[PHNOM PENH POST]
PREVOIR Kampuchea Micro-life Insurance Plc has launched as the first
service of its kind in Cambodia, targeting the country’s lower-income
demographic, according to government and company officials.
The
Ministry of Economy and Finance issued a licence to PKMI, a subsidiary
of French insurer Groupe PREVOIR, in October, and the company opened a
Phnom Penh office in October, according to PKMI representative Chou
Ngeth.
“We see that Cambodia has quite a lot of potential,” he said, given that micro-insurance is an as yet untapped market.
Groupe
PREVOIR, an independent insurance group that specialises in life
insurance, was first established since 1910, according to Chou Ngeth.
The company operates five branches outside of France, including Portugal, Poland, Vietnam, Brazil and now Cambodia, he said.
PKMI
has already partnered with a Cambodian MFI and is currently in
negotiations with other players in the industry, as well as NGOs and
banks, Chou Ngeth said. He declined to name of the MFI partner.
In
Meatra, who is in charge of the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s
insurance division, said PKMI would play an important role in the
development of the industry, especially in terms of educating the rural
population about insurance.
“The company has a lot of experience
with micro-life insurance, so we’re giving them a chance to develop it
for low- and medium-income earners who cannot afford high-paid
insurance,” he said, confirming also that PKMI was in fact the country’s
first micro-insurance firm.
“It’s a long-term investment. If
people buy it, it can be another source of financing for the family in
the future,” he added. Micro-insurance is presently available in other
ASEAN countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and
Vietnam, according to In Meatra.
General Insurance Association of
Cambodia yesterday said it supported PKMI’s domestic launch, as it
would bring insurance to areas of Cambodia were bigger companies had not
reached.
“It will help raise awareness about insurance and its
benefits among grassroots people. And it will promote the industry as a
whole nationwide,” GIAC chairman Chhay Rattanak said.
He added that the micro-insurers would not compete with the Kingdom’s larger insurance firms.
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