Did The Insurance Broker Misuse My Insurance Premium

[jackcorbett]

We will call this insurance broker RAT-asong no pun intended. Here's what happened. Two months ago I was in the market for motorbike insurance so I discussed the subject with a German fellow condo owner in my building. I respect this German, and he had also had some experience with a motorbike insurance company here in Pattaya when a Thai motorbike taxi driver careened across two or three lanes of traffic and knocked him off his Phantom near Big C on 2nd Road. His bike was severely damaged and he had his shoulder in a sling for a couple of months. He was ill treated by the insurance company handling his claim so he switched his motorbike insurance coverage to a Thai woman named RAT-asong who he had known for a few years and who had an insurance brokerage license. In the past he had found this woman to be very helpful to him, going out of her way to help him. So my fellow condo owner brought RAT-asong over to my condo and I placed my motorbike insurance with her. However, my friend had also gotten condo insurance from her paying 6800 baht for his policy. I agreed with him---that I really needed this coverage and I told the woman I wanted the same coverage he had taken out.

Several days later I received my motorbike policy, but the policy on my condo was extremely slow in getting to me. By the end of November I was getting pretty alarmed over not yet receiving a policy so for the entire month of December (until today) I've been spending a great deal of time trying to get RAT-asong to bring me my policy. I've had her stand me up for so many appointments, or had to deal with her not returning my calls, etc that I'm going to call this particular month of December the month of RAT-asong. About a week ago I went to the condo office and had the condo manager help me call the Safety Insurance Company LTM to see if there even was a policy in my name. When I didn't get a straight answer to "Am I insured with you or not?" which might have been due to the person on the other end not understanding English very well I rephrased the question to "What is the number of my insurance policy with your company?" The man could not give me a policy number.

In the meantime I had been telling RAT-asong on the phone that I was very concerned that I did not have insurance coverage with the company and that if we had a fire or a water pipe broke that I'd have to pay all expenses myself and not get anything from Safety Insurance Company LTD. RAT-asong told me not to worry because I was covered.

Well...I wasn't covered. Somebody had used my 6800 baht for personal or other purposes. I did have a receipt from Rat-asong and I was able to get a copy of my German friend's policy that had her broker's number on it, her full name, etc. And I took all of that to a Thai lawyer named Katrina who has an office once block from Tuk Com.

Two days ago there was a knock on my door and when I answered it there was RAT-asong. I let her in thinking that Katrina had pressured her into finally begging someone to lend her the money to get me the policy i had already had paid her for because by this time I felt that Rat-asong must have had some financial problems and might have used my premium to take care of personal problems.

RAT-asong then tried to sell me a new policy with an American company doing business in THailand. This policy was considerably cheaper, costing just 2800 baht whereas the policy I had already paid for cost 6800 baht. However, if I had a fire or water damage due to a pipe breaking in my condo the policy would only be good for 50,000 baht. Besides, I knew that if I agreed to a new policy RAT-asong could keep playing her games for another month or two. I told her I wanted the policy I had already paid for from Safety Insurance Company Limited.

Today, hurrah......the month of RAT-asong ended. Turns out RAT-asong made an appointment with Katrina two days ago for 8:30 a.m. but as she had done to me many times before she stood Katrina up. Then she came over to my condo to try and sell me the inferior policy. After that she called Katrina and told her she had met with me. Which as one might suspect angered Katrina considerably as she might have felt she had spent time putting pressure on RAT-asong who I then secretly met with to avoid paying her legal fee. Yesterday I went to Katrina's office where I also had her doing a slight modification to a will she had done for me about a year ago. I paid her for that, plus 1000 baht for her fee getting my insurance policy instated. And this morning I went to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital where I one of Katrina's employees. This woman had just come back from Safety Insurance Company Ltd. which turned out to have an office close to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital where she had gotten the policy from the manager. In Katrina's office I wrote a short note asking the manager to release my policy to Katrina's employee.

The policy is dated December 23, 2009. The question is who was using my 6800 baht this past two months, RAT-asong or somebody else? And of course with the policy having yesterday's date on it I never had coverage in the first place but I sure had to pay for it. And as for Katrina.......that 1000 baht I paid her was well earned. I most definitely recommend her services to anyone needing a good lawyer here in Pattaya. The score reads something like 30 days Jack trying to get RAT-asong to deliver insurance policy, Katrina just 3 days.

Edited December 24, 2009 by jackcorbett

[Nio]

Sounds like just another scammer trying to get away with it

It is getting worse and worse and worse as people feel the crunch of the economy

[torrenova]

Not uncommon I find for people to use the money for other purposes. I have had agents and owners using deposits on property and my having to just not pay the rent for the last couple of months to use it up. Only today I received a refund from an airline ticket which theye agent admitted they received on December 1st. On numerous occasions since then they have stalled and once actually said they had made a miscalculation.

I believe all monies are pooled whereas each money should be kept for each contract. I see it with business owners who do not know which is their money and what belongs to the business.

In the OP's case, the Thai would presumably just shrug their shoulders and say "mai pen rai" had he needed to claim when uninsured. Better to go direct to someone you can trust.

[endure]

Surely if the policy is dated 23 December 2009 then your cover begins on 23rd December 2009 and extends to 23rd December 2010? You may not have been covered for the past 2 months but you haven't lost anything.

[jackcorbett]

Not uncommon I find for people to use the money for other purposes. I have had agents and owners using deposits on property and my having to just not pay the rent for the last couple of months to use it up. Only today I received a refund from an airline ticket which theye agent admitted they received on December 1st. On numerous occasions since then they have stalled and once actually said they had made a miscalculation.

I believe all monies are pooled whereas each money should be kept for each contract. I see it with business owners who do not know which is their money and what belongs to the business.

In the OP's case, the Thai would presumably just shrug their shoulders and say "mai pen rai" had he needed to claim when uninsured. Better to go direct to someone you can trust.

The Thai can shrug their shoulders and say "Mai Pen Rai" all they want.

The Random House Webster College dictionary states, "embezzle--to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use as money entrusted to one's care". I entrusted 6800 baht to RAT-asong. In my condo just several days ago she admitted not turning my money in to the company.

As for the policy being dated December 23rd and whether I had been covered or not there are no ifs ands and buts about it, until then I had no coverage. Also, Katrina said to me she could not understand RAT-asong "destroying her own business" and further commented about RAT-asong playing games with her by standing her up for an appointment then going to see me instead--"I can have her put in jail."

Your comment about taking insurance only with someone you trust is the whole reason I've started this poll in the first place. There is a real RAT-asong. She's probably been doing the same thing to others that she's been doing to me. Hopefully all those seeing these posts 1. Will be very careful about who they take their insurance out with while recognizing that at least in my case a fully licensed insurance broker has put herself at risk of doing monkey house time.

Edited December 25, 2009 by jackcorbett

[PattayaParent]

Surely if the policy is dated 23 December 2009 then your cover begins on 23rd December 2009 and extends to 23rd December 2010? You may not have been covered for the past 2 months but you haven't lost anything.

He's lost the 50,000 he's had to pay for the damage that he should have been insured for.

[endure]

If you re-read his posts you'll see that he hasn't had to pay 50,000bt as he hasn't made any claims. The 50,000bt he mentioned was the limit he could claim on the alternative insurance policy the broker was trying to sell him in place of the one she sold him in the first place.

[jackcorbett]

If you re-read his posts you'll see that he hasn't had to pay 50,000bt as he hasn't made any claims. The 50,000bt he mentioned was the limit he could claim on the alternative insurance policy the broker was trying to sell him in place of the one she sold him in the first place.

Exactly. Pattiwin was now offering up a policy that would pay out only 50,000 baht. The coverage I purchased provided 500,000 coverage. During the past two weeks a condo up on the fourth floor has had every single floor taken up due to a water leak. Every day we can hear power tools blasting throughout the building as a work crew works on eliminating the problem. 50,000 baht would not touch the cost incurred here.

I was not out anything other than the 1000 baht legal fee to finally make that policy happen which I felt was more than reasonable. Having served on our condo building's committee I've had to go out and hire legal assistance or advice several other times. As an attorney Katrina's been the best of the bunch by a long shot while getting this job done in just three days and for a mere 1000 baht--the price of a dinner for two at many of Pattaya's finer eateries. I am one happy camper.