, but that probably still entails some risk for them.

30 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

But from our last goround with the Embassy here, as I mentioned above, probably the most important thing they were interested in, and wanted her to see and produce, was the invitation letter written by my parents inviting my wife to come and visit them in the States.  She produced that and my retirement visa laden-passport, and the tourist visa was approved!

 

 

Back in the 1990s, before we were married, my then-fiancee applied for a tourist visa so that we could visit the US. Although she was working for a large European firm at the time, she had an entry-level job and did not have substantial savings or property to show. Along with her application, she submitted a letter from me stating our intent to return after two weeks in which I also mentioned my position with an American multinational company. She also submitted a letter that I had obtained from a senior person at a prominent American organization that mentioned my involvement in the American business community. She was granted a visa in spite of being in her 20s, unmarried, having a modest job, few financial assets and no property to show.

About three years ago she again successfully applied for a visa so that we could escort our daughter to the US to start university. The interviewer was only interested in seeing my passport and not any of the other documents my wife brought in to support her application. 

Based upon our experience, I have come to believe that it is equally or more important for the US citizen spouse to demonstrate significant ties to Thailand when the Thai spouse is applying for a US tourist visa.

Here's the link to the IRS website that I believe allows filing 4868 without payment. I think that part of the process for free-filing this form entails setting up an account with Intuit or another commercial software company. 

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

Just now, Jingthing said:

You don’t need to make any payment. I'm sure of that.  

I filled another extension this year as always. 

But I thought you needed to file that before May 17.

I think overseas taxpayers have until June 15th to file for an extension since that's the deadline for filing a return without an extension.

When I used the IRS website, it would not let me file 4868 without making a payment. Perhaps I chose the wrong option somehow, but it worked for a one cent payment. In any event it is worth looking into instead of getting commercial software.

No need for commercial software to get an extension. You can file form 4868 here:

https://www.irs.gov/payments

You will need to make a payment when you file. The minimum is $0.01. One payment option requires a US bank account for an ACH debit. I'm not sure if a foreign credit or debit card would work for the credit/debit card payment option.

I successfully filed 4868 here in April with a payment of $0.01 using the IRS website and the ACH debit option. Received email confirmation within minutes.

TallGuy is correct. Your ties to Thailand will be as important as hers.  I assume you work here in Thailand, in which case your on-going employment should help convince the interviewer that she will return. My wife was asked for my passport, which she did not have with her at the interview. The interviewer clearly wanted to see that I live here and have strong ties to Thailand as well. She was asked what I did for a living, for whom I worked and how long I'd lived here. 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

 

Thanks, one reason I want to get him set up with a Thai brokerage account is so that he learns to invest on his own rather than rely on the investment vehicles the banks are selling. 

 

He'll open his Thai account using his Thai ID, but he does have to file in the US so the sooner he can learn about it, the better. 

It is very good that you are teaching him about saving and investing for his future. But the US tax treatment of non-US mutual funds is absolutely diabolical. Same for whole life insurance policies that serve as wrappers for investments. In either case, even if he wanted to comply with US tax reporting requirements, he would find that the financial information provided by these types of investments makes it impossible to be fully compliant. Staying tax-compliant even if investing solely in individual company shares is difficult due to the record-keeping needed to capture all income and record capital gains and losses properly along with corresponding exchange rates when taxable events occur. In my opinion, he would be much better served by staying with US-based investments only. Much less of a chance of getting into a very serious tax problem.

Since your son is a US citizen, you might wish familiarize him with how the IRS treats certain non-US investments, especially mutual funds and whole life insurance policies, so that you don't set him up for a nasty tax surprise later on. These investment vehicles are really not a good idea for US citizens or green card holders due to these tax issues. Local banks, however, are keen to sell them, although they may possibly refuse to do so if they know that the accountholder is American, as some local mutual funds will not accept Americans as shareholders due to onerous reporting requirement imposed by the US if they were to do so. My apologies if you were already aware of this.

This company is an agent or broker, not an insurance company, and therefore won't appear on the Immigration Bureau's list of approved insurers. I suspect that if you specified that you needed health insurance to satisfy immigration requirements that they would provide you with a quotes from one or more of the TGIA insurers approved by the Immigration Department.  I would not rely upon the representations on their website regarding cost and age limit to necessarily be applicable to coverage that would satisfy Immigration's requirements. You would need to make specific inquiries and provide them with your requirements and underwriting information.

33 minutes ago, Wandr said:

 

Etaoin Shrdlu - is the "refund status" database showing that your return was received? And did you use normal registered mail?

 

 

I tried to find the status of my return using the IRS refund status website. No info is available and the website says to expect a six week delay in processing paper returns. I assume the six week period starts from the day the return is received at the IRS office, which would indicate that perhaps it will be processed by mid-June.

I used standard registered airmail with Thai Post when I sent the return.

Personal accident policies often exclude motorcycle and assault, or offer these covers as extras for an additional premium. PA products sold via banks are usually bare bones policies with these risks excluded. 

I'd suggest you get in touch with an insurance broker and ask for their advice on finding PA cover that includes motorcycle risks.

1 hour ago, 2009 said:

 

Thank you

 

So the only risk here is that it is an IPO?

 

So, the total risk is that the stock could go to zero?

 

I don't have to cover my position (with margin) or anything like that?

 

I don't use margin anyway. I just want to buy the shares

 

 Could it be that I can't sell for 180 days after buying? Is that why extra measures are taken?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a US SEC requirement that certain types of securities can only be sold to "qualified investors", or QIs, due to the level of risk of the security.  Pre-IPO shares and hedge funds fall into this category as may others.  It is intended to protect the smaller retail investor from assuming risk that is disproportionate to their financial status and investment knowledge. In order to be classified as a QI in the US, an investor needs to have either an annual income for the past two years of USD$200,000, with an expectation that it would continue, or a net worth of more than USD1 million. 

Mailed my return by registered mail on April 16th to the Austin, TX IRS office. The Thai Post track and trace website showed it was accepted on May 1st.  

How long it will take for the IRS to process the return is another matter.

57 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

Coma caused by 'coronavirus'.......COVID generally doesn't cause a coma directly. Coma is induced for treatment.

Here's a translation of the relevant coverage item that I found on the Dhipaya Takaful (Islamic insurance) website:

6. ** Illness from coma or cerebral mortality and neurological failure or end-stage illness in which a serious illness that doctors have confirmed that there is no cure and / or causes death with cause. Mainly due to infection with the coronavirus
 

I believe this means that the insured would not necessarily have to die in order to collect the death benefit. It could be paid upon certification that the patient has no chance of recovery, such as being in a vegetative state. It also seems to stipulate that the coronavirus infection has to be the main cause of death or the trigger of the end-state condition in order to collect the death benefit. My read is that that this clause pertains only to the death benefit, not the medical expense coverage. You can find the full website here:

http://www.tiptakaful.com/en/insurance/detail/12/dhipaya-covid-19-insurance

I don't think the non-Takaful product would address this issue any differently.

If you are in Bangkok: www.thailandchiropractor.com

29 minutes ago, pixelaoffy said:

Where to get insurance of  covid 100k $ in Thailand 

I don't think it is available on a stand-alone basis, but many insurers do not exclude Covid from their annual medical insurance policies and will upon request provide the necessary certificate to get the COE. That is how I plan to evidence cover. 

I want to accompany my son to the US in August when he starts university and return after about ten days, so I called the Thai embassy in Washington, DC to ask about the COE's Covid insurance requirement for those with PR.  When I explained how it was not possible to obtain insurance with unlimited validity to match a PR's stay, I was advised to "upload whatever you have and let the visa section review it and if there is a problem call me back".  I am not sure whether this response meant "don't bother me" or "there shouldn't be an issue". The person with whom I spoke seemed bored and impatient, so perhaps the former.  Earlier emails to the embassy have gone unanswered.

My wife's friend from high school who is a senior officer in the Immigration Department upcountry says this isn't a serious issue, but admitted it was something for the MFA/embassy and not the Immigration Department to advise on.  I will have my wife call the embassy after a day or two and see if she gets a better response. I really don't want to leave Thailand with this unresolved. Has no-one else on TV with PR obtained a COE from the embassy or a consulate in the US using commercial insurance to evidence Covid cover?