Bangkok, The Thai Life Assurance Association revealed that the life insurance business in the first half of 2024 had total premiums of more than 310 billion baht, an increase of 3.80%. More people are buying health insurance because medical expenses are more expensive and Thailand is entering an aging society. Mrs. Nusara (Assakul) Banyattipiyaphon, President of the Thai Life Assurance Association, revealed the overall picture of the life insurance business in the first half of 2024 between January and June. There were total premiums of 311,413.63 million baht, an increase of 3.80 percent compared to 2023, divided into new business premiums of 88,332.86 million baht, a growth rate of 1.76 percent, and renewal premiums of 223,080.77 million baht, a growth rate of 1.76 percent. 4.63 and a retention rate of 83 percent for new premiums, consisting of 1.) First Year Premium of 58,266.84 million baht, an increase of 3.21 percent 2.) Single Premium of 30,066.02 million baht, a decrease of 0.92 percent. The tot al premiums are classified by distribution channels as follows: 1. Sales through life insurance agents (Agency) Total premiums are 155,522.29 million baht, a growth rate of 1.98 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 49.94 percent 2. Sales through bank channels (Bancassurance) Total premiums written were 122,507.58 million baht, a growth rate of 4.28 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 39.34 percent. 3. Sales through life insurance brokers (Broker) Total premiums written were 18,874.47 million baht, a growth rate of 13.42 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 6.06 percent. 4. Sales through telephone channels (Tele Marketing) Total premiums written were 6,269.10, a negative growth rate of 8.43 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 2.01 percent. 5. Sales through digital channels (Digital) Total premiums written were 585.12 million baht, a growth rate of 21.38 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 0.19 percent. 6. Sales through other channels (Others) such as Worksite, Walkin Sales through booths, sales through convenience stores, Direct Mail, Tele Marketing, etc., total insurance premiums received were 7,647.11 million baht, a growth rate of 26.72 percent compared to 2023, accounting for 2.46 percent. For life insurance products that are popular and have a higher growth rate in the first half of 2024, it is the additional health insurance contract, with total premiums of 51,450.58 million baht, growing by 14.33 percent, accounting for 16.52 percent, which is mainly due to people taking care of their health and becoming more aware of the importance of having health insurance to manage risks and cope with the increasing trend of medical expenses (Medical Inflation). Meanwhile, pension products have also received a lot of attention from the public. In the first half of 2024, the total premiums received were 5,699.48 million baht, an increase of 11.25 percent or 1.83 percent. In 2024, the Thai Life Assurance Association has estimated the growth rate of the life insurance business to be in the ra nge of 2.0 - 4.0 percent, which is in line with the economic growth rate (GDP) in 2024 that the National Economic and Social Development Board has predicted at 2.5 percent. In addition, there are also supporting factors from the health-conscious trend, due to the public's awareness of the impact of emerging diseases and pollution, including the trend of increasing medical expenses, causing people to pay more attention to their health and have more health insurance. In addition, Thailand has fully entered an aging society, making people more aware of the importance of financial planning during retirement. Because in addition to being a form of savings with low risk, it also provides life insurance and tax deductions supported by the government. The business sector also has policies to support the use of technologies such as AI and Data Analytics to enhance competitiveness, increase operational efficiency, and support the development of products that meet the needs of sales, underwriting, claim consideration, and delivery of after-sales services and transactions related to the policy to increase the satisfaction of policyholders. Meanwhile, the life insurance business must continue to closely monitor trends and fluctuations in both domestic and global economic situations, especially interest rates, inflation, and the Thai stock market, which affect savings, investment, and household debt burdens that affect public spending. It must also monitor climate change and the emergence of new diseases because they directly affect the public's demand and confidence in the life insurance business. Therefore, the Thai Life Assurance Association has an action plan to prepare for all-round challenges by applying the concept of sustainable organizational development (ESG) to investment considerations, design and development of life insurance products, as well as services that can meet the needs of the public and society in all aspects, including the environmental, social, and governance dimensions, so that the life insurance b usiness can grow more sustainably with good governance. In addition, the association has a policy to support the use of technology and innovation to develop various processes in the life insurance business to increase the satisfaction and confidence of the insured. It promotes knowledge to the public, such as on technological literacy and cyber threats, to help protect the interests of the insured. It also has a proactive policy to improve various regulations to be current. The association will be the center for coordinating missions in the form of discussion meetings to listen to opinions between life insurance companies and regulatory agencies, as well as establishing sub-working groups chaired by the association's executive committee to closely monitor progress. It also promotes the examination and knowledge training system, and the electronic life insurance agent license issuance system to facilitate both member companies and the general public who are interested in applying for the life insurance agent career path. The association has a policy that aims for each life insurance company to have a business approach that takes into account risk management and administration in all aspects, both before and after insurance is accepted, and to have a financial position with a risk-based capital adequacy ratio (CAR Ratio) higher than the capital level that must be maintained according to the specified criteria (Supervisory CAR) to ensure that the insured can comply with the obligations of every insurance policy issued to the insured and is ready to provide coverage to the insured until the contract expires. As can be seen from the information on the website of the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) in the first quarter of 2024, the life insurance business sector had a risk-based capital adequacy ratio of 384.21 percent, which is higher than the capital adequacy ratio used for supervision (Supervisory CAR). Therefore, all insured can be confident that the life insurance business is stable, strong, and adheres to the promises and obligations in every life insurance policy issued to the insured. Source: Thai News Agency