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April 22, 2016

Thailand: e-Insurance and e-Policy Regulatory Developments

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The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), in collaboration with local insurance associations, is establishing a regulatory framework to conduct insurance business via electronic means, known as e-Insurance. This is part of the Thai Government’s promotion of the digital economy and commerce.

The framework is intended to promote e-Insurance with sufficient controls to secure and protect consumers when acquiring personal insurance through electronic transactions via websites, mobile applications, etc.

Highlights of the framework include:

  • Insurers must implement a secured IT system that complies with the requirements under the Thai Electronic Transactions Act and its subordinated regulations.
  • e-Insurance must not preclude customers’ right to choose whether to obtain their policy documents in an electronic version, known as an e-Policy, or in a traditional hardcopy version.
  • Insurers must implement a search engine system, allowing each customer to access his or her insurance policy and the coverage provided.
  • The OIC’s delegates could conduct an annual assessment to ensure that insurers effectively comply with e-Insurance regulatory requirements when conducting e-Insurance business and issuing e-Policies.

We expect to see a series of e-Policy regulations followed by e-Insurance regulations issued for public hearing and consultation during the second half of this year. Issuing insurance policies via electronic transaction is currently subject to the general requirements under the Electronic Transactions Act. The new regulations, however, will be designed to address the specific requirements of the insurance industry and will aim to ensure that when insurance transactions take place online, policyholders receive the same legal protections as when they purchase insurance via traditional channels.

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