What challenges do expats face when opening a bank account in Thailand?

Opening a Thai bank account part 2: This has been a royal pain in the neck (pun intended). Here is my current status. They are telling me I need someone in authority for the Thai government to vouch for any new account holder. Although I am not over 50, I am 39, I have to buy a full year of insurance for 25,000 ([[members only])). I told them I do not want insurance because I am below the age limit and they are telling me it's to secure my account. So basically, everyone has to pay.

So, let me break down what I have learned about getting a Thai bank account.

1) Having 400,000 baht to put away for 3 months isn't enough anymore. This is recent, so if you just did this a month ago and it was no problem, count your blessings. This is new.

2) They force you to buy their 25,000 insurance in order to "vouch for you" and "secure your account". I have verified with 2 different banks in 2 different cities.

So, in summary, it seems to me that they are trying to get all the non-Thai that are not good income producers to be unable to complete this process.

I was told that I could get the income verification I need and not buy the insurance from my Embassy, the US embassy has stopped to give. I verified this ([[members only]/)).

I also just found out that I have to prove the 400,000 baht in the account every year.

I'm seriously thinking about just re-applying for a Non-O every 3 months but I have no idea if that is possible.

As it stands, I have an appointment with some guy in the UK who knows the bank manager, 25000 to open the account and 5000 to put into the account. Pain In The Neck.