With the help of Fatberry’s insurtech platform and processes, the company is hoping that it will see accelerated positive growth in the Thailand local market. Additionally, the company will also expand its offering to include non-life insurance products to its customer base, including health and commercial products.

Somkiat Chaisuparakul, Executive Director of Fatberry, told the media, “The Thai non-life insurance market is highly competitive. To become a leader in the non-life insurance segment in Thailand, the adoption of Insurtech is necessary to increase efficiency and remain relevant.”

Founded in 2017, Fatberry provides flexible and affordable insurance products to the masses through their user-friendly online platform aided by its partnered underwriters.

The company’s chief executive officer (CEO) also emulated the same feelings, saying that this will be the company’s first foray in the Thai market and outside Malaysia. He also mentioned that the Thai insurance market is quite lucrative, hence it is important for the company’s growth where Fatberry’s innovative technology and ability can be used to its full potential as it is one of the largest insurance markets in ASEAN.

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The strategic partnership between Pacific Life and ThaiRe Life is expected to bring Pacific Life Re’s technical and product development expertise together with ThaiRe Life’s insights and standing in the local life industry.

Mr Andrew Gill, managing director of Pacific Life Re Asia and Australia told the media, “This is a significant step for us as we continue to enhance our proposition in the Thailand life insurance market. We are thrilled to be joining forces with ThaiRe Life, an established local reinsurer in delivering opportunities to significantly transform and redefine the local life insurance industry. Together with our technology subsidiary, UnderwriteMe, our partnership will bring our vision of making life insurance more accessible and affordable a reality for the people of Thailand.”

Last week, it was reported that AIS Insurance Service is collaborating with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) with the support of the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) to launch Thailand’s first motor insurance plan. Called Prakan Kubdee, it calculates premiums from real driving behaviour through the use of tech such as IoT.

The plan can help motorists save on insurance premiums by as much as 50 percent. The premiums are calculated by considering factors such as distance, speed, journey time, time of the day driven, and the area the driving takes place.

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Mr Rattapol Gitisakchaiyakul, chief executive officer of MSIG Thailand told the media, “Throughout 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that insurance businesses had to seek solutions consistent with consumer behaviours in the New Normal. The idea for Prakan Kubdee arose during the lockdown, when the entire country had to transform its lifestyles and ways of working. Travel to the office became Work from Home and so car use decreased.

There was no long-distance provincial travel, and now there is the option of park-and-ride with mass transit railways. This gave us the idea to develop auto insurance plans with reasonable premiums, only paying when actually driving, with no need to pay when not driving, following real driving behaviours, under the concept, ‘People don’t drive the same, so why should they pay the same?’ It took us six months to develop Prakan Kubdee.”

The plan can help motorists save on insurance premiums by as much as 50 percent. The premiums are calculated by considering factors such as distance, speed, journey time, time of the day driven, and the area the driving takes place.

It was also reported that MSIG and automotive marketplace Carro are collaborating to launch Southeast Asia’s first-wide behaviour and usage-based car insurance programme. MSIG will first launch in Indonesia, followed by Thailand and Malaysia.

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Oran Vongsuraphichet, Chief Executive Officer of Thai Reinsurance Public Company Limited told the media, “The Covid-19 pandemic and the need to digitally transform have urged organisations, not only in the insurance industry but all, to bring efficiency to the way we work. Thai Re has continuously focused on prudent underwriting professional portfolio management as well as business innovation throughout the past 40 years of our operations, and our ‘Insurer Network’ platform, now live, will today bring efficiency and transparency to all our stakeholders, while also opening the new chapter of insurance industry in Thailand.”

The network has been designed by Thai Re to bring transparency and also efficiency for its clients in Thailand. Through Insurer Network, Thai Re will streamline how it handles more than 10,000 annual reinsurance contracts with its insurance partners.

Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn, secretary-general of the Office of Insurance Commission recently revealed that the insurance business is forecast to grow in a range of -0.36 percent to 1.64 percent in 2021 due to rising household debt deflated people’s purchasing power.

Thailand-based insurtech startup Sunday has raised around $9 million in its Series B funding round, the media reported. The funding round for Sunday was led by SCB 10X, the venture capital arm of the Siam Commercial Bank. Existing investors including Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Quona Capital, and new investor LINE Ventures also participated in this funding round.

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The funding round for Sunday was led by SCB 10X, the venture capital arm of the Siam Commercial Bank.

Existing investors including Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Quona Capital, and new investor LINE Ventures also participated in this funding round.

Sunday co-founder and CEO Cindy Kua told the media, “In times of great uncertainty, consumer demand will shift towards affordable core insurance products that truly help with risk management. As a team, we believe Sunday is uniquely positioned to deliver one-stop personalised insurance coverages and services that meet these evolving risks and growing demands from businesses and individuals in Southeast Asia.”

According to the startup, the funds will be used to support the its growth plan in Thailand as well as Indonesia.

The funds will also be used to deepen its proprietary employee benefits platform and superapp Sunday Service.

Established in 2017, the insurtech integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to offer personalised insurance products to its customers digitally.

Last year, Sunday has raised around $11 million in its Series A funding round from investors such as Quona Capital. It has also raised another $10 million from Vertex Ventures SEA and India.

The Thailand Insurance Commission has made it mandatory for all foreign travellers coming into the country to have a Covid-19 insurance.

Thailand Insurance Commission Secretary-General Suthipol Taweechaikarn said that he had approved the new regulations and the policies will be sold online and become valid as soon as the traveller passes through immigration in Thailand.

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Some Thailand insurance companies are modifying protection conditions to suit the coronavirus infection situation. These conditions imposed by Thailand’s insurance companies include adding a 14-day waiting period from the time of purchase to coverage date, media reports said.

Such policies have become extremely popular during this time. The insurance sales have risen sharply in Thailand due to the rapid spread of Coronavirus infections. In fact, 25 Thailand insurance companies have been authorised by the Office of Insurance Commission to offer insurance for Covid-19. Of those insurers, 20 of them have already released their insurance products, media reports said.

The OIC is playing an important role in monitoring Thailand’s insurance industry. That said, there are rising concerns that some individuals with high cover might expose themselves to the virus to claim the payouts. 

Suthiphon Thaweechaiyagarn, Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) secretary-general, told the media, “As of March 18, more than 2 million insurance policies have been sold with a total premium of over Bt1 billion by 25 insurance companies. However, some companies have halted the selling of insurance that pays immediately when customers test positive for Covid-19 due to the higher rate of infection in Thailand. We have advised insurance companies to evaluate the risk and their reimbursement capability closely to make sure that increasing numbers of infected won’t affect payout of benefits to customers and their financial status in the future.”

Also, the OIC is expected to propose a plan to the Ministry of Finance for low income households. Under this plan, the insurance premium could reach as low as Bt99 per year, with benefits of up to Bt100,000 in case of infection. 

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According to media reports, Prudential Life Assurance’s Thai unit will acquire the FWD’s exclusive rights to sell life insurance products using TMB Bank’s platform. The initial term of the partnership is 15 years. Prudential will make the payment in two installments. 

Last year, FWD acquired SCB Life subsequently followed by the signing of a 15-year bancassurance partnership with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB). SCB is Thailand’s largest commercial bank. 

Under the terms of the agreement, FWD will receive 20 billion baht for the TMB contract. The contract sale would benefit FWD in terms of easing potential antitrust concerns, especially after it agreed to pay $3 billion for operations of SCB life insurance as part of its acquisition. 

FWD said in a statement that the remaining term of FWD’s bancassurance contract will be entirely transferred to Prudential Thailand during a nine-month transition period. This transition period will begin on April 1 and remain until December 31. 

FWD Group CEO Huynh Thanh Phong, told the media that, “I’d like to thank TMB for their professionalism and long-term support during our collaboration over the past few years. This agreement benefits all parties and, most importantly, means our TMB customers will continue to receive their protection, benefits and customer servicing in accordance with the terms of their FWD policies.”

In 2017, TMB Bank and FWD renewed the contract to sell FWD products to the bank’s distribution network for 15 years, media reports said. In recent years, FWD has strengthened its insurance presence across Asia. 

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