Thailand's Central Administrative Court has dismissed an application for an injunction against an order issued by the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC). The issue concerns the specification of up to five drivers in a car insurance policy.
According to the OIC, Thailand’s insurance regulator, measures to specify driver names may help in the reduction of insurance premiums.
The court reasoned that the order (Registrar's Order No 46/2567) does not yet affect the rights and freedoms of the public, as policyholders can still choose between policies with and without specified drivers. This stems from the fact that the order allows for the specification of up to five drivers in car insurance policies, up from the previous limit of two. Detractors argue that this restricts individual rights in contract making, and a request was filed for a temporary injunction until a final judgment was rendered.
Subsequently, the Central Administrative Court ruled that the order approved premium rates for both five-driver specified and unspecified car insurance policies for 31 insurance companies, allowing individuals to choose between policies with or without specified drivers.
In a statement, the OIC also clarified that Registrar’s Order No 46/2567 was not intended to force policyholders to choose insurance policies that named only five drivers, but rather to expand the rights of citizens with good driving behaviour and allow them to receive higher insurance premium discounts.
The regulator said that the measure was designed to be flexible. For instance, even if the policy named the drivers, if another person used the vehicle, the policyholder would still be covered according to policy terms, provided that the accident was not caused by the negligence of an unnamed person.