roamer

Brother in law is a Lloyds underwriter and I asked him about a similar case some time back. His answer was that some, but not most, policies exclude motorcycle insurance. Some exclude on engine size, over 250cc, not a factor here. However, by far the largest reason to deny a claim is a clause that is common to all policies that accept motorcycle insurance, and that is that the rider must hold a recognised motorcycle driving qualification in their home country, a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) certificate from the UK for example. It's the accidents that result in deaths that make the headlines but there are far more claims for lesser accidents and injuries that that are unpaid. He knew of one insurance brokers popular with backpackers that in 2020 received 112 claims and paid out on only 1 single claim due to this clause. I get that relatives are often coy about this "small" or "hidden" clause and yes, there is maybe a case for making it more prominent. However, that wouldn't change anything. People would still ride bikes they were not qualified to ride.

Agreed, but dinosaurs were wiped out by a cataclysmic change, here we are relying on electoral demographics and as you say it's inevitable. The problem is these dinosaurs have too much invested to give up easily, where is the future in that for them ? The problem for the dinosaurs is how to deal with the lower life forms that threaten their gilded existence and not become a pariah state in the process. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Rubbish. I have a £1.2m mews house in London, which I got by hard work and I guess the degree helped, so I don't consider myself as uneducated trash but I hold no affection for the UK these days. Quite a common occurence for me to look out of the window and see junkies with their crack pipes slumped against the wall opposite, have my front door used as a urinal at least one a week. The drug dealing is conducted in full view of residents and a call to the cops results in a text message stating they will endeavour to attend within 60 minutes. It never happens and have the CCTV to prove it. You are also ignoring the fact that every opinion poll in the UK shows a majority of people have a very negative opinion about the current state of the country, not just " losers who have ended up in Thailand attracted by cheap booze and sex," Any journalist/ TV reporter will tell you the most common phrase they hear used about Britain is it's "broken". You don't know what you are talking about.

The problem with ideas is it's all in the execution.🙄

I also get what folk say about requiring people to have travel insurance, and it might have helped here, though there are so many conflicting accounts it's hard to be sure. However, in most of the cases we see here requiring "Go Fund Me's", travel insurance wouldn't work anyway. Take the most common cause of tourist hospitalisations that make the news, motorcycle accidents. Insurance only covers you if, 1). You have a licence or certificate that covers you to drive in your home country. 2). You're wearing a crash helmet. Sadly, the first time many of these plonkers have been on a bike is when they arrive in Thailand. Many other non motorcycle claims would fall on grounds like excessive alcohol, drug consumption or risk taking. Travel insurance is a good thing but it's not idiot proof.

What a pile of tosh. Been in and out of Thailand as my base for over 30 years, yet to witness "rabid groups of Thai males beating up tourists", admittedly we probably don't frequent the same locales. "3rd World" ? Lol, in any crime survey Thailand would come out way better than your homeland. When I'm not in Asia, I'm in London, no shortage of rabid male gangs there or in many other UK cities. Don't know how you sleep at night in such a crime ridden violent nation like Thailand. 🙄 https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp

Looks like you get more help from British cops once your car is exported. Until then recovery is a diy job it seems. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14793161/couple-steal-Jaguar-car-police-investigate.html

Thai politics are far more Machiavellian than they are being credit for here and the concept that either he or his daughter have any power or influence over what happens next is misjudged at best. The war drums are beating, albeit softly, muscles are being flexed and everyone knows generals are better at running the country.

In theory, and also in practice in the US for example. The fact that this does not happen in Thailand on an effective basis can be seen in the pictures of suitcases totally filled with blocks of cannabis being intercepted at foreign airports.

Many reasons why drugs don't get detected in transit, not least depending on the length of transit. Likewise scanning on departure prior to check in is a great way to bring the whole system to it's knees, this used to happen years ago prior to check in looking for explosives, with todays traffic volume it would be a nightmare. Scanning after check in ? So if you identify a bag you then have to identify it's owner and make sure they don't board the flight. Try doing that at an airport like Swampy. Won't be long before one of these muppets gets caught at Singapore, mandatory death sentence for 500g of cannabis, they executed a guy this week for 300g of methamphetamine. Maybe publicity like that might make even the dimmest think twice.

Lot of luggage and a long distance for a visa run.

So many changes since Covid. On Etihad last year changing the return date even by a day or 2 was only marginally cheaper than buying a separate return.

Thanks Sheryl. There is certainly some food for thought there. I totally agree that the Q risk programme is a very rough tool at best. I think I will take a look at a proper cardiac screening and see where we go from there. If I do take out any insurance I would certainly want it to be with a reputable company and to be able to answer questions truthfully so as not to leave any loopholes. I'm very much a dot the i’s and cross the t's type of person when it comes to things like insurance! Thanks again, much appreciated.

Levels would hover around 4.8-5.5 mmol/L so not a health issue, but the QRISK program used in the UK took into account my fathers death at 60 from a heart attack. Didn't take into account he smoked 40+ a day, very unhealthy diet and heavy drinker. Low dose statin use not uncommon in such circumstances.

Hi Sheryl, " With documented hypertension (even though controlled on medication) and elevated lipids (ditto), combined with your age, it will be very difficult to get insured. " So the same age, no heath issues now or prior, can pass any physical but take a low dose statin as recommended by doctor in UK. Would that affect my insurance quote ?

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements " From 1 June 2024, British passport holders arriving by air or land can enter Thailand without a visa (visa exemption) for the purpose of tourism and short-term business engagements for a period not exceeding 60 days." Thai Embassy UK not updated yet 😊

It's not nonsense. This statistical analysis is similar to what is being seen in other large scale studies in Europe & the UK. It's a huge drop in heart failure deaths in vaccinated subjects who are subject to cardiovascular events. The only nonsense here is people commenting on something they know nothing about.

I liked Cheap Charlies on Soi 11 but have to admit I'm fond of the Soi 50 location too, it's a non hassle environment but if you're not a fan of cigarette smoke it can be a bit trying at times.

Pretty light sentence considering the quantities involved " Both eventually pleaded guilty. Suttabut admitted supplying Boyle with just over 2kg of crystal meth, three litres of GBL, and 150g of ketamine, more details here. https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/very-very-drug-addled-toy-28692921

He said he was too old to get travel insurance not a tourist visa. Having said that, in the UK at least most insurance companies don't have an upper age limit, lots of people travelling in their 80's.

You can look at it how you choose but it's no coincidence that the amount of passengers denied boarding for "irregularities" has increased dramatically in line with the increased amounts of compensation airlines have to pay passengers for not allowing boarding. Overbook a long haul flight by 10 seats, not uncommon, and that's 6000 Euros owed in compensation and there are an ever increasing load of claims companies out there happy to take on your case. Hence airlines increasingly looking for ways to avoid paying out on overbooked flights. Point is that a less than 100% correct ticket/passport/visa is far more readily pounced upon when a flight is overbooked than when it isn't. Also the "photo" was not the issue here, it's not even a photo, on this issue of passport it's printed onto the page beneath the laminate, can't be substituted and also printed on the facing page as in the image below from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-passport-checks/basic-passport-checks-accessible Qatar were just trying to avoid paying out for overbooked flights, end of.

Damage ? Planes would fly half empty if you followed the rules as tightly as here.

Why ? You have a visa, no need for a return ticket.

A lot of people travelling with passports in far more questionable condition. Just an excuse to not pay compensation when overbooked just as in the case of missing middle name or similar reasons. The other airline and immigration at either end obviously had no problems with it.