The Consumer Protection Board (CPB) has brought together banks, insurers, finance companies, and mobile operators to form a team to assist southern flood victims with comprehensive relief for vehicles, homes, and debts. The compensation framework for cars and motorcycles is based on damage levels ranging from flooding up to the vehicle floor to complete submersion. In cases where damage exceeds 70%, insurance companies are required to pay the full insured value.
Mr. Ronarong Phoolpipat, Secretary-General of the Consumer Protection Board (CPB), stated that as the primary agency responsible for protecting consumers' fundamental rights, especially during crises when consumers are highly vulnerable to exploitation, the CPB has convened meetings to gather in-depth information and develop comprehensive assistance measures. Participants included the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), the Thai Hire Purchase Association, the Thai Motorcycle Hire Purchase Association, the Thai Bankers' Association, the Housing Finance Association, the Thai Car Rental Association, and a major telecom provider (AIS). The goal is to design measures that best address consumers' real needs, in line with directives from Mr. Santi Piyatat, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, who instructed the CPB to work proactively, connect information from all parties, and monitor the situation daily to ensure that southern residents receive full protection during this crisis.
The meeting presented data and proposed measures to assist people affected by the flooding as follows:
1. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has instructed financial institutions nationwide to implement key measures, including reducing the minimum credit card payments below the standard requirement for up to 12 months, increasing emergency loan limits for personal and digital loans to help people fund home repairs, assets, and daily living expenses, and easing all types of loans by allowing payment holidays, interest rate reductions, extended terms, and debt restructuring while maintaining existing debt classifications to prevent disaster-affected borrowers from being labeled as non-performing.
2. The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has established measures to assist the public in two dimensions: Regarding vehicles, it defined five flood damage levels for insurance claims: Level A, flood reaching vehicle floor, estimated repairs 8,000–10,000 baht; Level B, flooding up to seats and electrical systems, 15,000–20,000 baht; Level C, flooding below dashboard, 25,000–30,000 baht; Level D, flooding above dashboard, over 30,000 baht; Level E, total submersion, where if repair costs exceed 70% of the vehicle’s value, insurers must pay full insured value without conditions. For residences, an initial payout of 20,000 baht is provided, with an additional 10,000 baht for severe damage, and for shops and stores, an initial payout of 30,000 baht.
3. To assist with vehicles affected by the disaster, the Thai Hire Purchase Association and the Thai Motorcycle Hire Purchase Association plan to waive fees and offer a three-month payment holiday. The Thai Car Rental Association is accelerating the delivery of replacement vehicles and waiving damage charges for renters in disaster areas. 4. AIS has urgent assistance measures including providing 10 GB of free internet, waiving service fees for seven days for both postpaid and prepaid customers, and expediting the restoration of network systems in affected areas to full operation as quickly as possible.
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