Cambodia’s insurance sector continued to expand, but at a slower pace, with the total premium reaching $96.5 million in the January-March period this year.
The premiums went up nine percent year-on-year, a report by the Insurance Regulator of Cambodia (IRC) said yesterday.
Cambodia’s insurance market comprises 18 general insurers, 14 life insurers, seven micro-insurance companies, and one reinsurance firm.
The gross premium of the general insurance market in the first quarter this year was $44.9 million, an increase of one percent compared to the same period in 2023, while the life insurance premium totalled $51.5 million, up 0.9 percent, the report noted.
Endowment policies accounted for the biggest share of the gross premiums of life insurances, followed by term life insurance. Property insurance has the biggest share in the gross premiums for the general insurance sector, followed by medical insurance and auto insurance.
As of 2023, the total assets of the insurance sector stood at $1.1 billion, according to a report by the National Bank of Cambodia. The assets posted a healthy growth though the growth in premiums slowed down, read the report.
It added that the total amount of claims paid out by the insurers was $16.5 million, up 13.6 percent from $14.5 million in the previous year.
IRC Director General Bou Chanphirou has previously said the insurance industry has contributed about 1.1 percent to the Southeast Asian country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per year.
“This shows that the growth of the Cambodian insurance sector is still relatively low compared to the region and the world,” he said, adding, “It indicates that Cambodia’s insurance market still has more room to grow.”
The insurance industry recorded a gross premium of $342 million in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 20 percent compared to $331.8 million in 2022, according to the IRC report.
