Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has issued orders announcing the premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from life and non-life insurance companies. The orders, which were issued on September 2, 2024, allow insurance companies to set lower premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from them, compared to those approved earlier by the OIC.

Under the orders, both life and non-life insurance companies selling insurance policies directly to insureds may set the premium rate below the premium rate earlier approved by the OIC, but the discount may not exceed:

• 30% of the insurance premium for all types of insurance policies; and
• 35% of the insurance premium for insurance policies that utilize innovation or are sold through electronic channels. Here, “insurance policies that utilize innovation” means insurance policies that are currently being tested or have successfully met the objectives of the Insurance Regulatory Sandbox or the Product Innovation and Tailor-Made Sandbox, as approved by the OIC.

The insurance companies may set the above two premium rates under the following conditions:

• The insurance contract must be entered into between September 1, 2024, and November 15, 2024; and
• The coverage start date of the insurance policy must not be later than December 31, 2024.

For more details on the OIC’s orders regarding premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from life and non-life insurance companies, or on any issue concerning insurance regulations in Thailand, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Witchupong Chittchang at [email protected], Ajaree Trachukul at [email protected], or Sireethorn Wijan at [email protected].