Situation Analysis Health

The first private insurance business started approximately 100 years ago.  The East Asiatic Company was the agent for the Equitable Insurance Company of London in Thailand.  It had not been quite successful because the sole agent performed many other business, all sale representatives were solely foreigners, most of the Thai in those days were economically self-secured, and the processes were strictly rigid and highly complicated.  After the First World War, insurance business started again in 1929.  The business is seemed to be somewhat on and off in their early stage bur becomes relatively stable after the Second World War.

The first private health insurance company was established in 1978.  The introduction of the health insurance concept later induced other life insurance companies to offer an additional health insurance services in their life insurance marketing plan.

Insurance business in Thailand has been legally categorized into 2 groups: life and non-life insurance.  Health insurance.  Health insurance is classified as a subset of non-life insurance, not as a subset of life insurance as in other countries.  However, life insurance companies may offer health insurance as optional plans attached to the main life insurance policy, e.g. accident and injury plan, health care plan, cancer and other severe diseases plan, permanent completely disability plan.

In 1993, there were 17 companies offering life insurance service and 67 companies offering non-life insurance service.  There are 18 health insurance firms.  Only six of them offer only health insurance.  (kiranandana T, 1993)