Firms prep compensation for fire victims

The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) has coordinated with insurance companies to provide compensation to families of the deceased and injured from the school bus fire on Tuesday, with initial compensation of 660,000 baht per person.
The incident resulted in 23 deaths of students and teachers of Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam School in Uthai Thani who were on an educational trip to Nonthaburi. Five other people were injured.
The OIC probed the insurance information of the incident and followed up on the damages to ensure fair relief for the families of the deceased and injured, the commission said in a statement.
The OIC investigation found the bus was covered by compulsory motor insurance from Viriyah Insurance, with the policy starting on April 30 this year and ending on June 30, 2025.
The coverage included death or permanent disability at 500,000 baht per person. In case of injury, the maximum medical expenses were set at no more than 80,000 baht per person.
For the loss of organs, 200,000-500,000 baht will be paid per person. The payment for permanent disability is 300,000 baht per person, and for inpatient treatment at a hospital the insured will receive daily compensation of 200 baht for a maximum of 20 days.
In addition, the bus had voluntary motor insurance, type 3, with Mittare Insurance Plc, with the one-year policy starting on June 30 this year. Coverage for damage to life, body or health of third parties was set at 500,000 baht per person, 10,000,000 baht per incident, with property liability of 600,000 baht per incident.
The legal heirs of the deceased receive compensation from the compulsory motor insurance, with an average payment of no more than 10 million baht per incident. For voluntary motor insurance, type 3, the average payment is no more than 10 million baht.
Wat Khao Praya Sangkharam School had group accident insurance for educational institutions with Viriyah Insurance. The one-year policy started on May 15. The coverage for death is 80,000 baht per person with medical expenses of 8,000 baht per person per incident.
“Most of the deceased were from Uthai Thani, so the OIC office in Pathum Thani coordinated with the Uthai Thani office to facilitate insurance compensation. The office coordinated with the insurance company,” said the OIC.
For hospitalised injured passengers, the OIC contacted the insurance company to pay initial compensation for medical expenses under the compulsory motor insurance act, at 30,000 baht per person.
In addition, the commission is coordinating with the Thai Life Assurance Association and the Thai General Insurance Association to check whether the victims or deceased have any other additional insurance coverage.
“If the passengers have other insurance, they will receive all rights according to the insurance contracts,” said the OIC.
Viriyah Insurance said it has coordinated with relevant agencies and is ready to pay compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased and the injured according to the benefits specified in the coverage conditions of the policy.
These include sending staff to care for and encourage the families of the injured and coordinating with the hospital to facilitate various matters.