Income from premiums set to surge 15%
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First-car scheme helps drive growth
The insurance business still faces bright prospects for the second half of this year and premiums should surge 15 per cent to Bt200 billion, according to the Thai General Insurance Association.
Jiraphant Asvatanakul, president of the association, said yesterday that the general insurance industry had continued growing since the first quarter.
Car-insurance premiums alone are expected to expand 20 per cent during the first six months as more new vehicles are purchased. Car insurance this year is expected to increase to 70 per cent of total premiums from 60-65 per cent at present.
While it is too early to forecast the situation in the next few years, the insurance industry has to maintain its service standards by deploying information technology to serve customers better, he said.
This is especially important for motor-insurance issuers, as the number of cars has multiplied along with the number of claims. The production of new insurance staff might not be able to match the rapid growth of the industry.
The first-car tax-incentive programme, which ended in December, saw 1.26 million participants.
The number of car-insurance claims and pay-outs is expected to surge next year, so it is the task of the association’s upcoming motor insurance committee to look into the matter.
Staff
Companies might need to set up a “staff pool” to handle the insurance claims to serve customers, cut costs and make the work process more efficient, Jiraphant said.
However, it seems difficult for auto-repair shops to create such a pool as their workers are overloaded, since there are new cars sold every day. Existing repair shops are unlikely to provide sufficient service to all customers all the time.
The more new cars on the road, the more accidents, he observed.
