WRLife medical insurance - experiences?

[jerrymahoney]

27 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

There is absolutely no reason for an insurance broker to withhold the identity of the insurance company that is actually providing the coverage to one of their clients.

So they must have a reason to do otherwise.

 

As you say: THE insurance company that is actually providing the coverage. So there must be only one and consistently must be the same.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

19 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

So they must have a reason to do otherwise.

 

As you say: THE insurance company that is actually providing the coverage. So there must be only one and consistently must be the same.

An insurance broker can work with multiple insurers, so it is possible that the broker uses different insurers with different clients or for different types of insurance. The issue isn't whether WRLife uses one or several insurers to provide coverage for their clients, it is the lack of information on the identity of the insurer or insurers that WRLife works with that is the issue. 

 

At least one policyholder has advised that the documentation provided by WRLife only gave WRLife's name and address and there was no information on the policy as to the identity of the insurance company actually  providing the coverage. Regardless of which insurer a broker uses, the policyholder should know the identity of the insurer. After all, the insurer and the policyholder are the two parties to the contract of insurance (the broker is not) and I don't know for what reason the identity of the other party to the insurance contract would be withheld from a policyholder.

[scubascuba3]

30 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

An insurance broker can work with multiple insurers, so it is possible that the broker uses different insurers with different clients or for different types of insurance. The issue isn't whether WRLife uses one or several insurers to provide coverage for their clients, it is the lack of information on the identity of the insurer or insurers that WRLife works with that is the issue. 

 

At least one policyholder has advised that the documentation provided by WRLife only gave WRLife's name and address and there was no information on the policy as to the identity of the insurance company actually  providing the coverage. Regardless of which insurer a broker uses, the policyholder should know the identity of the insurer. After all, the insurer and the policyholder are the two parties to the contract of insurance (the broker is not) and I don't know for what reason the identity of the other party to the insurance contract would be withheld from a policyholder.

If someone needed to go to court with wrlife as can happen with any health insurance provider, where would that be? Thailand? London? or unknown?

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If someone needed to go to court with wrlife as can happen with any health insurance provider, where would that be? Thailand? London? or unknown?

I think WRLife's website lists a couple of different locations from which they conduct business. If one were to file suit against WRLife for an error or omission or other tort on their part, one would have to determine which legal entity of WRLife one was dealing with. Perhaps that's clear from the documentation that policyholders have received.

 

If one wanted to file suit against the insurer for not performing under the terms of their insurance contract, that would require knowledge of the identity and location of the insurer.

[jerrymahoney]

3 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

The issue isn't whether WRLife uses one or several insurers to provide coverage for their clients, it is the lack of information on the identity of the insurer or insurers that WRLife works with that is the issue. 

I see. You know that. They don't.

[24Catty]

This thread is hilarious.

Nobody says the obvious:

The people at WR/AIS are well known in the industry. Some of their ventures flopped, some ventures prospered, some ventures fizzled out.

Whether this one will flop or prosper they certainly don't know themselves. 

As long as Dr Boon puts his name behind the whole thing,  you should be pretty safe. How long? God knows.

 

No secrets here.

[Lorry]

This whole discussion of WrLife in Anglo-Saxon terms misses the whole point of WrLife. Just read (and understand) their brochure.

They come from French thinking. They don't want to be a stock-market company.  They want to be mutualiste.

They don't compare themselves to AIG, but to CFE (CFE has been explained on TVF before).

 

Having said that, before signing up I would want to know a lot more than what their website says. 

[jerrymahoney]

3 hours ago, 24Catty said:

This thread is hilarious.

Nobody says the obvious:

The people at WR/AIS are well known in the industry. Some of their ventures flopped, some ventures prospered, some ventures fizzled out.

Whether this one will flop or prosper they certainly don't know themselves. 

As long as Dr Boon puts his name behind the whole thing,  you should be pretty safe. How long? God knows.

 

No secrets here.

Thanks for showing up. What took you so long?

 

From the above: Whether this one will flop or prosper they certainly don't know themselves.

 

Quote from the movie Bonnie & Clyde: “All I can say is, they did right by me. And I'm bringin' me and a mess of flowers to their funeral.”

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

3 hours ago, Lorry said:

Having said that, before signing up I would want to know a lot more than what their website says. 

Some people for various reasons, don't have a lot of other good options.

[brewsterbudgen]

7 hours ago, 24Catty said:

This thread is hilarious.

Nobody says the obvious:

The people at WR/AIS are well known in the industry. Some of their ventures flopped, some ventures prospered, some ventures fizzled out.

Whether this one will flop or prosper they certainly don't know themselves. 

As long as Dr Boon puts his name behind the whole thing,  you should be pretty safe. How long? God knows.

 

No secrets here.

Maybe I missed something, but who is Dr Boon and what is his connection to WRLife?

[jerrymahoney]

52 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Maybe I missed something, but who is Dr Boon and what is his connection to WRLife?

You will note on the WrLife website their claim information email:  operations(at)assistinter.com

 

And this for  Assist International:

 

Dr.Boon Vanasin
Chairman of Thonburi Hospital and Assist International Services

 

http://assistinter.com/main/?portfolio=our-management

 

Also this acting as a sub-contractor to WrLife:

 

Guarantee of Medical Expenses – In case of hospitalization, AIS can confirm the coverage for medical expenses at the insurance company, issue the Letter of Guarantee to the medical facility on behalf of the insurance company, reimburse the medical expenses, obtain the medical information and translate it to the language of insurer

 

http://assistinter.com/main/?portfolio=services

 

 

 

 

 

[prakhonchai nick]

When buying any product. if the purchaser cannot get the required information about the product, then the simple and best solution is to seek to buy an alternative! 

[4MyEgo]

On 8/7/2022 at 2:36 PM, bradiston said:

I'll check out AA. Thanks. Any reason for the "dubious" connotation, apart from what appears to be a very low profile?

Like all companies with little reviews eventually there underwriters change, could be in a year or two then you have skyrocketing annual policies.

 

This happened to me, won't mention the company, happy to take my annual amount for 4 years, with increases every year and on the 5 range, e.g. 59-64 which went up double the annual policy.

 

I do have a pre-existing condition which was covered, no problems since it 1st happened in 2008, on meds, good diet, exercise, but it gave their new underwriter the right to say, stick it to him.

 

So I stuck it back to all of them, have always been able to self insure, however if you can get affordable health insurance, circa 70-100k baht, why not, but when they want to keep sticking it to you, best to put 250k baht a year on a side account in the bank (internet), if you can afford it, and if and when something transpires and you need to pay for it, well your at a million baht within 4 years and building up if you don't have something happen to you which is always the plan.

 

The broker I was using also mentioned them who was mentioned earlier here on the post, but when asked what he knew of them he said, they are fairly knew so we give them a go, that wasn't good enough for me, so it's back to self insuring and hopefully money in my pocket, not theirs.

 

Last but not least, in the 4 years I was covered, not one claim, but they put us all in the one basket unfortunately.

 

Good luck.

[scubascuba3]

17 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

best to put 250k baht a year on a side account in the bank (internet), if you can afford it, and if and when something transpires and you need to pay for it, well your at a million baht within 4 years and building up if you don't have something happen to you which is always the plan.

 

I like this approach, it means if you need an op the money is available and you can choose the hospital, surgeon and negotiate cost. No one can deny claim.

 

Obviously it's a fail if you have big hospital costs, so it's a gamble like everything 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

14 hours ago, 24Catty said:

This thread is hilarious.

Nobody says the obvious:

The people at WR/AIS are well known in the industry. Some of their ventures flopped, some ventures prospered, some ventures fizzled out.

Whether this one will flop or prosper they certainly don't know themselves. 

As long as Dr Boon puts his name behind the whole thing,  you should be pretty safe. How long? God knows.

 

No secrets here.

Dr. Boon is guaranteeing the solvency of the insurance company providing the coverage?

[4MyEgo]

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I like this approach, it means if you need an op the money is available and you can choose the hospital, surgeon and negotiate cost. No one can deny claim.

 

Obviously it's a fail if you have big hospital costs, so it's a gamble like everything 

The only reason I took out health insurance was to protect what I have monetarily speaking, that said, I would rather put 250k baht a year aside, then give it to them, especially when I consider myself a low risk customer.

 

I am I pi$$ed that they got 4 years worth of annual premiums from me, NO, I was covered, that was the objective, now I have taken over and cover myself, besides there re other options than private hospitals, but I will look at those crossroads if and when I get there, never hopefully ????

 

[jerrymahoney]

In reading this topic and multiple other topics on several different forums, one difference between the self-insurance crowd and the insured-by-others crowd is that the self-insurance crowd gets to say how smart they are as long as nothing real-bad happens but the insured-by-others crowd only gets to say how smart they are (if they so choose) when something real-bad DOES happen.

[Lorry]

13 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Dr. Boon is guaranteeing the solvency of the insurance company providing the coverage?

If they are modelled after a French mutuelle (or maybe a German VVaG, but they mention the French system in their brochure) there may be no underwriter/no insurance company. Actually, this is what they are saying in their brochure: no Bentleys, no business trips,  no stock dividends. 

 

Socialism with Thai characteristics  ????

[jerrymahoney]

6 minutes ago, Lorry said:

If they are modelled after a French mutuelle (or maybe a German VVaG, but they mention the French system in their brochure) there may be no underwriter/no insurance company. Actually, this is what they are saying in their brochure: no Bentleys, no business trips,  no stock dividends. 

 

Socialism with Thai characteristics  ????

Well I am A Yank so I don't know about French or German systems but this what is contained in their current policy document:

 

ANY INSURANCE FROM AN INTERNAL BROKER

We are also licensed broker and we can find covers from any provider even from         competitors.
The WrLife global architecture also owns brokerage companies. One is in France for example and has the insurance broker license for all Europe

 

So, from the above, I guess you can say, as you do, that there may be no underwriter or insurance company, but that doesn't mean there isn't.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

21 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

I am not a client of WRLife.

Ah, OK.  So no reason for you to be discomforted then.   I am a client and I'm looking for comfort from others who are!

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

15 minutes ago, Lorry said:

If they are modelled after a French mutuelle (or maybe a German VVaG, but they mention the French system in their brochure) there may be no underwriter/no insurance company. Actually, this is what they are saying in their brochure: no Bentleys, no business trips,  no stock dividends. 

 

Socialism with Thai characteristics  ????

What is the name of the mutuelle or VVaG-like institution that is providing the security for the insurance cover being offered by WRLife and what is their financial status? What jurisdiction are they in? 

 

[robpuff]

While I have been with them for two years, I have not yet had to use their services. Efficient new person on the Koh Samui version of the policy.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

32 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Ah, OK.  So no reason for you to be discomforted then.   I am a client and I'm looking for comfort from others who are!

We haven't heard from anyone who has had a complaint about WRLife and we have heard of at least a couple of people getting claims paid, so that is certainly something to take comfort from.

[jerrymahoney]

49 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

What is the name of the mutuelle or VVaG-like institution that is providing the security for the insurance cover being offered by WRLife and what is their financial status? What jurisdiction are they in? 

 

The gent said they use the French and German social systems as a model. Nowhere did he  imply or suggest that the French or German governments provide any security or financial participation.

 

But would be satisfied if a large travel medical insurer said this:

Insurance Underwriter: Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, rated “A” (Excellent) by AM Best.

 

-- with no indication as who who is the underwriter or where domiciled?
 

 

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

4 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

The gent said they use the French and German social systems as a model. Nowhere did he  imply or suggest that the French or German governments provide any security or financial participation.

That's fine. I was not under the impression that WRLife received any support from the French or German government.

 

But somewhere there must be some type of juristic entity that is capitalized, receives premiums, pays claims, maintains reserves against future claims and is subject to the regulation of either an insurance regulator or some other governmental oversight body. In most places this would require being licensed as an insurance company of some description or possibly some other type of financial institution, not an insurance broker. The question is the identity of this institution, its financial status and the jurisdiction in which it is licensed and regulated.

[jerrymahoney]

10 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

That's fine. I was not under the impression that WRLife received any support from the French or German government.

 

But somewhere there must be some type of juristic entity that is capitalized, receives premiums, pays claims, maintains reserves against future claims and is subject to the regulation of either an insurance regulator or some other governmental oversight body. In most places this would require being licensed as an insurance company of some description or possibly some other type of financial institution, not an insurance broker. The question is the identity of this institution, its financial status and the jurisdiction in which it is licensed and regulated.

So are you suggesting that the WrLife people do not know this?

 

You are getting rather tedious with your they need to do this and they need to do that.

[bt2017]

Information re: WRlife can be obtiained from the UK Govt. Companies register which shows they're a Limited Liability Partnership - I have followed this company on & off it was registered in 2015 when it had minimal assets of around 6000GBP. I've never found anyone who's had a successful claim or otherwise with this co. I did speak to AA Insurance and also a broker in CM about them earlier this year both said they were an option but had no further info about them. I believe they have an agent in Samui but not spoken to them. It all seems a little secretive. 

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

2 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

So are you suggesting that the WrLife people do not know this?

WRLife knows this. 

 

This is something that the policyholders and prospective policyholders should also know in order to be able to make an informed decision about selecting WRLife's insurance offerings.

[KannikaP]

6 minutes ago, bt2017 said:

Information re: WRlife can be obtiained from the UK Govt. Companies register which shows they're a Limited Liability Partnership - I have followed this company on & off it was registered in 2015 when it had minimal assets of around 6000GBP. I've never found anyone who's had a successful claim or otherwise with this co. I did speak to AA Insurance and also a broker in CM about them earlier this year both said they were an option but had no further info about them. I believe they have an agent in Samui but not spoken to them. It all seems a little secretive. 

 

You can apply and pay, and get all paperwork from WrLife direct on the internet. 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

1 minute ago, bt2017 said:

Information re: WRlife can be obtiained from the UK Govt. Companies register which shows they're a Limited Liability Partnership - I have followed this company on & off it was registered in 2015 when it had minimal assets of around 6000GBP. I've never found anyone who's had a successful claim or otherwise with this co. I did speak to AA Insurance and also a broker in CM about them earlier this year both said they were an option but had no further info about them. I believe they have an agent in Samui but not spoken to them. It all seems a little secretive. 

 

WRLife states on their website that they are an insurance broker. The UK entity may be licensed as an insurance broker.

 

If WRLife is an insurance broker, then they would have to place their clients' business with an insurance company or companies. Despite a direct inquiry to WRLife, the identity and location of the insurance company or companies hasn't been clarified precisely yet. 

 

There has been discussion that WRLife uses the French mutuelle or German VVaG business model, but I don't think this means that there would not be some form of insurance company or other financial institution subject to governmental regulation actually providing the coverage.