Price of coronavirus policies expected to fall 20% - Bangkok Post

Price of coronavirus policies expected to fall 20%

Mr Suthiphon expects renewals of Covid-19 insurance policies.

The price of Covid-19 insurance is set to be reduced by 20% because of the low total claims last year, only 1.87% of total premiums, says Anon Vangvasu, president of the Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA).

Covid-19 insurance protections were launched in March, with 9.36 million total policies sold in 2020 and total premiums worth 4.14 billion baht. Total claims were worth 77.3 million baht, or 1.87% of total premiums received.

Government-mandated Covid-19 insurance for foreigners entering Thailand from Sept 18, 2020 to Jan 3, 2021 sold 4,953 policies with total premiums worth 44.7 million baht. Total claims were worth 2.86 million baht for 22 cases.

"We expect insurance renewal will be popular this year despite the availability of vaccines," said Mr Anon.

TQM Corporation chief executive Napassanun Punnipa said the renewal rate is projected to be higher than 80%, up from 70% in November and 50-60% in September.

"We expect renewals to peak in March," said Mrs Napassanun.

Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn, secretary-general of the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC), said premiums from the insurance are projected to rise to 10.8 million policies in June, up from 9.36 million at the end of last year.

"From our survey, most customers intend to renew the protection as they are still concerned about the second wave of the pandemic. However, the volume of policies may not grow as fast as it did in 2020," he said.

Mr Suthiphon said the OIC expects total insurance policy numbers will grow slightly to 9.87 million policies at the end of January from 9.36 million at the end of 2020, with total premiums reaching 4.4 billion baht, up from last year's 4.14 billion. Total claims are projected to rise by 24.7 million baht in January to 102 million, or 2.3% of total premiums.

"The number of claims may rise this month, but insurers will likely be able to manage as most infected people in Samut Sakhon are migrants workers without insurance protection," he said.

Many insurers will continue to offer Covid-19 protection and more people will buy it, but the large lump-sum protection will not be provided anymore, said Mr Suthiphon.

The OIC projects Covid-19 insurance policies will not exceed 10.8 million at the end of June, an increase of around 1.5 million policies from year-end 2020, with total premiums worth 4.8 billion baht.

"We expect the maximum volume of claims will not exceed 130 million baht, assuming the situation is controllable," he said, adding the OIC will revise projections once again if the outbreak continues to escalate.