Two of Cambodia’s four insurance companies have complied with government regulations and received their official licenses, with the other two shortly to follow, officials said this week.
State-owned Caminco and privately owned Indochine Insurance both have received their licenses after securing the minimum capital required by a 1999 law on banking and insurance.
Under the law, insurance companies that want a license are required to register $7 million in capital with the government, including a $700,000 deposit with the National Bank of Cambodia.
The licensing requirement was made to more tightly regulate the insurance sector, and follows banking legislation aimed at ridding Cambodia’s financial sector of insolvent banks.
Two remaining privately owned companies, Forte Insurance and Asia Insurance, have complied with the law and are waiting for their licenses to be granted, company officials said Wednesday.
“We have complied,” said Forte’s executive director, Charles Cheo.
“We are also in compliance,” said Pascal Brandt-Gagnon, general manager of Asia Insurance (Cambodia). “We expect our license early next week.”
Caminco announced its license last week, while Indochine Insurance announced its on Tuesday.
The market for insurance remains wide open, with many Cambodians currently unaware of the benefits, Indochine General Manager Phillipe Lenain said Tuesday.
Ninety-nine percent of Indochine’s customers are foreigners, he said. But given the high number of accidents that occur in Cambodia, insurance can be especially beneficial to the poor, Lenain said.
“An insurance system can bring protection to the people,” Lenain said, especially concerning traffic accidents, many of which go unreported or force victims to cover their own costs.
(Additional reporting by Brian Calvert)
