Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith proposed the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) consider the issuance of insurance for high-value fruits such as durian, mangoes, oranges and bananas to boost the confidence of farmers.
During a keynote speech delivered on Thursday at the CEO Insurance Forum 2023 entitled "The Role of Insurance Business in Promoting Sustainable Social and Economic Growth", organised by the OIC, Mr Arkhom said existing insurance policies only cover damage to durian trees or other economic fruits caused by natural disasters, while fruit growers would also like the actual fruit to be insured against natural disasters.
However, insurance companies are unwilling to consider this proposal as damage from natural disasters often involves large sums, such as the recent case of an orange orchard in Chiang Rai which was hit by a storm causing damage amounting to hundreds of millions of baht.
He said he would like the OIC to consider such policies which may have to calculate insurance premiums according to the risk level. Such types of policy will give fruit growers more confidence in growing high-value fruit.
Mr Arkhom added that insurance policies for electric vehicles (EVs) should also base premiums on the actual risks as premiums are still relatively high due to the fact that insurance companies view EVs as having high repair costs.
He also proposed the OIC consider redesigning insurance policies for state infrastructure as existing policies insure only projects during construction, excluding completed projects.
He added that the national insurance development plan must be implemented in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as both the public and private sectors pay more attention to such principles due to climate change.
Currently, the Thai private sector incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into operations to ensure sustainable growth, while the public sector gives high importance to the bio-circular-green approach, both of which comprehensively cover the SDGs.
Mr Arkhom said the economy will be able to recover continuously from the rebounding tourism sector due to the reopening of the country. However, some sectors may not grow as anticipated due to global economic uncertainty, particularly the export sector.
The Fiscal Policy Office forecasts economic growth in 2023 at 3.6% (as of April), supported by improving domestic consumption and the rebounding tourism sector.
For this year, 29 million foreign tourists are expected to travel to Thailand.