Dr. Somporn Suebthawilkul, President of the Thai General Insurance Association, disclosed that due to the severe flooding situation in Songkhla Province and many areas of southern Thailand, a large number of people have been affected, with homes and property damaged, and a large number of vehicles flooded and rendered unusable, causing widespread hardship. The Thai General Insurance Association wishes to express its condolences to those affected by this flooding, and offers its support for all families to overcome this crisis quickly.
The non-life insurance industry and all member companies stand ready to provide coverage, care, and facilitate claims quickly and to the fullest extent, to support the recovery of policyholders’ lives and property back to normal as soon as possible, and asks the public to be confident that the non-life insurance system is stable and ready to serve as an important mechanism to help alleviate hardship, restore stability in life and property, and provide reassurance to the public in every sector.
Regarding measures to help policyholders affected by this flooding, the Thai General Insurance Association, together with the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), has issued urgent relief measures, including deferring motor insurance premium payments, establishing criteria for assessing vehicle damage by type and level, as well as approaches for paying compensation for property and residential insurance, so that compensation is fast, transparent, and efficient, appropriately alleviating the burden on policyholders, as follows:
- Premium payment deferral measures for policyholders affected by flooding, for motor insurance policies, whereby insurance companies may defer premium collection and accept premium payment for up to 180 days from the date the insurance contract takes effect, or the date coverage under the insurance contract begins.
- Approach for compensating flood damage claims under motor insurance policies
For vehicles with Voluntary Motor Insurance Type 1, or Voluntary Motor Insurance Type 2+ or 3+ that extends coverage for flood damage, local insurance companies have moved quickly to provide care and assistance, to alleviate hardship for policyholders once the flooding began to subside, such as arranging vehicle towing, arranging for vehicles to be sent for repair, and paying compensation according to the coverage terms to policyholders promptly.
Regarding the criteria for considering compensation payments by vehicle type — internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric vehicles — each vehicle type will be assessed according to the level of damage, with details as follows:
Internal combustion engine vehicles are assessed for damage across 5 levels of flood water depth, according to the OIC’s existing assessment criteria, as follows:
Level A: Water reaches the floor of the vehicle — estimated repair cost 8,000–10,000 baht
Level B: Water reaches the seats — estimated repair cost 15,000–20,000 baht
Level C: Water reaches the lower part of the front console — estimated repair cost 25,000–30,000 baht
Level D: Water reaches the upper part of the front console — estimated repair cost starting from 30,000 baht and above
Level E: Vehicle fully submerged — the company will pay the insured sum to the policyholder
For hybrid vehicles, repair costs will be assessed by damage level in the same way for compensation payment, but if the vehicle’s battery is also damaged, the battery price is approximately 100,000 baht.
For electric vehicles that are damaged, if the flooding reaches the battery and the battery’s value exceeds 70% of the insured sum, the company will pay the insured sum to the policyholder.
In this regard, the OIC has kindly agreed to coordinate with the Department of Land Transport to request cooperation in verifying vehicle registration data, or requesting a copy of the vehicle registration, to be used as supporting documentation for transferring the vehicle to the insurance company, in cases where the policyholder’s vehicle is compensated at the insured sum.
- Approach for compensation payment for property insurance, with the following preliminary compensation criteria:
3.1 Micro-insurance fire policy for residences (economy type for individuals) (with standard coverage for natural disasters — flood, earthquake, windstorm, hail — combined not exceeding 10,000 baht): In cases where additional coverage was not purchased, the company will compensate the policyholder up to 10,000 baht, but not exceeding the remaining coverage amount, which the company can pay to the policyholder immediately without assessing the damage, unless the company can prove that the actual damage is of lesser value.
3.2 Fire insurance policy for residences (with standard coverage for natural disasters — flood, earthquake, windstorm, hail — combined not exceeding 20,000 baht): In cases where additional coverage was not purchased, the company will compensate the policyholder for natural disasters up to 20,000 baht, but not exceeding the remaining coverage amount, which the company can pay to the policyholder immediately without assessing the damage, unless the company can prove that the actual damage is of lesser value.
3.3 Fire insurance policy for residences (with additional natural disaster coverage purchased): For policyholders who have purchased additional flood coverage or a natural disaster coverage group, the company will consider paying an additional urgent compensation of 10,000 baht (totaling 30,000 baht), as preliminary assistance. This additional payment amount will not exceed the remaining coverage amount.
3.4 Fire insurance policy (with flood coverage or additional natural disaster coverage group purchased): For policyholders who have purchased flood coverage or a natural disaster coverage group, the company will consider paying urgent compensation of 30,000 baht, unless coverage has been extended, or the remaining coverage amount is lower than 30,000 baht, in which case the company will pay according to the remaining coverage amount.
3.5 Property All Risks insurance policy: The company will consider paying urgent compensation of 30,000 baht, unless the remaining limit of liability is lower than 30,000 baht, in which case the company will pay according to the remaining limit of liability.
In this regard, the right to claim the remaining compensation under coverage, once the policyholder has received preliminary compensation under items 3.3–3.5, does not constitute a waiver of the policyholder’s right to claim compensation for damage exceeding that amount. The policyholder can still proceed to claim additional compensation through the normal process, based on the actual damage, but not exceeding the insured sum under the policy.
3.6 Approach for assisting policyholders with housing loans from financial institutions
The Association has coordinated with the Thai Bankers’ Association to request assistance measures for affected customers, for housing loan customers with insurance, requesting that financial institutions consider waiving their right to receive preliminary compensation and consenting to allow insurance companies to pay such amounts directly to policyholders, so that they can be used to alleviate hardship immediately. However, such measures will be subject to each bank’s own consideration criteria.
3.7 Standard pricing for building repair costs
The Association will establish a central price guideline for building repair work, to serve as a guideline for member companies to use in considering compensation for building repairs.
Dr. Somporn Suebthawilkul, President of the Thai General Insurance Association, added that in addition, to care for and serve policyholders who have suffered damage, the Thai General Insurance Association has established an insurance coordination and facilitation center, to help facilitate compensation claims, verify data in cases where the policy has been lost, as well as provide advice on coverage details, via telephone at 0 2108 8399 during business days and hours, and via the online channel Facebook page of the Thai General Insurance Association, 24 hours a day, while also publicizing the hotline numbers of all insurance companies so the public can easily and quickly get in touch, as well as coordinating with member companies to prepare to provide full assistance and expedite compensation payments, to alleviate the hardship of policyholders as quickly as possible.