The Supreme Court has ordered six insurers to pay out nearly THB100m ($3m) claims to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Thailand Securities Depository (TSD) and Family Knowhow whose building was set on fire by rioters during anti-government protests on 19 May 2010.

According to the Bangkok Post, these three claimants brought their case to two lower courts and finally the Supreme Court as a last resort after insurers rejected their claims. While the lower courts had ruled that the insurers were not liable for any damages incurred, the Supreme Court overturned the previous verdicts by ruling that the damages fell under the insurance policies since it was caused by people with harmful intentions.

The Supreme Court specifically ordered the insurers to pay out THB89m to the SET, 57,500 to TSD and THB9m to Family Knowhow who had pointed out that their building was insured by New Hampshire Insurance, Dhipaya Insurance, Falcon Insurance, Bangkok Insurance, Deves Insurance and Muang Thai Insurance for a total sum of THB3.47bn from 31 Jan 2010 to 31 Jan 2011.

The court of first instance and the court of appeals had regarded the arson by anti-government protestors as terrorism which was not covered by the insurers and rejected the claimants’ case. According to the Office of Insurance Commission's initial report on the damages incurred by the protests, only six companies whose properties were devastated by arson attacks were reported to have insurance cover against terrorism which did not include SET, TSD and Family Knowhow.