During the 28th East Asian Insurance Congress in Macau, Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh, of counsel at Tilleke & Gibbins, joined Diane Dorahy of A.M. BestTV for a discussion of the current state of the insurance industry in Thailand. Looking ahead to potential regulatory changes over the next five years, Athistha predicts key changes in three areas:

• Introduction of e-insurance and online insurance sales
• Deregulation of product filing and clarifications on ratings
• Liberalization of foreign direct investment

Addressing the move to e-insurance, Athistha said, “after this regulation is put in place—perhaps in the next 12 months—it will transform the distribution channels of the insurance industry completely.” New market entrants, such as mobile applications, “could change the customer behavior in terms of buying insurance, so we will see the impact on the traditional insurance intermediaries, like brokers or agents,” in Athistha’s view.

A.M. Best provides ratings, financial data, and news on the financial stability of insurers and the insurance industry. To access the full video interview, please visit the A.M. BestTV website.