News

11 February 2021: AIS’ “AIS Insurance Service”, a leader in Digital Services focused on applying digital technology to upgrade the insurance industry, has joined forces with MSIG, a global leader in Insurance and financial services, with the support of the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), to launch "Prakan Kubdee" (Good Driving Insurance), a vehicle insurance using full InsurTech for the first time in Thailand.

• “Prakan Kubdee” from MSIG and AIS Insurance Service is the first vehicle insurance in Thailand which calculates premiums from real driving behavior, innovating with the IoT and telecoms. It has been permitted by OIC to join trials in the Insurance Regulatory Sandbox.
• “Prakan Kubdee” is an insurance plan with the reasonable concept of paying when you drive, and if you don't drive, you don't pay. Insurance premiums are calculated from drivers' real driving behavior. This is in line with national statistics which show that up to 60% of drivers have never had an accident, and have a good driving record, but they have to pay premiums the same as the others.
• “Prakan Kubdee” is an auto insurance in which insurance premiums are calculated from up-to-date variables with big data analysis from MSIG Car Informatics, with the On-Board Diagnostic OBD II equipment, a small device attached to the vehicle which can capture deep variables and driving behavior values, and in more detail than telematics, which captures only distance scores or hours.
  OBD II collects data to efficiently and accurately calculate insurance premiums from driving behavior, according to actual use. The concept applied is, "People don't drive the same, so why should they pay the same?" The calculation is from five key variables: distance / speed / journey time / time of the day driven / area driven. Together these can help save on insurance premiums by as much as 50%, as well as providing 24-hour customer care.

Dr. Suttipol Taweechaikarn, Secretary-General of the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) commented that the crucial role of the OIC is to promote the insurance business to deploy innovation and modern technology for more efficient operations providing service to the public. This includes promoting Thailand as an InsurTech Hub, which is in line with the fourth insurance development plan. The intention is to level up oversight, and encourage development of an appropriate cutting-edge environment which follows International standards. “We are delighted to be launching "Prakan Kubdee", which OIC has approved to participate in its Insurance Regulatory Sandbox. It is a cooperation with the private sector, which has the expertise and potential to create fusion and improve the technological capabilities of digital platforms. This benefits consumers as another alternative meeting drivers’ current needs, as it is flexible and bases insurance premiums on real driving. It is easy to buy, convenient to pay and serves the behavior of good driving. It helps to bring about better driving discipline, and even has a role in reducing road accidents.”

Mr. Rattapol Gitisakchaiyakul, CEO of MSIG Thailand, said about this cooperation that, “Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the insurance business had to seek solutions consistent with consumer behaviors in the New Normal. The idea for “Prakan Kubdee” arose during lockdown, when the entire country had to transform its lifestyles and ways of working. Travel to the office became Work from Home and so car use decreased. There was no long-distance provincial travel, and now there is the option of park and ride with mass transit railways. This gave us the idea to develop auto insurance plans with reasonable premiums, only paying when actually driving, and no need to pay when not driving, following real driving behaviors, under the concept, “People don't drive the same, so why should they pay the same?” It took us 6 months to develop “Prakan Kubdee”, and we found that we needed the OBD II equipment or MSIG Car Informatics and a SIM card working together. This needed to be from a company whose signal covered as much of the country as possible, so it couldn't be any other company besides AIS. MSIG Car Informatics captures driving behavior from five key variables: distance / speed / journey time / time of the day driven / area driven. “Prakan Kubdee” has a basic annual premium, with Class 1 Insurance starting at 6,499 baht, and Class 2+, 3,299 baht, for all coverage and every model of vehicle. From there, insurance premiums are calculated from driving, with premiums calculated daily. Every day is not the same, but people are not the same. It depends on the five factors. We consolidate the daily premiums to charge a monthly premium, and premiums can be checked from the “Prakan Kubdee” app. Interest payments are deducted from the designated credit card which is committed at the time of registration. “Prakan Kubdee” is an innovation in auto insurance using a parametric format. This required it to enter the Insurance Regulatory Sandbox to test the innovation. MSIG is of the opinion that this project is of immense benefit in developing the auto insurance industry for insured people or consumers in the future. So we proposed it, and the OIC approved us to join the sandbox.”

Mr Alistair David Johnston, Managing Director - New Business at AIS, commented additionally on this collaboration: “AIS Insurance Service is a digital insurance broker which offers our customers the best available insurance products. Additionally, we leverage the core strengths of AIS, namely the highest quality fixed and mobile networks and our digital platforms to deliver innovative new insurance products. This use of digital technology will transform insurance services. For this product, customers’ real time driving behaviour is measured using MSIG Car Infomatics equipment, which is an IoT device embedded in the customers’ car and jointly developed by AIS. This data is then transmitted accurately and reliably through the AIS network to MSIGs Cloud based system where it is processed. We also support the customer payment process through the AIS Digital Payment Gateway system, MPay One, which provides maximum convenience and security. This is truly an innovative InsurTech prototype, and we are extremely proud of it.”

"Prakan Kubdee" is available from today onwards. Interested customers can study and apply for "Prakan Kubdee" through many channels such as:

• Kubdee Service Center by MSIG Tel. 065 924 1175
• The website www.ais.co.th/insurance
• The “Prakan Kubdee” application