#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40015854

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Syn Mun Kong Insurance (SMK) said on Sunday that it will reimburse the buyers of Covid-19 insurance in June next year.

The announcement came after SMK filed for protection with the Central Bankruptcy Court after failing to pay a whopping 164 billion baht in Covid-19 claims from 1.95 million people.

As for business rehabilitation over five years, SMK said it will start off by paying Covid claims in June next year and will negotiate debt-repayment schemes.

“The company will do its best to seek guidelines to repay debts as soon as possible,” SMK said.

However, it added that it will not be able to repay the insurers if the Central Bankruptcy Court does not allow the company time for rehab. Not allowing rehabilitation will also encourage the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) to revoke SMK’s licence, it said.

“Business rehabilitation is the only way to solve this issue,” SMK said, adding that it will repay the debts in line with the rehab plan once it is approved by the court and debtors.

The rehabilitation duration will also not affect the timespan allowed for claims, it said. SMK also confirmed that the ongoing negotiations at the Central Bankruptcy Court will benefit both debtors and the company.

“Without negotiations, the company will not be able to operate and the OIC will revoke the company’s licence,” it said, adding that taking this issue to the General Insurance Fund would only extend the time it will take to reimburse claimants.

It added that claimants can check their repayment status at SMK’s head office and its branches nationwide.

SMK reportedly sold 1.95 million Covid-19 insurance policies and ended up with a massive liability of some 164 billion baht.

On July 16 last year, at the height of the pandemic, the company announced that it would cancel all its Covid-19 insurance policies and return the money to buyers.

However, the Insurance Commission put a brake on the cancellation, saying SMK had to honour the policies it had sold.

At the start of this year, a large number of Covid insurance buyers swarmed SMK’s head office to register claims, prompting the authorities to step in.

SMK promised to pay back in instalments.

Some 61,000 buyers of SMK’s Covid insurance policies have joined a Facebook group to help monitor and seek their insured sum from the company.

Published : May 23, 2022

By : THE NATION