Growth in the general insurance sector was up 20 per cent for the first six months of the year, as the Kingdom continues to experience high growth and foreign firms pour money into the nascent industry, according to the president of the Insurance Association of Cambodia.

Huy Vatharo, president of the Insurance Association of Cambodia, revenues for the first half were $ 32.2 million, compared to the same period last year, when the industry recorded $26.8 million.

“The increase is thanks to the political situation, the people’s awareness of insurance service and direct investment from foreign investors,” he added.

According to Vatharo, 38.7 per cent of profits came from fire-related policies, 16.3 per cent from health insurance and 15.8 per cent from vehicular policies.

Youk Chamroenrith, Managing Director of Forte Insurance, said despite the sector’s low base, services grew because of the growth and a newcomers to the market contributing to increased awareness among Cambodians.

At Forte, growth was recorded around 23 per cent, or more than $15 million during the same period, Chamroenrith said.

“Now we see that health insurance increased considerably, particularly, the fire risk insurance, followed engineering, vehicles and personal insurance,” he said.

Cambodia currently has 11 insurance companies: six focusing on general insurance, three on life insurance and two providing micro-insurance.