Cambodia's insurance industry grows 10.6 pct in 2022

Cambodia's insurance industry recorded a total premium of 331.8 million U.S. dollars in 2022, up 10.6 percent from 299.8 million dollars in a year earlier, a report by the Insurance Regulator of Cambodia (IRC) showed on Friday.

The growth was generated from 18 general insurers, 14 life insurers, seven micro-insurance companies and one reinsurance firm, the report said.

The gross premium of general insurance market in 2022 was 132.3 million dollars, an increase of 7 percent compared to 2021, while life insurance premium totaled 193.8 million dollars, up 12.6 percent, and micro-insurance premium amounted to 5.7 million dollars, up 35 percent, the report added.

It added that the total amount of claims paid out by the insurers was 46.6 million dollars last year, up 2.1 percent from 45.6 million dollars in the previous year.

According to the report, Cambodia's insurance market currently has a total asset value of approximately 977 million dollars, up 14.8 percent year-on-year.

IRC's director general Bou Chanphirou 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 Cambodian insurance sector is still relatively low compared to the region and the world," he said. "It indicates that Cambodia's insurance market still has more room to grow."