FWD Life Insurance Thailand, formerly known as ING Life Insurance, remains committed to exceeding industry growth this year by using new products and marketing.
Chief marketing officer Aman Kapoor said the insurance industry recorded satisfactory growth in the first quarter despite tepid economic growth, but political developments did weigh on bancassurance sales.
"We did see an impact on the credit life products where they were dependent on bank lending," said Mr Kapoor.
"Bank loans are a bit lower, and that does impact the sales of insurance products where we put a wrapper around those loan products at the bank."
He hopes consumer confidence will resume, noting that insurance would continue to be a need for customers.
The company intends to be a top-five insurance company in Thailand within five years, said Mr Kapoor, without indicating its growth target for this year.
Thailand’s insurance market usually rises by 10-15% on average.
FWD Life will air a TV commercial soon and plans to introduce new insurance products through a marketing campaign in the coming weeks.
The company plans to launch a mobile app supporting product sales in the fourth quarter, as market testing is still ongoing, Mr Kapoor said.
FWD Life was renamed after Pacific Century Group, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s son Richard Li, bought ING Life’s operations in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau in 2012 for US$2.4 billion.
The company remains open to partnership opportunities on a selective basis but is not negotiating now, Mr Kapoor said.
Michael Plaxton, FWD Life's chairman and chief executive, said sales missed their targets in the first two months before turning around.
"This was not about the protests or anything else. We did not command enough movement by the people who helped us generate sales," he said.
Mr Plaxton is confident sales in the rest of the year will be healthy, as he expects the insurance market to grow by 12-15%.
Thailand's strength is adapting to change such as during the 2011 flood crisis, he said.