National Catastrophe Insurance Fund -- A Major Driving Factor for Thai Economic Expansion

BANGKOK, June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mr. Payungsak Chartsutipol, Chairman of the board, National Catastrophe Insurance Fund, announced that over the past year of the fund's operation, it has had a significant role in resuming Thai insurance industry to normal situation at a faster pace than previous expectation. The fund also functioned as a major driving factor providing risk management through insurance and reinsurance, which helped restore Thais' and foreign investors' confidence in pursuing business in Thailand, further resulting in Thai economic expansion.

Moreover, the fund's existence also provided national catastrophe risk management to household, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including industrial sectors, by facilitating them to access catastrophe insurance policies which offer coverage against damages from the 3 catastrophes; flood, earthquake and windstorm at appropriate insurance premium rates set between 0.5-1.25 percent of the sum insured.  

From 28 March 2012 to 24 May 2013, a total of 1,017,419 catastrophe insurance policies were sold. Of those, 992,192 policies are insured, currently representing 53,682 million baht in proportional reinsurance coverage and 465 million baht in proportional reinsurance premiums.

These figures indicate that the private sector increased awareness of and acknowledged the importance of holding catastrophe insurance policies, including trusting National Catastrophe Insurance Fund's role in protecting their assets and facilitating business continuity when future catastrophes occur. This helped strengthen the industrial sector to pursue business continuously, making Thailand remain a manufacturing hub for Thais and foreign businesses eventually. 

Meanwhile, the fund's existence also helps non-life insurance companies to increase their coverage capacities. In the year 2012, the proportion of risk increased to 7.6 percentage point on average and this figure is expected to reach 10 percentage point this year, owing to better market mechanism that results in premium interest rate adjustment at major insurance companies offered with a plus of National Catastrophe Insurance Fund allowing insurance company selling catastrophe insurance policy with a premium rate lower than the fund by 20 percent.  The chairman of the board saw this as a positive signal that the insurance sector is in a stable stage and is stronger than ever.

The fund will pursue building awareness amongst household and business sectors of the importance of holding catastrophe insurance policies as a self-catastrophe risk management to protect their asset and facilitate business continuity when severe catastrophes occur in the future.

For more information, please visit www.ncif.or.th