Chief executive of Generali Insurance (Thailand), Korakrit Khumruangrit, told Thailand’s The Nation, that the parent company will fund the unit’s underwriting of corporate and commercial policies in a bid to boost its income from premiums by ten-fold.
He said: “To achieve this goal in three years, we have to have a premium income of THB4bn ($142.5m, £100.3m) to THB5bn, or ten-fold growth compared to the Bt535m the unit achieved in 2015.”
Khumruangrit revealed the subsidiary, a joint venture between Generali and agribusiness firm TPC established in September 2002, has a premium income target of THB800m for 2016.
Generali operates in both the life and non-life sector in Thailand after setting up insurance companies Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) and Generali Insurance (Thailand).
Generali is hoping to capitalise on Thailand growing middleclass and Asia’s burgeoning insurance sector, stating it hopes to become one of the top five largest insurers in the region, with Asia making up 10% of the group’s revenue.
Growth
Recent figures published by the Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA), found that strong potential for growth in Thailand’s insurance sector stems from low rates of insurance penetration, which is 4.1% for life insurance and 1.7% for non-life insurance.
According to the TGIA, Thailand’s life industry currently has 24 operators – a number expected to shrink when the nation’s regulator Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) follows through with plans to further enforce increased capital adequacy ratios.
