I keep seeing an ad for health insurance brokers 'NowCompare.com' claiming that 78% of expats use their services to obtain health insurance - a claim of such obnoxious nonsense that is well past laughable - but I went through the quote process, reassured by their promise to 'access all the best providers' and compare 'all the top health insurance companies in Thailand that support the expat community..' and so on.

This turns out to be a complete 'con' - they don't offer any Thai registered insurance companies and despite the fact that they make out to be Thailand based, click on the 'find out more' tabs and up comes a Hong Kong number. And with a bit of digging the reassuring facts of their membership of the 'Professional Insurance Brokers Association' is a Hong Kong broker designation and has absolutely no relevance to Thailand.

They are going to great lengths to appear to be Thai based but this is all a deception and companies don't go to these lengths if there's nothing to hide.

My question is why does ThaiVisa allow ads that make ridiculous and demonstrably false claims from appearing on the site because it really damages the credibility of the site -or is advertising revenue more important than integrity?

Well udonmap are just the same should be called udon dodgy advertiser, I believe here most adds are google based.

I keep seeing an ad for health insurance brokers 'NowCompare.com' claiming that 78% of expats use their services to obtain health insurance - a claim of such obnoxious nonsense that is well past laughable - but I went through the quote process, reassured by their promise to 'access all the best providers' and compare 'all the top health insurance companies in Thailand that support the expat community..' and so on.

This turns out to be a complete 'con' - they don't offer any Thai registered insurance companies and despite the fact that they make out to be Thailand based, click on the 'find out more' tabs and up comes a Hong Kong number. And with a bit of digging the reassuring facts of their membership of the 'Professional Insurance Brokers Association' is a Hong Kong broker designation and has absolutely no relevance to Thailand.

They are going to great lengths to appear to be Thai based but this is all a deception and companies don't go to these lengths if there's nothing to hide.

My question is why does ThaiVisa allow ads that make ridiculous and demonstrably false claimsnowcompRE.PNG from appearing on the site because it really damages the credibility of the site -or is advertising revenue more important than integrity?

Is it a TV ad or an ad on TV via Google?

The very real risks and issues that are associated with transacting insurance through offshore brokers and offshore insurers is covered in some depth in an article on the Pacific Cross Health Insurance website entitled 'What's the best expat health insurance - Thailand or International'.

The standard of insurance industry regulation and compliance in Thailand is of an international standard and this governs insurance brokers ensuring they are adequately capitalised and operating in a compliant manner; it covers insurance companies who are required to submit monthly reports to ensure their capital adequacy as well as operational capabilities; and it covers the products that are licensed for sale to make sure the terms, pricing, administrative, reinsurance and other aspects are all within acceptable guidelines. Moreover if there is a dispute at any time in the future about any of these issues, claims, etc - the regulator is empowered to adjudicate and ensure the rights of the consumer are protected, with the power to issue binding rulings which must be followed by insurers. Insurance company executives with experience of regulatory regimes in markets elsewhere in the world will attest to the fact that Thailand's regulatory environment is every bit as robust as it should be.

Only insurance brokers subject to the Thai regulator are permitted to recommend the products of insurance companies subject to the Thai regulator, and there are numerous insurance brokers in Thailand with excellent capabilities, operating standards and reputations servicing the expat and local markets.

Thai residents, whether expat or local, temporary or permanent, who deal with a Thai registered insurance brokerage can do so with a high level of confidence that their arrangements will pass muster by any measure, and in the event there is a problem at any stage in the future they have the reassurance of support from the regulator of a well controlled and orderly market.

None of these reassurances apply to offshore brokers who - when they deal with Thai residents - operate in a completely unregulated twilight zone where they are accountable to no authority, regulator, or legal jurisdiction.

However ultimately it is up to each individual to decide on their own course of action, and proceed with caution when making this decision.