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Insurance

Insurance

Key Contacts

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Myanmar

Thailand

Vietnam

OVERVIEW

The first choice for insurance law in mainland Southeast Asia.

Tilleke & Gibbins offers a leading regional practice in insurance and reinsurance law across Southeast Asia. Our team is unique in being led by local practitioners with international industry experience and credentials gained through years of experience in-house at some of the world’s largest insurers. Our regular representation of many world-leading insurers and reinsurers, and our achievements while working with them, has led to regular recognition by world-leading legal industry directories such as Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500, and Asialaw Profiles. 

Our insurance services include:

  • Property, casualty, and financial lines coverage disputes
  • Reinsurance litigation and arbitration
  • Professional indemnity, and directors and officers defense
  • Employers, public, product, and environmental liability
  • Aviation, marine, construction, and energy disputes
  • Mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructurings
  • Online distribution, bancassurance, and broking activities
  • Market entry and regional operations
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Policy wording advice and localization

Experience

  • Defending a multinational insurer in a coverage dispute arising from a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of a listed mutual fund and subsequent allegations of liability.
  • Representing international reinsurers in a USD 6 million reinsurance arbitration brought by a local Thai cedant in respect of outstanding losses from the 2011 floods in Thailand.
  • Representing international reinsurers in respect of USD 150 million coverage litigation arising out of property damage incurred during the 2010 Bangkok civil unrest.
  • Appointed by a Japanese insurer to defend against product liability claims for allegedly defective airbags brought against its insured in Thailand.
  • Acted for numerous insurers and reinsurers in the defense and settlement of property damage and business interruption claims, valued at over USD 700 million, arising from the 2011 floods in Thailand.
  • Advised one of the largest property and casualty insurers on a facultative reinsurance placement for a USD 870 million hydroelectric energy project involving parties from Thailand and Laos.
  • Represented international reinsurers in respect of the defense and settlement of a USD 184 million coverage dispute arising from an offshore gas pipeline incident.
  • Defended a global insurance broker against allegations of professional negligence in failing to procure adequate insurance coverage for the operations of a large Thai manufacturing conglomerate.
  • Advised a global specialty insurer on the defense and settlement of medical device and clinical trial liability claims.
  • Advised a number of international brokers on establishment, JV arrangements, and licensing of operations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • Assisted a multinational American-based insurance corporation on its organizational restructuring and asset acquisition project, valued at THB 3 billion, in Thailand.
  • Advised the Thai subsidiary of a global broker on partnership structures with local and overseas business partners and its insurance-related advisory services in a number of Southeast Asian countries. Provided insurance regulatory advice on the client’s commercial arrangements for credit facility business transactions with entities in Myanmar and Singapore.
  • Assisted a British insurance broker in setting up its online insurance products website aggregator in Thailand, including advising on business arrangement structures with the top ten leading motor insurers in the Thai market.
  • Advised a Japanese-based insurance company on the rollout of their new insurance products through both online and traditional distribution channels. Provided legal analysis for end-to-end distribution transactions, as well as associated insurance regulations, electronic transaction laws, online business operator laws, computer crime laws, and anti-money laundering regulations.
  • Advised client on structuring a partnership with one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the Southeast Asian region for exclusive distribution of extended -warranty products for online customers in Thailand.
  • Assisted an international insurer on data privacy and outsourcing regulatory requirements to establish a regional data center in Southeast Asia.
  • Defended a logistics company against a subrogated insurance claim for THB 1.3 million. We successfully argued that our client should only pay in accordance with its liability limits and saved the client over THB 1 million.
  • Advising a German insurer on aspects of Thai law related to an automotive product liability claim brought against an insured manufacturer in Germany.

PROFESSIONALS

RELATED INSIGHTS

June 30, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins’ insurance specialists in Bangkok provided Thomson Reuters’ latest country update on Thailand’s regulatory framework for the insurance industry. The country update, which is part of Thomson Reuters’ extensive Regulatory Intelligence offerings, contains information and guidance for insurers active in the Thai market. The guide covers the following topics in detail: Permission to operate; Legal and regulatory considerations for domestic and international insurers; Capital reserve requirements; Investment management and markets; The Office of Insurance Commission’s arbitration system for handling complaints; Creditor hierarchy; Rehabilitation of non-life insurance companies; and Personal data protection requirements for insurers. Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence is a service that provides with curated news, analysis, and data across jurisdictions to help legal, risk, and compliance professionals manage compliance and mitigate global risk. The full Thailand insurance country update is available by subscription to Regulatory Intelligence on the Thomson Reuters website.
June 30, 2026
Insurance specialists from Tilleke & Gibbins have provided an update to the Vietnam chapter of Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law guide to insurance and reinsurance. The guide is a Q&A-style overview of insurance and reinsurance law in jurisdictions worldwide. The Vietnam chapter provides a detailed overview of the legal framework for the insurance and reinsurance market in the country, covering the following issues: Regulatory framework for insurance and reinsurance Authorization for insurers, reinsurers, and insurance intermediaries Ownership restrictions Ongoing requirements Penalties for noncompliance Sales and marketing of insurance and reinsurance Transfer of risk Reinsurance contracts and risks Contracts and policies Claims Dispute resolution Insolvency Tax Practical Law, a legal reference resource from Thomson Reuters, publishes a range of guides for hundreds of jurisdictions and practice areas. The insurance and reinsurance guide is a valuable resource for legal practitioners, covering numerous jurisdictions worldwide. To view the latest version of the guide, please visit the Practical Law website and enroll in the free Practical Law trial to gain full access.
June 5, 2026
Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has opened a public hearing on proposed amendments to the OIC Notification on Criteria for Information Technology Risk Governance and Management for Life Insurance and Non-Life Insurance Companies B.E. 2563 (2020) via the centralized Law platform. The public consultation period runs from May 8, 2026, to June 9, 2026. The proposed amendments aim to elevate the IT risk governance and cybersecurity risk management framework to be more modern and aligned with international standards, with a focus on strengthening cyber resilience, enhancing the role of IT audits, and establishing data governance and data quality controls. The parties affected by these amendments include life insurance companies, non-life insurance companies, and external IT auditors. Key Changes Elevated Role of Board of Directors The proposed notification requires the company’s board of directors to oversee data governance, cybersecurity, and the responsible use of AI. Additionally, the board should include at least one director with IT knowledge or experience. Companies are also required to designate a head of security responsible for information security. The board’s duties are expanded to include oversight of data governance and AI usage, including establishing relevant policies and committees. Enhanced IT Security and Cybersecurity The revised notification consolidates the existing chapters on IT project management, IT security and cybersecurity to reduce redundancy, and introduces significant new measures. These include mandatory multi-factor authentication for material systems, enhanced data security measures such as data masking and data leakage prevention, security hardening requirements, web filtering, and mandatory vulnerability assessment and penetration testing at least annually. New requirements are also introduced for mobile application security, API security, and security measures for emerging technologies such as cloud computing and post quantum cryptography. The cybersecurity framework now encompasses identification, protection, detection, response, and recovery. The draft also introduces source code review
April 9, 2026
Thailand’s Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) has published two parallel sets of draft regulatory amendments for public hearing—one governing non-life insurance and the other governing life insurance. The proposed amendments would significantly revise the rules for issuing, offering, and selling insurance policies, as well as the conduct of agents, brokers, and banks. Stakeholders may submit comments until April 25, 2026. The key proposed changes are summarized below. Electronic Policy Delivery by Default Under both draft amendments, electronic delivery would become the default method for delivering insurance policies. A printed copy would be required only if the policyholder expressly opts out, and any such printed copy would be treated as a substitute for the electronic original. For life insurance, this requirement would also extend to coverage summaries and to exclusion documents. The OIC would also retain authority to approve alternative delivery methods for specific types of policies. Misuse of Licenses Both amendments would introduce an explicit prohibition against sales representatives using another person’s name or license, or allowing another person to use their name or license, in connection with the offering of insurance or in sales documentation and policies. Premium Collection Reforms Both amendments would introduce the premium collection reforms outlined below. Premium receipt accounts Insurers must ensure that sales representatives inform customers of the available payment channels, which are limited to channels that remit premiums into the insurer’s account. If a customer pays an insurance premium to an insurer’s employee, an insurance broker, or any other person, and the company acknowledges the payment by issuing an insurance policy or other documentary evidence of insurance coverage, the insurer would be deemed to have received the insurance premium. Written premium collection and refund guidelines Insurers would be required to prepare written internal guidelines covering premium collection and refund policies, risk
AWARDS & RANKINGS
May 11, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has continued to show excellent performance in the recently released Benchmark Litigation 2026 rankings for dispute resolution firms in the Asia-Pacific region. The rankings include two jurisdictions where Tilleke & Gibbins is active: Thailand and Vietnam. Firm Rankings A full summary of the firm’s rankings is provided below: Thailand Commercial & Transactions – Tier 1 Government & Regulatory – Tier 1 Labor & Employment – Tier 1 Intellectual Property – Tier 1 Trade & Customs – Tier 2 Vietnam Commercial & Transactions (Foreign Firms) – Tier 1 Intellectual Property (Foreign Firms) – Tier 1 Labor & Employment (International Firms) – Highly Recommended (top tier awarded in this category) White Collar Crime – Recommended (top tier awarded in this category) Energy & Construction (Foreign Firms) – Tier 2 International Arbitration – Tier 2 Individual Rankings The 2026 edition also recognizes 12 Tilleke & Gibbins lawyers in Thailand—more than any other firm in the jurisdiction—and four in Vietnam. Thailand Alongkorn Tongmee – Trade & Customs Chitchai Punsan – Commercial & Transactions Chusert Supasitthumrong – Labor & Employment John Frangos – Commercial & Transactions Noppramart Thammateeradaycho – Shipping Nuttaphol Arammuang – Intellectual Property Piyawat Vitooraporn – Commercial & Transactions Pongpalin Chantrapirom – Commercial & Transactions Suebsiri Taweepon – Intellectual Property Suruswadee Jaimsuwan – Commercial & Transactions Thawat Damsa-ard – Commercial & Transactions Tiziana Sucharitkul – Commercial & Transactions, Government & Regulatory Vietnam Duc Anh Tran – Commercial & Transactions Linh Duy Mai – Intellectual Property Loc Xuan Le – Intellectual Property Tu Anh Tran – Commercial & Transactions Benchmark Litigation’s annual research is based on interviews with dispute resolution specialists and clients, as well as analysis of recent casework and market developments. To view the full results, please visit the Benchmark Litigation websites for Thailand and Vietnam.
March 19, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in 17 categories at the 2026 Thailand Law Firm Awards from Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ), up from 10 categories in 2025. The awards highlight leading law firms in Thailand across a broad range of practice areas, as well as overall firm performance. This year, Tilleke & Gibbins was named a co-winner in the Best Overall Law Firm category as well as in the following practice-specific categories: Artificial Intelligence Aviation Blockchain & Digital Assets Competition & Antitrust Data Compliance & Cyber Security E-Commerce, Digital Trade & Platform Regulation ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Fintech Healthcare & Life Sciences Insurance & Reinsurance IP Litigation IP Prosecution Labour & Employment Private Equity & Venture Capital Shipping & Maritime Technology, Media & Telecommunications The awards are determined through ABLJ’s independent research, which considers recent work, client feedback, and market standing. The annual Thailand Law Firm Awards recognize firms demonstrating strong performance and breadth of expertise across key practice areas. For more details and the full list of winners, please visit the ABLJ website.