CLAIMING HISTORY
New outbreaks spur insurance policies
Insurance claims for Covid policies reached 170 million baht by March, spurred by the second wave.
Total claims for Covid insurance surpassed 100 million baht for the first time in January and continued rising for three consecutive months to 170 million baht by the end of March, says the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC).
During the first three months, 2021 saw a significant increase in accumulated claims from Covid insurance, which recorded only 77.3 million baht at the end of 2020.
In January, total claims increased by nearly 30 million baht to 107 million, before jumping to 146 million in February, spurred by the second outbreak in Samut Sakhon.
Apakorn Panlerd, OIC’s assistant secretary-general, said the office is monitoring the latest outbreak closely and it is hard to forecast figures as the actual number of infections and the severity of the situation are still uncertain.
“Covid insurance products will likely continue to capture the public attention until the outbreak situation completely resolves. However, the number of premiums written may not equal last year because most people are now more informed about how to protect themselves and less panicked,” Mr Apakorn said.
Covid insurance claims were reported at 8.46 million baht in March last year when the product launched.
They increased to 65.9 million baht in June and hit a plateau at around 80 million baht in the second half of 2020, before rising significantly since the beginning of this year.
The cumulative worth of Covid insurance premiums sold and renewed in the first three months this year also increased by roughly 5-8% from the same period last year.
Total premiums sold and renewed increased from 4.14 billion baht at the end of 2020 to 4.33 billion in January, 4.58 billion in February and 4.95 billion in March.
The total number of Covid insurance policies sold at the end of last year was reported at 9.36 million policies, rising to 9.88 million in January.
In February, the total number of Covid insurance policies surpassed 10 million and increased to 10.66 million policies in March.
He said the government’s policy to roll out mass vaccination to help build herd immunity is another factor that helped ease people’s concerns over the outbreak situation.
However, Mr Apakorn expects the product will continue to grow in the future.
For vaccine allergy insurance, which was launched in March, there is not yet a report on number of policies sold or premiums written as there are two major factors buyers need to consider before making purchases: when they will receive vaccination and when they might develop allergies to a vaccine, he said.