The Thai government has approved a national disaster insurance scheme that will cover housing damage and deaths from natural disasters across the country.
The government has earmarked THB15.5bn ($465m) for this disaster insurance scheme that will cover 30m homes and will provide up to THB100,000 for housing damage and THB2m for deaths.
The scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Interior, through the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in cooperation with the Office of Insurance Commission and the Thai General Insurance Association and will run from 1 October 2026 to 1 October 2027.
The government through this scheme aims to shift its approach to natural disaster risk from providing relief after an event to managing risks through insurance. The objective is to make compensation and assistance faster, more widely accessible and more efficient.
A total of THB15bn will fund premiums for group residential insurance policies covering damage to people’s homes and residential structures and a further THB500m has been allocated to group accident insurance policies providing cover for deaths caused by disasters.
The scheme covers three major natural hazards: floods, windstorms and earthquakes. Residential cover will extend to approximately 30m homes, based on housing statistics from the bureau of registration administration and the department of provincial administration.
For flood damage, the maximum payout will be THB100,000 per home per incident, and includes an initial payment of THB10,000 and additional compensation of up to THB90,000. For windstorm and earthquake damage, the maximum payout will be THB100,000 per home per incident, comprising an initial payment of THB5,000 and additional compensation of up to THB95,000.
For deaths caused by floods, windstorms or earthquakes, the amount payable under the scheme will be THB2m per person.