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SooKee

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  1. Just by way of an update for those with April France, or thinking of going with them, having asked AA World directly, they tell me that Thailand moving to region 2 from region 3 is only for new business, not renewals. If that's the case, a 30% / $800 premium hike is alarming to say the least! Or maybe April have, on paper, left Thailand in region 3 for renewals but have just hiked the price of the premium anyway. Given that premium increases over the previous 3 years have been 8%, 6% and 10%, the 30% being asked for now will need some explaining. I'll update again if any more meaningful information comes to light about the increase or about alternative providers that I'm looking at. It will be interesting to see if others with policies from April France get such a large premium increase if renewing this year, assuming of course they are members here and post about it.
  2. Yes, AOC told me about the change too, as you say, 1 April. My renewal is due 1 April so I suspect (hope) that my notice is based on the new region 2 and that it's just an admin error that it's been left as region 3 at the foot of the document. If that's not the case it may not bode well as that would mean there would need to be another reason for the 30% / $800 price rise in premium plus of course the double-whammy to come for the region change. My guess though is that my renewal, falling as it does on 1 April, has been switched to the new region 2 price structure. I have never claimed and have no existing conditions so a change of insurer may not be too problematic and, in light of what AOC have told me, may actually be a good idea. He made the following points to me about April (France): "Note that April's Basic plan is limited compared to plans in the same category. Few examples: Annual limit $500,000 Semi-private room only and no private room (Important point in Thailand) Rehabilitation up to 20 days compare to the market 30 days per medical conditions" Changing while I still can may seem prudent! Of course, I have yet to establish what's available from other providers and what the premiums will be but April is looking less attractive at the moment.
  3. Oh for sure, as I shop around, Thai providers will most definitely not be on the list, I ruled out Thai providers from the outset. April re-classifying Thailand to region 2 will effectively increase their premiums by at least 25% I would think, looking for another provider is not something I relish the thought of however. Of course, it may well be that April will not be the only company to change the region Thailand is in for premium calculation, so it could be a lot of effort to go from the frying pan into the fire. The comments from the broker about April's (France) declining service, coupled with the difficulties when trying to correspond with them and, in particular, the total lack of communication from them about the shifting of Thailand to region 2 really makes renewing with them seems somewhat foolhardy.
  4. Right, I'll bear that in mind while I look for alternatives.
  5. You're welcome. It's also timely as my renewal is due on 5 April and a few more facts have been unearthed! As Sheryl indicated, AOC Brokers in France have confirmed that from 1st April 2024 (a well chosen date perhaps), April will re-classify Thailand from a region 3 country to region 2. This will have significant consequences in terms of premiums both now and in the future and is doubtless the reason for my $800 premium hike! Of course, April have communicated nothing whatsoever about this, just bumped up the premium and kept quiet. I have to say though that this does not surprise me at all as I find communication from, and corresponding with, April extremely frustrating to say the least, even when they billed my card twice for a premium, obtaining the refund was far more difficult than it should have been! The term incompetent I think is not too strong. Moving Thailand to region 2 does in this case seem to be the significant spanner in the works in terms of derailing premium forecasts! In addition, the AOC broker said that the service from April has got much much worse as the company has grown to such an extent, and I quote "We must fight every day for our clients.". This is in stark contrast to the reputation they had 4 years ago. I now have severe reservations about renewing with April and, as has been suggested by AOC, I will explore other alternatives with them. Whether AOC is the best option for me as a broker I don't know, I originally contacted them as they are based in France and thought they may be a good option to switch to from AA World given April is also France based. Now my renewing with April seems at least very unlikely, the broker location may be less important. Being a UK citizen though, I may well just opt for a UK broker, I don't really think the location of the broker makes much of a difference though, except maybe where making a payment is concerned (e.g. where your bank accounts are). Despite looking for options I was always getting hit with a foreign currency transaction fee by paying $US premiums with a UK card, like a £65 / $82 fee! I even tried to explore paying the US$ account in France using Wise but "Computer says no" was the response from them, it may have changed now. April for me though will most likely be off the list of options and I think anyone thinking of going with them would be wise to do a LOT of research first. Finally, when AA World started mailing me about my premium, they actually seemed very interested in getting me to discuss other options, sending me premium overview document listing several companies with Regency (surprise surprise) being at the top in terms of 'stars' for customer rating and price (e.g. low). The premiums listed for other companies also made little sense with a few April options priced at over $9,000! Something odd here.
  6. It doesn't have a date on it, I'm viewing from a link provided in an email from April France direct, the email is dated 7 March. As was pointed out above, folks should indeed make enquiries with their brokers as to estimated costs of policy renewal over the coming years. Of course those estimates are bound to increase due to inflation and other factors. But there's increases and there's increases! As an example, in April 2022, the forecast for my premiums were: Age Bands 61-65: $2,380 (only a couple of hundred out when the premium became due in 2023) 66-70: $2,790 71-75: $3,196 76-80: $3,611 My premium notice for 2024 at age 65? $3,480! So the estimates were not even remotely close and the premium now due is only just below that forecast for the 76-80 age band and $1,100 more than what the forecast said I should be paying now! That degree of inaccuracy within a space of just 2 years effectively makes these forecasts totally pointless IMO, at leat insofar as April are concerned, and certainly not anything one should rely on! A 30% / $800 increase over last year while still in the same age band warrants an explanation for sure, one that I have asked for. A few hundred out one might expect, even 3-400 over 2 years, but $1,100! So yes, do the research and obtain estimates of policy costs as you reach certain age bands, but do not rely on the them to be anything like accurate, mine is out by $1,100 on the estimated cost of my renewal from just 2 years ago. Go figure. Suffice it to say, the reputation of April has taken a considerable nose-dive, at least from my perspective.
  7. Just checked my premium notice. Still shows as Zone 3, unless that's a typo as in, it's showing the zone that Thailand was in when the policy was taken out? They may have a good track record on payment, I've never found their admin systems / responsiveness to be that good.
  8. Very, very good point!! I was expecting a hike for hitting the 65+ age bracket but I thought 30% was a bit high, even for that. I'll likely renew but I need to try and find another broker as I don't feel comfortable with AA World, that's if one broker can take on a policy started with another broker. AA World keep saying "as your broker" etc etc. Trouble is, they aren't. They inherited it from AA Thailand. Maybe a new broker will be able to if they effectively start a new policy that merely continues a policy with April that has no breaks.
  9. I made my posts mainly because the OP was asking about April and some people do not conduct full research, particularly regarding likely future costs, my premium notice had just arrived too. I will most likely renew (once the shock of the 30% hike in premium from last year has worn off LOL) though I will likely try to find another broker to do it with (assuming they can take over as an agent for an existing policy) as I don't feel comfortable with AA World. I may even consider a higher deductible depending on how much it brings the cost of the premium down by. Self-insurance for me is an option as I have both the funds and the means to replace them but, another thing that some people overlook, that's assuming it's just one hit for for something serious, maybe two. If you are unfortunate enough to succumb to something serious that requires ongoing treatment, that's when folks might encounter problems. Making plans to cover the the eventuality of a single 1-3 million baht hospital bill might be easy enough, what if it's 1-3 million per year though?
  10. I realised it before I started and was aware that the prices would increase and had already made my plans as to when I may avail myself of other options, primarily on reaching the 65 and 70 year old premium points. It's always a balance with insurance, great value if you need it, money down the drain if you don't. While the peace of mind may be worth it when the costs are not excessive (and what is considered excessive will vary from person to person), you may well consider that having insurance is likely a very good idea. The sums that you can put aside though increase significantly as one gets older, but at the same time, so does the likelihood that you will need it. It will always be a balancing act but folks should not underestimate the price hikes that will be likely once you cross the 65 and then 70 year old bracket. There may also be a point at which you will no longer be insured and as you get closer to that point, with the premiums going through the roof, the extent to which you are prepared to just write off the premiums may change. Of course cancelling insurance having never used it will also mean the premiums you've already paid are down the drain too, be great if we could all see into the future eh, hindsight is great. Sadly, unlike auto insurance, there's no no-claims bonus with health insurance.
  11. Just by way of some further info regarding April France. I have a policy with them (originally started via AA Brokers here when they were still able to deal in international policies) and, at age 65 now, I have just received my renewal premium notice from April France direct for 2024. The premium is up to $3,480 from $2,682 last year, that's a 30% hike, doubtless as result of jumping to the 65 year old plus age band, 30% is still some significant jump though. I dread to think what the 70 year old hike will be! I have zero existing conditions and have made no claims so it's not a condition inflated premium either. I started with April in 2020 when the premium was $2,117 so it sure ratchets up, 80% in 5 years! Fortunately I could cover a THB 1-3m bill here, and replenish the funds quite quickly and still have the liquidity I need. Given the 30% jump, over the next 5 years that will probably amount to $20,000+ in insurance premiums assuming the price will still rise year on year. The peace of mind is nice to have, even though I've never had to use the policy, but it's definitely more palatable to have to write off $2,000 a year than it is $3,500 - 4,000. Provided one is able to realistically access your other options (e.g. not just assume that THB 100,000 in a bank account will cover it) I can easily see why folks take a far more critical view of the benefits of such policies as the costs sky-rocket, and that's not a sensationalist term IMO! I very much doubt my premium will be much under $5,000 in 4 years time. Decisions decisions. As an aside, for the first time this year, I have been subject to a lot of persistent pestering by the AA World Insure (the India based outfit?) that took over the international policy side once AA Thailand stopped being involved with managing international policies here. 3 emails and 2 phone calls in the last couple of days, got to the point where I had to be pretty blunt and curt with them saying that I will contact them, if I need to, when I am good and ready, not before. Last year IIRC I renewed with April France direct as I had no intention of processing any payment through AA World. Pity that AA Thailand had to bail out, from the very little interaction I've had I don't rate the replacement outfit at all!
  12. I just checked this, for Extensions based on Retirement, showing slots available for 19-22 March.
  13. Sadly not in all cases. Submitted 15 January, still pending as of 23rd :( Seems very patchy still, time before last approval took 17 days! Last time, 4 IIRC. This time 8 and still waiting.
  14. Couldn't decide whether to post this here or in the Bangkok section but, as anyone that interested in Covid will likely seek out this section, I decided on here. The MoPH have recently announced that booster vaccinations are available at 69 Public Health Service Centres across Bangkok. Bear in mind these are Health Centres so you need to check their days / hours of operation for boosters. It's all in Thai so you'll need Google Translate or a Thai to help if you can't read Thai. source link:
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