Chhay Rattanak, GIAC Chairman, was quoted by the Post as saying that the premiums from firs insurance contributed 26 percent, motor and miscellaneous insurance 25 percent each, and medical and health insurance, 16 percent to revenues.

The sum for claims in the first five months of 2010 was USD2.34 million, down 25 percent in comparison with the same period last year.

In General, the trend for buying premium insurance has been increasing. The upward trend is back on track, especially engineering and medical insurance, said Rattanak. He forecast that the industry would grow by between 10 to 15 percent this year.

At the present, there are six insurances companies operating in Cambodia, including Forte, CAMINCO, Asia, Campubank Lonpac, Infinity, and Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance. The insurance industry made total premium revenue of USD20.07 million last year.

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Around 70 business owners on this beach are ordered to remove by June 30. If not meet the new deadline, authorities will evict them and are not responsible for their property.

“The authorities will not let the residents build houses, sell and rent to private [interests] because the area beach is owned by the state. Some of them make the area dirty and do not have manners.”

On Wednesday, business owners vowed to protest the pending eviction and they said that the authorities did not give time sufficient time to find other ways to support themselves.

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In the last day of forum, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon hailed the outcome of the talks by saying that international donors have pledged a record US$1.1 billion in development assistance for the upcoming 18-month period. This pledged aid is surpassed the US$951.5 million at the last CDCF in December 2008.

Speaking in opening remark to forum, Prime Minister Hun Sen promised that the government would use aid money effectively, adding that officials will continue to tackle key issues, including corruption, land rights and the reform of the judiciary.

Even though, Keat Chhon declined to give detail of aid from different countries but speaking during the meeting, Japanese ambassador Masafumi Kuroki said that Tokyo had pledged $130 million at this year’s CDCF. US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said that the US government had earmarked $68.5 million in aid for fiscal year 2010.

In addition, UK ambassador Andrew Mace said at the meeting that his government had pledged around $33 million for 2010 after two days of open and constructive dialogue with the government. Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d’affair of the EU Delegation to Cambodia said that The European Union pledged around $60 million to the government, with EU member states supplying an additional $190 million.

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GIAC Chairman Chhay Rattanak said the premium income was driven by coverage for vehicles, which provided 27 percent of revenues, fire (25 percent), medicine and healthcare (18 percent), and miscellaneous other areas (25 percent).

Claims paid for the first three months of the year totalled $1.4 million, “but mostly resulted from last year’s operations”, he said Wednesday.

Claims outstanding are around $2.3 million, said the chairman, who added that he does not have the figures for claims made for last year’s first quarter to compare this with.

A total of 12,017 policies were issued to customers in the first quarter.

General Manager of Campubank Lonpac Insurance, Agnes Chan Weng Yee, said the firm’s premium revenues increased by about 40 percent in Q1 due to most of the insurance policies being accepted on January 1 each year.

“The insurance industry in Cambodia still has room for further growth,” she said.

“The total insurance industry’s premium for 2009 was maintained at the $20 million mark despite a slowing down in the economy. With increased spending this year we foresee a steady growth of premium in year 2010,” she added.

Cambodian National Insurance Company (CAMINCO) also reported 40 percent growth in premium revenues for the first quarter, to $551,000.

Main premium revenue increases came from insurance for vehicles and home and insuring against garment industry fire, CAMINCO Managing Director Duong Vibol told the Post last month. He said claims had also increased on passenger bus accidents.

Cambodia has six insurance companies: Forte Insurance, CAMINCO, Asia Insurance, Campubank Lonpac, Infinity Insurance, and Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance. There is also one domestic reinsurance company.

Last year, Cambodia’s insurance premium revenue was $20.07 million – a 2.86 percent drop compared to 2008 total premium of $20.5 million.

Earlier this month, a survey released by Indochina Research Ltd predicted that the Kingdom’s insurance sector could grow by up to 28 percent in the next year.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

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Chhay Rattanak, chairman of the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC), told the Post on Tuesday that, according to figures provided by all of the country’s insurance firms, the industry’s premium revenues grew to US$3.8 million in January and February, up more than $600,000 from the same period last year.

Premium revenues grew 11 percent for insurance on automobiles, 10 percent for fire and 16 percent for personal accident, Chhay Rattanak said. Revenues dropped 22 percent for maritime insurance and 48 percent for worker compensation.

“We saw good recovery in almost all businesses,” he said. “And there have not been any dramatic changes in claims trends in the first two months.”

Chhay Rattanak estimated that for the first quarter, the market would grow up to 20 percent, with 20 percent growth to continue throughout the year.

Larger insurers said Tuesday they had seen double-digit climbs in quarterly premium revenue.

“We have increased by 20 percent in premium revenues so far,” said David W Carter, CEO of Infinity General Insurance Plc, declining to disclose premium levels. “This is in line with our budget forecast, and we expect to achieve this trend for the rest of the year.”

Growth came from current clients purchasing more coverage as well as new clients, he said. More revenue came from construction premiums, as a number of projects got underway.

“We are seeing an overall improvement in business conditions and a greater acceptance in the market of Infinity as a strong and reputable insurer,” he said. “This would take us to second position in the market, out of a field of six players, by the end of 2010.”

Forte Insurance (Cambodia) Plc, the Kingdom’s largest insurer in terms of premium revenues, saw growth of around 20 percent the first quarter.

“The growth came from all businesses – food processing, hotels, construction, autos – except garments,” Forte’s general manager, Youk
Chamroeunrith, said. “Premium revenues from the garment sector slightly dropped, as not many new factories came in and some existing ones scaled down or closed.”

Cambodian National Insurance Company (CAMINCO) reported growth in premium revenues of 40 percent in the first quarter, to $551,000.

Main premium revenue increases came from insurance for vehicles and home and garment industry fire, CAMINCO Managing Director Duong Vibol said, adding that claims increased as well.

“There were a lot of claims in [the first quarter], especially accidents of passenger buses,” he said.

Cambodia has six insurance companies, with one reinsurer supporting the market.

Total premium revenues for 2009 were $20.07 million, a 2.86 percent drop from 2008.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

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Chhay Rattanak, chairman of the General Insurance Association of Cambodia (GIAC), said that total premium revenues for 2009 fell to US$20.07 million.

“The global financial crisis is impacting on all sectors, including the insurance industry,” he said.

Nevertheless, the drop is a marked improvement on figures for the first 10 months of last year, which saw an 11.5 percent fall on premiums – to $14.16 million from $16 million compared with the same period in 2008.

“The results from December last year are better because of a new player [Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance Co], which brought premiums from risk regarding aviation and others into the market.”

He forecast that the industry is expected to expand by at least 10 percent in 2010.

“The increase is expected to follow an expected economic recovery in Cambodia,” he said, adding that new companies are likely to boost the sector.

Cambodia has six insurance companies: Forte Insurance, CAMINCO, Asia Insurance, Campubank Lonpac, Infinity Insurance, and new arrival Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance. There is also one domestic reinsurance company.

Cao Minh Son, chief executive officer of Cambodia Vietnam Insurance Co Plc (CVI), wrote in an e-mail Thursday that from mid-November until the end of the year, CVI earned around $160,000 in premiums for aviation, property, third-party liability, personal accident and motor insurance.

“This year, we are planning for a minimum target of $1 million,” he said.

Infinity Insurance Chief Executive Officer David Carter said that, despite the drop in the industry as a whole, his company saw growth of about 20 percent to slightly over $4 million last year from $3.277 million in 2008, crediting new business growth and the retention of existing customers.

Government statistics on the insurance industry will be completed in March. But Mey Vann, director of the Finance Ministry’s financial industry department, said last week that GIAC’s figures were accurate.

GIAC statistics for the amount of claims made in 2009 are not yet available. But Chhany Rattanak said that in the first 10 months of 2009, $11 million was paid out – almost 400 percent higher than the $3 million paid out in 2008. Of that, $9 million was paid in one claim by Forte Insurance to Suntex Pte Ltd for a fire that destroyed its garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district in April last year.

Domestic insurance firms – not including Asia Insurance, which declined to comment, and Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance Co, which had only just started operations – said in October that they had received six claims for damage caused by Typhoon Ketsana, which struck mostly in the northeast of the Kingdom at the end of September.

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

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Despite there was the global financial crisis, Cambodia’s premium insurance revenues increased 18 percent in 2008 – from US$17.5 million in 2007 up to US$20.5 million in 2008. In addition, Cambodian people have started understanding the advantage of buying personal insurance and car insurance, according to In Meatra, Head of the Financial Industry Department’s Insurance Division at the Ministry of Finance.

At the present, there are five insurance companies in Cambodia – Forte Insurance, Caminco, Asia Insurance, Campubank Lonpac and Infinity Insurance. In addition, two new companies are expected to enter the market this year – one local firm and another from Malaysia.

Although, Cambodia’s insurance market is very small in comparison with other countries because Cambodians have a little knowledge about this sector and cannot afford it as well. It is estimated that there is one and two percent amongst Cambodia’s 14 million have possibility to buy insurance.

“We know that our customers are looking to save on their expenses,” said David Carter, CEO of Infinity Insurance. “In some cases, they are cutting back the level of insurance they buy,” reported VOA Khmer.

“What can happen in a financially difficult time such as this is customers may not be careful in management of their business,” Carter said,

While the number of insurance customers is increasing- premium payments increased from $8 million in 2003 to $20 million in 2008 – only about one percent of Cambodians have it.

David W Carter, chief executive officer of Infinity Insurance was quoted by the Post as saying that he expects the insurance sector to grow this year, despite the crisis.

“We anticipate the insurance market to outpace Cambodia’s GDP growth over the next year. So, if GDP grows by five percent, we expect the insurance market premiums will increase by 10 percent minimum,” said Carter.

“Generally, in less developed countries the proportion of people buying insurance is very low compared to the developed world,” Youk Chamroeunrith, director of Forte Insurance, Cambodia’s largest insurer, quoted by the Post as saying. He added that “Cambodians are not interested in buying insurance, and they have less knowledge about the importance of buying insurance.”

In Cambodia, life insurance is not offered by insurance companies but other service offers are insurance on automobile, property, marine cargo, personal accident and healthcares, engineering and construction and other eventualities.

The fact that people who live on less than one dollar per day cannot afford insurance.

The VOA Khmer quoted Mey Vann, Director of Financial Industry at the Ministry of Economics, as saying that his ministry is working to educate people and reform some of the insurance law, including all vehicles have insurance.

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According to the report, while the price of cooking gas dropped by 29.5 percent. Rice decreased 13 percent.

It is expected that Cambodia experienced a year of deflation in 2009, with consumer prices down by an average of 1 percent. During the global economic recession, the food and fuel cost have fallen from their highs of mid-2008.

According to the figure, it show that in July prices decreased by 3.9 percent and then by 2.9 percent in August, then by 2.3 percent in September compared to those months last year.

Based on the basket of 135 goods used to evaluate the Kingdom’s CPI, it is foretasted that the prices would increase slightly for the whole year.

Inflation increased last year, reaching more than 20 percent at its height in July and August, spurred the rise in global commodity prices, particularly oil.

The reduction in prices in 2009 follows record-high inflation last year that reached a peak of 25.7 percent in May 2008.

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Dwindling clothing exports, especially to the US market, along with a slow-down in construction and tourist arrivals, contributed to the ADB’s Development Outlook 2009 Update.

“These domains rely mostly on the global economy,” said Kim Chantha, a spokesman for the ADB.

Clothing exports to the US dropped 27 percent in the first five months of the year, compared to the same period for 2008. Tourist arrivals fell 3 percent in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period the year before. And major construction projects, especially from South Korea, have fallen sharply.

The government had estimated a growth rate of 2 percent, said Tim Phalla, director of the economic guidelines department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. “The economic situation in Cambodia and the world is changing very quickly, and noting is quite sure.”

The ADB estimated a rebound in 2010, however, with growth reaching 3.5 percent, as global markets slowly recovery, stimulating garment export and tourism.

(The original article is from The VOA news)

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“Our advice to the government is to continue the momentum of institution-building,” said Rajat Nag, managing director-general of the ADB, in an exclusive interview with VOA last week. “We recognize that these take time. We recognize that it is not only important to have the right laws on the books, but they have to be implemented fairly, and we are working with the government of Cambodia as indeed elsewhere to continue that process.”

Cambodia has spent almost ten years drafting on an anti-corruption law, but it remains unfinished. Efforts are underway meanwhile to help the government set up an anti-corruption body.

“These things are not done overnight,” Nag said. “These things are also, quite frankly, not done in public. I think we should work with the government, and we do talk to them very frankly, but these are done as part of a long-run institutional reform progress which is continuing.”

The ADB believes that investing in health and education is also important and must take place side by side so that Cambodia can bridge the widening gap between the rich and poor.

“In a country like Cambodia, we emphasize very much investment in health and education, but also I think the government needs to look at the issue of rising inequality, rising disparity,” Nag said. “You’ve got people who are doing extremely well and people who are falling below the poverty line and falling through the cracks.”

(The original artilce is from The VOA news)

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