msg362

Thank you for your opinion, do you have any legal definition/ precedent to back it up? Weather is an event from nature too. How do you distinguish?

No I don't this is simply common sense.

He, this is life, things go wrong, and sometimes you just suffer damages from them. Accept it and move on.

I'm not looking to BLAME the insurance company for the Volcano( I blame the Icelanders, I think they are getting their own back because the Brits demanded their money back when the Iceland banks failed, light a volcano is a bit much tho').

I read the policy before I bought it, but admit not forensically, nor did I anticipate a volcanic eruption. I'm sure others will have similar problems as this was a policy bought through Thai Visa.

Others have helped, thank youfolks. Thank you Steven for your opinion but your 'common sense approach' and ' no knowledge of the policy' is not actually advancing the debate. If you have any legal/ precedent/ experience/ to add that would be great

Yes, I do, but I would have to see the policy. Judging anything like this from a distance without any of the wordings is simply impossible.

My only comment was that a vulcanic eruption is not a weather condition, but since you think that does not suit your needs you don't agree with that, up to you.

My goodness, I think you are missing the point. I DO NOT Agree or disagree. I was asking for advice, help. I have given some wording. You now claim to have some expertise having earlier said that you do not - it was 'common sense'- but will not share it. Fine, but not helpful.

On further thought, I re-read your initial post

We are told, by the insurance company that we got through Thai Visa that this is a 'natural disaster' and not covered, while ''serious weather conditions' are.

Unpalatable as it may be, we have to remember the spirit intended when these policies are created. The 'serious weather conditions' aspect is more than likely designed to cover the more frequent occurances where flights are delayed or diverted due to adverse weather conditions. This will be why there is a distinction between 'weather' and 'natural disaster' and why such incidents as the Iceland volcano would specifically be excluded.

Thanks, we leave tomorrow and will relax

Thanks everyone for your comments

IMO it is pretty obvious that a vulcanic eruption is an event from nature, and not a weather condition.

Thank you for your opinion, do you have any legal definition/ precedent to back it up? Weather is an event from nature too. How do you distinguish?

No I don't this is simply common sense.

He, this is life, things go wrong, and sometimes you just suffer damages from them. Accept it and move on.

I'm not looking to BLAME the insurance company for the Volcano( I blame the Icelanders, I think they are getting their own back because the Brits demanded their money back when the Iceland banks failed, light a volcano is a bit much tho').

I read the policy before I bought it, but admit not forensically, nor did I anticipate a volcanic eruption. I'm sure others will have similar problems as this was a policy bought through Thai Visa.

Others have helped, thank youfolks. Thank you Steven for your opinion but your 'common sense approach' and ' no knowledge of the policy' is not actually advancing the debate. If you have any legal/ precedent/ experience/ to add that would be great

IMO it is pretty obvious that a vulcanic eruption is an event from nature, and not a weather condition.

Thank you for your opinion, do you have any legal definition/ precedent to back it up? Weather is an event from nature too. How do you distinguish?

No I don't this is simply common sense.

He, this is life, things go wrong, and sometimes you just suffer damages from them. Accept it and move on.

I'm not looking to BLAME the insurance company for the Volcano( I blame the Icelanders, I think they are getting their own back because the Brits demanded their money back when the Iceland banks failed, light a volcano is a bit much tho').

I read the policy before I bought it, but admit not forensically, nor did I anticipate a volcanic eruption. I'm sure others will have similar problems as this was a policy bought through Thai Visa.

Others have helped, thank youfolks. Thank you Steven for your opinion but your 'common sense approach' and ' no knowledge of the policy' is not actually advancing the debate. If you have any legal/ precedent/ experience/ to add that would be great

What is the exact wording from the "risks covered" and "exclusions" sections of your policy document?

Is the insurer a Thai company and was the policy taken in Thailand and expressed to be written under Thai law?

I took the insurance from AA Insurance brokers, the Thai visa insurers. The company is Pacific Cross .'Bon Voyage Travel Insurance' based in HK

Section 8b says ( I precis)

Travel delay:

in the event of 'serious weather conditions'..............up to $800 for public transportation expenses necessarily incurred as a direct consequence of the travel delay but only if the insured person has to reroute his trip due to cancellation of a prior confirmed booking

Flight on 19th from CNX BKK Bahrain Paris delayed, next flight 25th arrive 26th. Train tickets, bought and paid for 23rd Paris Lausanne Paris return cancelled and rebooked for 28th. It is the train tickets that I want compensation for, new tickets cost about 340 euro for 2 persons

All booked before Volcano!

Are you saying that "serious weather conditions" is the only insured contingency under the interference with travel section of cover. Is there no relevant exclusion clause.

Bear in mind in cases like this if there is an ambiguity it would be construed (under English law - quite likely to apply to a contact written by a Hong Kong company) against the insurance company under the contra proferentem principle. But you do not identify the law of your policy. Have the brokers offered no help?

Seems to be. I can find no reference to what law applies, just a section on appointing an arbitrator/arbitrators. I guess I must file a claim and appeal. Thanks for your help

What is the exact wording from the "risks covered" and "exclusions" sections of your policy document?

Is the insurer a Thai company and was the policy taken in Thailand and expressed to be written under Thai law?

I took the insurance from AA Insurance brokers, the Thai visa insurers. The company is Pacific Cross .'Bon Voyage Travel Insurance' based in HK

Section 8b says ( I precis)

Travel delay:

in the event of 'serious weather conditions'..............up to $800 for public transportation expenses necessarily incurred as a direct consequence of the travel delay but only if the insured person has to reroute his trip due to cancellation of a prior confirmed booking

Flight on 19th from CNX BKK Bahrain Paris delayed, next flight 25th arrive 26th. Train tickets, bought and paid for 23rd Paris Lausanne Paris return cancelled and rebooked for 28th. It is the train tickets that I want compensation for, new tickets cost about 340 euro for 2 persons

All booked before Volcano!

OP have you tried contacting the train company itself to see if they have any provisions to re-issue the train tickets at no extra cost due to the ash cloud situation, the ash cloud situation has affected many travellers worldwide at no fault of their own and I wonder if they have some provision/goodwill in place to help out passengers who could not travel due to the situation.

Maybe worth your while trying to contact the train company direct.

Good luck.

Apologies if this reply comes up twice!

The original tickets were cheap and no refund no change . The new tickets are flexible but more expensive. I've paid out 150 euro for the first, but nnow i have to pay 340 Euro for the second, it is this second sum that I reckon the insurance company owe me.

The central question is ' was the dust a 'serious weather event?'' no one seems to be able to give a definitive answer and as an earlier reply says, the insurance companies will define it to their advantage. So folks, Look at the insurance company I used, and the broker and decide for yourselves whether you want to part with your hard earned cash ($110 in my case)

What is the exact wording from the "risks covered" and "exclusions" sections of your policy document?

Is the insurer a Thai company and was the policy taken in Thailand and expressed to be written under Thai law?

I took the insurance from AA Insurance brokers, the Thai visa insurers. The company is Pacific Cross .'Bon Voyage Travel Insurance' based in HK

Section 8b says ( I precis)

Travel delay:

in the event of 'serious weather conditions'..............up to $800 for public transportation expenses necessarily incurred as a direct consequence of the travel delay but only if the insured person has to reroute his trip due to cancellation of a prior confirmed booking

Flight on 19th from CNX BKK Bahrain Paris delayed, next flight 25th arrive 26th. Train tickets, bought and paid for 23rd Paris Lausanne Paris return cancelled and rebooked for 28th. It is the train tickets that I want compensation for, new tickets cost about 340 euro for 2 persons

All booked before Volcano!

OP have you tried contacting the train company itself to see if they have any provisions to re-issue the train tickets at no extra cost due to the ash cloud situation, the ash cloud situation has affected many travellers worldwide at no fault of their own and I wonder if they have some provision/goodwill in place to help out passengers who could not travel due to the situation.

Maybe worth your while trying to contact the train company direct.

Good luck.

The tickets were very cheap,,no refund etc. The problem is that the new tickets are much more expensive so I've had to pay out 150 euro for the cancelled tickets and now 340 euro for the new ones.

Central issue is 'was the dust cloud a 'serious weather condition'; No one seems to be able to define it.

What is the exact wording from the "risks covered" and "exclusions" sections of your policy document?

Is the insurer a Thai company and was the policy taken in Thailand and expressed to be written under Thai law?

I took the insurance from AA Insurance brokers, the Thai visa insurers. The company is Pacific Cross .'Bon Voyage Travel Insurance' based in HK

Section 8b says ( I precis)

Travel delay:

in the event of 'serious weather conditions'..............up to $800 for public transportation expenses necessarily incurred as a direct consequence of the travel delay but only if the insured person has to reroute his trip due to cancellation of a prior confirmed booking

Flight on 19th from CNX BKK Bahrain Paris delayed, next flight 25th arrive 26th. Train tickets, bought and paid for 23rd Paris Lausanne Paris return cancelled and rebooked for 28th. It is the train tickets that I want compensation for, new tickets cost about 340 euro for 2 persons

All booked before Volcano!

IMO it is pretty obvious that a vulcanic eruption is an event from nature, and not a weather condition.

Thank you for your opinion, do you have any legal definition/ precedent to back it up? Weather is an event from nature too. How do you distinguish?

Our flight to Paris was delayed because of the volcanic ash and the closure of most of europe's airports. Consequently we lost our train connections and have had to buy more.

We are told, by the insurance company that we got through Thai Visa that this is a 'natural disaster' and not covered, while ''serious weather conditions' are.

I woud have thought that a common sense definition of the dust in the atmosphere over europe was a 'serious weather condition', just as ,say, a typhoon would be. I can't work out who is right.

Does anyone have a working/ legal definition of 'serious weather condition' that can distinguish it from ' natural disaster'?

Not seen those, but 4th floor of Pantip Plaza will print covers onto paper and put the cd/DVD into a plastic box. They will also print DVD/CD with your images. Probably more expensive than you are planning but it might be worth asking them. Just at the top of one of the escalators ( don't ask me which one, I get disorientated there!)

Hojjat ol-eslam Kazem Sediqi, the acting prayer leader in Teheran claims that

" many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery in society which increases earthquakes"

Well now you know!

I did not make it up!

We are supposed to be flying to Europe on Monday but the prospects are not good. While contemplating my navel it occurred to me that this is a great opportunity for either/or/both the fundementalist Christians or the Islamicists to claim divine intervention.

Fundementalists can claim it's because europe is 'gay friendly/ secular/ whatever' and Islamicists can claim it's because we are infidels

I've not seen any claims yet but who do you think will win the race? Christians or Islamicists?

Since this is Thailand I can't offer a prize ( gambling is illegal), but it should be fun watching.

Go to it and may the best religion win!

Please can someone move this to the 'general' forum?

They don't want to give us credit that actually we do care about Thailand and sincerely do not like Thaksin and the reds and the misery many of us feel will be visited on Thailand if they manage to prevail.

here here....

Where where????? there there???? do you mean ' hear hear'?

Let's call a spade a spade. I have read these low blow attacks at anti-red foreigners by pro reds several times here recently. They want to give the impression that anti-red foreigners are mainly that way for lurid, vile, corrupt, personal greed reasons. I do wonder is this the kind of anti-foreigner hate propaganda being broadcast to the red crowds to "explain" that so many foreigners are indeed anti-red/anti-Thaksin?

They don't want to give us credit that actually we do care about Thailand and sincerely do not like Thaksin and the reds and the misery many of us feel will be visited on Thailand if they manage to prevail.

I agree, I despair sometimes. How incompetent the 'commandos' are. Arisamun has broken many laws and in any normal country would be arrested and stand fair trial. While some of the grievances of the red shirts are valid and should be addressed, how can they when their ' big boss' is a member of the elite himself?

I've yet to see any grouping that comes up with a coherent set of policies as you might see in mature democracies. Just look, for example. at the UK election ( yes I am a Brit)!!!! you can see clear differences between the three main parties and can decide. Here what??? ?? justice????Taksin home as a hero???? the status quo without any definition of what the policies are?????? then what??? An Army and police force that couldn't hold a p**s up in a brewery????

Mai pen Rai it's very hot here in Chiang Mai!!!!

I dont know the real reason for farangs hating Thaksing, however, I found him to be good for the country and economy.

If farangs (I m not a farang and I am so glad that I m not) cant stay here without defeating the system then they should better go home.

Think of doing so in USA and end up in Gitmo...

This government will go... sooner or later... it is on the wall... if anyone wise enough to read this...

Not because of red shirts... but because they have the seeds of their own destruction...

Look at what happened to Thailand and her economy after this government...

I planned to visit Thailand (as I love Thailand so much and I can actually READ, WRITE, speak and understand Thai very well, unlike many foreigners here) with my girlfriend... but she is so scared to goto Thailand under current situations...

Hope when Thaksin comes back and those puny clowns wont jump up and down... Thailand would be the most desired country once again... as it was in his last regime...

I dont care if farangs dont get visa... coz if u wanna live in a country then respect the laws of the country... we call it relativism..

I find it very difficult to understand what this guy is trying to say. I've been here about 5 years, love the country, married to a wonderful Thai lady and have a visa!!!!. I also obey the law. I am depressed about how incompetent the authorities are.. Taksin was more corrupt than most. If he gets back there will be a bloody reckoning.

so what exactly are you trying to say?

I dont know the real reason for farangs hating Thaksing, however, I found him to be good for the country and economy.

If farangs (I m not a farang and I am so glad that I m not) cant stay here without defeating the system then they should better go home.

Think of doing so in USA and end up in Gitmo...

This government will go... sooner or later... it is on the wall... if anyone wise enough to read this...

Not because of red shirts... but because they have the seeds of their own destruction...

Look at what happened to Thailand and her economy after this government...

I planned to visit Thailand (as I love Thailand so much and I can actually READ, WRITE, speak and understand Thai very well, unlike many foreigners here) with my girlfriend... but she is so scared to goto Thailand under current situations...

Hope when Thaksin comes back and those puny clowns wont jump up and down... Thailand would be the most desired country once again... as it was in his last regime...

I dont care if farangs dont get visa... coz if u wanna live in a country then respect the laws of the country... we call it relativism..

OOPs pressed the wrong button--- se my later comment sorry!

How True.

I escape CM every year.

john

Just trying to cheer people up, sorry if I couldn't

Even tho' Chiang Mai is the power base of 'the big boss', it looks like the Thais here are going to celebrate Songkran in the usual way, no matter what is happening in the big mango.

I've just driven round the moat ( in a car!). Lots of people already out, water being thrown, men in appalling Hawaian shirts. The authorities seem to have installed water taps so people can get really wet!

Good to see the Thai sense of fun is still alive and well here

Have a great Songkran everyone!

I'm slowly getting to grips here with the pricing of electricity here. This is the hot season and last month my electricity bill was 3000Baht for a large house.

It seems that the more you use the more per unit you pay. For example, I have a copy of a schedule ( which might be out of date). For the first 5 KwHr you pay 1.3576 Bt, for over 50 KwHr you pay 2.2734

Now I know I am Farang, but normally in the real world the more bulk you buy, the cheaper per unit it is. How come it's back to front here?

I'm told by my Thai teacher that it's to subsidise the poor people. Is that my job or is it the job of the government/ industry?. Just how much does large industry pay per unit?

Very confused, but I know TIT!

HELP!!!!!!!

Although nothing more than a few sprinkles in my area, the cooling wind was welcome. I wouldn't have wanted to be riding my bike though. I bet a few small bikes got blown over. Power went off so I just pulled the plugs on everything to prevent any power surge later damaging anything.

You don't live in SanKamphaeng. A really violent storm maybe like a mini tornado lasting about 10 minutes. In my moo Baan about 20 trees were blown down, some up rooted. Along the road ,lots of trees down, roads blocked I and a mate spent 10 desperate minutes holding on to a roller blind in the garden after it had partly detached from the wall and was threatening to fly violently into the next house.

The storm arrived suddenly and finished just as quickly.

This was the most violent storm I've experienced in 5 years here..

Came from the west and travelled on. About 3.45 pm

Does it open from the application folder? Sometimes the icon in the tray needs to be removed and the new icon put in its place. I hope it is that simple.

You could always try repairing permissions and running the maintenance scripts but two machines responding the same way makes it sound like it is the downloaded file.

Yes is it the same from both the icon and going into 'applications; folder. Like you I suspect a problem with the downloaded file but I have no idea. I will; try repairing permissions, but for the time being I'll stay with 3.5.8

Can't you just download 3.6.2 and install it? The FF download page usually has the latest. Trash 3.6, and download a new version.

It happens both with 3.6.0 and 3.6.2 same problem. I've uninstalled and downloaded on two iMacs same problem

On two i Mac computers here Firefox 3.6 and 3.6.2 upgrades have been downloaded but neither computer will load. Pressing the icon at the bottom means it dances for a few seconds and then stops.

I've had to 'trash' 3.6 and reinstall 3.5.8 then it works fine

Anyone else with the same problem and is there an answer??

Thanks

My Thai wife got a phone call this morning on the landline ( Chiang Mai0. When she answered she got a ' press this number ' type auto response. Then a lady spoke to her saying she was from TOT and that we had not paid the phone bill of 16,000 Baht.. My wife said that we paid by direct debit, the 'TOT' person. TOT went to check and came back to say that there was a company in Nontanburi called ???"Glass Decoration" or something with a bank account number ( Bangkok Bank). She quoted some number that my wife does not remember.

'TOT' then said the police would call. A few minutes later a 'policeman' rang to 'confirm details' and said he would phone back later.

My wife also pays her mother's phone bill and they received a similar call

All this happened about 8.30 am this morning and we have heard nothing since.

Luckily my wife did not give any bank details, but I cannot work out what it was all about, unless, if we had not paid by direct debit the 'TOT' person would want our ATM details.

Thought I'd warn people and also ask if anyone knows what this is all about