PAYMENT CHOP
Measures help lowincome earners
The OIC may relax auto insurance payments for the poor as part of relief measures for coronavirus-affected individuals.
The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) may relax auto insurance premium payments for low-income earners, joining government and financial institutions’ relief measures for coronavirus-affected individuals.
Two options being considered by the insurance regulator are instalment payments for premiums or coverage extension.
Another factor is whether each insurance company will ease requirements for potential policyholders, said OIC secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn.
Luxury car owners will be prohibited from taking part in the aid scheme, he said.
The OIC has arranged a video conference with executives and members of the Thai Life Assurance Association
Two options being considered by the insurance regulator are instalment payments for premiums or coverage extension.
(TLAA) and the Thai General Insurance Association to provide updates on the situation and share thoughts on the emergency decree.
TLAA members voiced concerns about office and branch openings to serve customers, while the OIC plans to use electronic channels for claim payments, Mr Suthiphon said.
The regulator will let people make complaints through the OIC’s email address, he said, and either delay or call off insurance agent licence examinations to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 spread, effective April 1.
Among non-life insurance companies, several firms have stopped selling Covid-19 insurance policies offering lump-sum payments to limit their risk as the coronavirus spreads rapidly in Thailand.
As of Tuesday, 2.6 million policies for Covid-19 insurance had been taken out, up from 2 million last Friday.
Despite the high sales volume, the insurance’s total premiums were a bit above 1 billion baht, as the product premium ranges from 99 to 1,250 baht.
Mr Suthiphon said the OIC plans to hear the concerns of both insurance associations after the emergency decree comes into force.
The insurance regulator earlier allowed tourism-related transport operators to make instalment payments for their auto insurance premiums.