Thai Reinsurance Public Company LimitedTHRE is under discussion to take on risk management in the reinsurance structure of the new national disaster insurance scheme.
The Thai General Insurance Association is pressing ahead with a national disaster insurance system after the Cabinet approved the plan, aiming to begin coverage this October. Dr. Somporn Suebthawilkul, Chief Executive Officer of Dhipaya Group Holdings Public Company Limited and President of the Thai General Insurance Association, disclosed that the government will pay the premiums on behalf of the public, covering roughly 30 million households nationwide, amounting to total premiums of 15 billion baht per year, or about 500 baht per household per year, for three types of peril: floods, windstorms and earthquakes. The project targets total coverage of approximately 75 billion baht, or about five times the premiums the government pays, which represents the maximum liability the insurance system must be prepared to absorb rather than the full amount the government pays directly to the public. On the selection of companies to join the project, preliminary assessment indicates that about 25 insurers may qualify out of 47 companies, based on capital adequacy ratios of 180 to 200 percent, and continuous profitability for no less than two years may also be required. Meanwhile, the reinsurance structure is under discussion for Thailand Reinsurance Public Company Limited, or THRE, to take on risk management. In the initial phase, the fund model or the establishment of a national catastrophe insurance company will not yet be used, since that would require many legal steps and could take at least about two years.
Thai Reinsurance Public Company LimitedTHRE is under discussion to take on risk management in the reinsurance structure of the new national disaster insurance scheme.
Dhipaya Group Holdings PCLDhipaya's CEO leads the Thai General Insurance Association pushing the national disaster insurance plan, and Dhipaya is among insurers positioned to join the 25 qualifying companies.