A war of words has erupted among the country’s insurance firms following claims made Friday by the director of the largest firm, Indochine Insurance, that a media smear campaign has been mounted by his business opponents who are behind efforts to discredit his company’s reputation.
Speaking at a packed press conference at a Phnom Penh hotel, Indochine Insurance Director Philippe Lenain claimed that recent newspaper articles in three Khmer-language newspapers were maliciously circulated by a lawyer in the pay of a competitor.
Lenain also accused three rival firms—Asia Insurance, Forte Insurance and Pana Insurance—of failing to comply with the recently passed Insurance Law, and called on the government to take action.
According to Lenain, all three rival firms are guilty of placing insurance contracts directly overseas and not working through the Cambodian National Insurance Company (Caminco), as stipulated by law.
“So in the name of my company and the law…I am asking the Royal Government of Cambodia to pay attention and enforce their own law,” Lenain said.
Media articles regarding a court case between Indochine and Monopoly Tradings over a disputed insurance claim were likely placed by a Cambodian-American lawyer who Lenain believes works for a rival insurance firm, he said. Indochine has sued the lawyer for defamation over the articles, he added.
“I think that is the lawyer of my competitors. I think my competitors have a problem. The problem is they cannot get the market. Every year they drop their prices but still Indochine controls 70 percent of the insurance market,” Lenain said.
Officials at Forte and Pana Insurance were more amused than shocked by the claims made Friday, with one company official branding the claims comical.
Charles Cheo, executive director of Forte Insurance, said the allegations of “conspiracies” and “industrial sabotage” by Indochine reflected that company’s fear of its continued loss of clients to the competition.
“He should stop pointing fingers and stick to settling the problems with his clients,” Cheo said.
Rath Saroth, who has recently become chief of the Finance Ministry’s Insurance Department, said no one should accuse any other insurance company of breaking the rules as it was damaging to the industry as a whole.
“Everyone has to cooperate,” Rath Saroth.
Un Taing Im, director of Caminco, was also more conciliatory Friday toward the insurance companies’ work practices
Acknowledging that the three companies were not keeping strictly to the law, Un Taing Im said that better guidance on the part of Caminco was needed in the future.
“We are in the interim period and we need to carry out the law but we need time,” said Un Taing Im, adding the legislation allowing for punitive measures against firms that break the rules is under consideration.
