Property insurance dwindling in wake of thai floods

Property insurance cover in Thailand is shrinking fast in the wake of the country’s severe floods last year. Property damage has been conservatively estimated at about US $10 billion to US $11 billion according to groups like Swiss Re.

However, any sort of detail is hard to get because the claims adjustment process right across Thailand is progressing very slowly due to the severity of the damage and a shortage of adjusters.

Insurers, re-insurers and third-party administrators are battling against a shortage of surveyors and claims adjusters, logistical difficulties and the sheer scope of the disaster, Richard Jones, a principal at Guy Carpenter & Co LLC's in Singapore, told OPP.

“The problem has been the limited ability of survey companies in appraising these losses,” Jiraphant Asvatanakul, Bangkok-based president of the Thai General Insurance Association told OPP. As a result, “the Office of the Insurance Commission (Thailand's insurance regulator) has relaxed its regulations and allowed surveyors from Malaysia, Singapore and Japan to come and work in Thailand.”

Source: OPP.org.uk