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Published on September 12, 2007

"We have always wanted to sell our travel insurance at the airport, but our partner Kasikornbank has no ATMs there," said Phatra's first senior vice president Wasit Lamsam.

Banking on a strong awareness of travel insurance among foreign tourists, Wasit is expecting Bt10 million from premiums this year, or about 200 transactions per day from the daily tide of 100,000 travellers passing through the terminal.

Besides phone calls and Internet access, iS Media's web payphones offer various services such as air ticket and hotel bookings, tour packages and sightseeing trips, primarily for inbound foreign tourists to Thailand, said iS Media's managing director Nopadol Chanteeradate.

Sharing the same target customers, Phatra's Enjoy Travel insurance costs about US$9 (Bt308) for up to four days. The premium goes up according to the number of days the policy covers, but it stops at a maximum of 90 travel days. Inbound travellers will be able to claim up to Bt200,000 and outbound travellers Bt2 million.

The challenge is in finding ways to promote the new products. Phatra has been selling its personal assurance products via ATMs for 10 to 15 years, but sales have waned as more services and options are added to the machines, Wasit said.

All transactions are carried out using Kasikornbank's electronic payment system. The senior vice president of the bank's retail, SME and e-business department, Art Wichiencharoen, said electronic transactions would reach Bt3 billion by the end of this year, almost doubling last year's Bt1.7 billion. Travel-related payments, such as air tickets, account for most transactions.

In the first eight months of this year, Phatra recorded premiums amounting to Bt170 million from telesales and banks. Wasit is confident that sales from the two channels will reach the firm's Bt250-million target by the end of the year.

The insurer has a large retail customer base, accounting for 70 per cent of its premiums or about 90 per cent of all policyholders.

Ki Nan Tsui

 The Nation