Defaulted COVID payouts hit B98mn
SOME 30 PEOPLE GATHered at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday (Mar 28) to demand action be taken over insurance companies refusing to pay out COVID-19 coverage claims. In total, 831 people in Phuket have been affected by the defaulted payouts, amounting to B98 million.
The group, led by Dechanan Suwanno and Winit Yuraman, submitted a formal request for Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew to take action to protect the people whose COVID insurance policies had not been upheld.
Three companies were specifically named by the group: Southeast Insurance, Thai Insurance Co and The One Company.
The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) in January announced that Southeast Insurance had not been approved for liquidation, stressing that all coverage for policyholders was still in place. In late December, the Finance Ministry revoked the business license of The One Insurance after it failed to raise its capital to solve its liquidity issue and settle COVID-19 insurance claims.
Vice Governor Pichet Panapong and OIC Phuket Director Thanat Kumsantia received the request. Mr Thanat assured the group that the OIC had launched an investigation into the failure of the companies to pay out COVID-19 claims.