The cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle the establishment of a National Disaster Insurance System to provide coverage for floods, storms and earthquakes, expected to cover about 30 million households.
The scheme is part of a shift in the government’s approach to disaster management, from waiting for disasters to occur before providing relief to preparing a system to manage risks in advance, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said.
Under the new framework, the government will cover residential properties in three categories of natural disasters – floods, wind storms and earthquakes.
Under the initial compensation criteria:
Floods: An initial payment of 10,000 baht per incident per household will be made.
Storms or earthquakes: An initial payment of 5,000 baht per incident per household within 15 days, followed by additional compensation based on actual damage. Total compensation will be capped at 100,000 baht per incident per household.
Death: A benefit of 2 million baht will be paid for each death resulting from a disaster covered by the scheme.
The system was developed in consultation with the Thai General Insurance Association and government agencies including the Office of Insurance Commission and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
The scheme is expected to cost 15.5 billion baht per year. The government would purchase insurance policies directly for households, while shifting catastrophic risk and larger payouts above basic limits onto private insurers.
The aim of the new system is to ensure people receive protection and compensation quickly when disasters strike, while enabling the government to manage risks and allocate relief budgets in a more systematic and efficient manner, Ms Rachada said.
The relevant agencies have been instructed to look into repealing, amending or improving related regulations and laws to prevent duplication with existing disaster relief and compensation measures, she added.