With active support from the regulator and stakeholders in the market, Thailand is increasingly positioning itself as a reinsurance hub in the ASEAN region. Asian Re’s Mr Anil Sant, Thai Re’s Mr Oran Vongsuraphichet and Bangkok Insurance’s Ms Lasa Sophonpanich speak to Asia Insurance Review on how the market is performing.
The reinsurance market in Thailand experienced a hardening phase in 2026, primarily resulting from the two major Nat CAT events in 2025 - a powerful earthquake in March 2025 resulting in insured losses of $2bn and heavy flooding in southern Thailand in November-December 2025. The market currently has two resident reinsurance companies, Thai Re and Asian Re.
Asian Re president & CEO Anil Sant said that this contrasts with the global softening market trend influenced by excess reinsurance capacity, a relatively quiet US Hurricane season and strong reinsurer profitability.
“The property excess of loss treaty renewals in Thailand experienced risk-adjusted rate increase of more than 30% on an average for loss-affected programmes, whereas the proportional treaties on the other hand remained competitive and favorable to the cedants, as majority of the proportional treaties exclude natural catastrophe coverage,” he said.
Thai Re CEO Oran Vongsuraphichet said that the middle-income segment in Thailand is expected to be the primary growth driver in the market, supporting resilient domestic demand as external export momentum begins to slow.
“The expansion of the middle-income population is driving increased demand for personal lines insurance and is further reinforced by the relatively low insurance penetration across Southeast Asia—except for Singapore, where penetration is around 10%, while in other countries in the region it remains significantly lower,” he said.
He said that the growth of the middle-income segment and the low penetration rates across member countries present a substantial opportunity for the insurance industry to expand.
Nat CAT events on the rise
Thailand faced unprecedented catastrophic events in 2025, with the Myanmar earthquake in March causing significant damage, with estimated market losses of around THB40–60bn. Later in November, severe flooding hit the southern region, leading to major losses in motor and property lines.
Mr Vongsuraphichet said that these two events pushed up reinsurance costs, particularly for excess of loss (XOL) programmes, with some affected programmes seeing price increases of over 100%.
“Despite this, the market remains highly competitive, but the primary market continues to soften, with strong pricing pressure that does not fully reflect rising reinsurance costs, which could impact insurers’ profitability,” he said.
Mr Sant said that the Nat CAT events in 2025 have prompted catastrophe modelers and reinsurers to reassess their assumptions and recalibrate their catastrophe models to consider Bangkok’s soft soil as an important amplifying factor in both vibration intensity and duration of the earthquake and the increased frequency of severe flash floods.
In Thailand flooding is considered the major natural catastrophe peril, following the mega floods in 2011, which had a total insured loss estimated at $15bn. However, following the significant damage from March 2025 earthquake, reinsurers are expected to factor-in the increased earthquake risk exposures into future treaty renewals.
Mr Vongsuraphichet said that competition is intense across the region in most lines of business, and this does not only include property and motor, but also health, personal accident, and critical illness. At the same time, he said that a lack of data in personal lines insurance has become a challenge in several markets.
“Reliable data is essential for proper pricing, and in some countries, regulators require strong supporting statistics, and to address this, we have worked closely with our partners, using data from our subsidiaries, Blue Venture TPA and Blue Venture Group, to support product approvals,” he said.
Flooding challenges persist
Thailand is today no longer a catastrophe-free country as once believed and the two major Nat CAT events in 2025 were proof of this. Mr Vongsuraphichet said that flooding remains the country’s biggest concern, as it is a recurring risk every year, and is made worse by climate change, rapid urbanisation, deforestation, and gaps in infrastructure.
“Thai Re invests in technology to monitor and manage accumulation, ensuring our exposure remains well controlled. We also protect our portfolio through a carefully structured reinsurance program that supports portfolio balance. Above all, we adhere strictly to our underwriting discipline and remain aligned with our defined risk appetite,” he said.
The company is collaborating closely with academic institutions to develop advanced, data-driven predictive flood models supported by smart monitoring systems, and also actively exploring parametric insurance as an innovative solution.
International market support critical for local insurers
Bangkok Insurance Director and President Lasa Sophonpanich said that the international reinsurance market continues to play a key role in supporting the Thai insurance industry, both providing capacity to absorb large catastrophe losses and offering technical expertise to help insurers manage their risk more effectively.
“Reinsurers provide essential capacity that allows local insurers to transfer large risks and protect their balance sheets from significant losses,” she said.
A portion of the losses from the two major Nat CAT events in 2025 were absorbed by the global reinsurance market, helping Thai insurers maintain financial stability. From a structural point of view, she said that the natural perils most associated with Thailand are still floods and windstorms.
“Flood remains the most important natural peril in Thailand, and flood events can occur in almost all regions and due to its wide impact and regular occurrence, flood risk management is a key focus for insurers in Thailand,” said Ms Sophonpanich.
On the other hand, the demand for Nat CAT protection has increased as insurers have become more concerned about their risk exposure and reinsurance premiums have risen due to recent catastrophe losses. This has affected both property CAT and motor excess of loss treaties, resulting in Thai insurers having to adjust and accept higher reinsurance costs compared to previous years.
She said that as the global market is still in a soft phase with excess capacity, more reinsurers have entered the Thai market, leading to a reduction in pricing pressure compared to a hard market environment. As a result, insurers are still able to negotiate and obtain reasonable pricing and sufficient protection that meets their needs.
“The Thai market continues to benefit from adequate reinsurance capacity despite recent Nat CAT losses. The primary challenge is not the availability of reinsurance capacity but rather achieving sustainable pricing and reinsurance structures that balance increased Nat CAT exposure with acceptable returns for both insurers and reinsurers,” she said.
Impact of ME conflict on market
The Middle East crisis poses significant risk to the global economy through rising oil prices, supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures and volatility across global financial and capital markets. Mr Sant said that the resultant weaker economic activity and softer consumer spending will slow down the premium growth, missing earlier forecasts.
In 2025, non-life insurers recorded a capital adequacy ratio of 367%, greatly exceeding the regulator’s minimum requirement of 140%, indicating that Thailand’s insurance industry is financially strong and capable of withstanding global economic volatility. Following the ME conflict, the Thai regulator has also conducted internal stress tests and liquidity assessments to evaluate the impact of worsening geopolitical conditions on insurers’ balance sheets and solvency positions.
“The results showed most insurers have adequate liquidity and sufficient capital buffers and can withstand adverse conditions,” said Mr Sant.
Developing Thailand as a RI industry hub
The Office of the Insurance Commission and Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA)of Thailand are driving initiatives for Thailand to become a reinsurance hub for the broader ASEAN region.
In 2025, TGIA hosted the first Thailand Reinsurance Conference, an international event to be held on a biennial basis, designed to establish Thailand as a premier hub for insurance and reinsurance in the ASEAN region.
Mr Sant believes that the future of the reinsurance industry in Thailand will be centered around climate resilience, mitigation of natural catastrophe risks and digital transformations. Industry leaders, he said are also developing new lines of reinsurance for Emerging Risks like EVs, cyber security, clean renewable energy etc.
There are also initiatives to leverage the utilisation of AI and satellite technology for underwriting and risk assessment. “We see a bright future for re/insurance industry in Thailand with an enhanced catastrophe risk management, strong industry capital and adaptation of technological advancements,” he said.
Mr Vongsuraphichet said that with low insurance penetration and density, there is still strong growth potential across all lines of business, including commercial lines, where the region relies heavily on capacity from international reinsurers, as risk sizes continue to grow.
On the other hand, in personal lines, regional and local reinsurers can compete effectively by leveraging their data and local expertise. “However, the key challenge remains access to reliable data, which can take years to build,” he said. A