Japanese insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co has opened a representative office in Phnom Penh to explore the insurance market in Cambodia and offer its non-life insurance products to Japanese companies operating in the Kingdom through referrals by its affiliated local insurers, according to a company press release.

The insurer said the new representative office in the capital would be used to collect information on Cambodia’s insurance market, which has been expanding steadily as a result of the country’s rapid economic growth.

Low labour costs

It added that with the improvement of infrastructure in industrial parks many Japanese firms were investing in and expanding their operations in Cambodia, leveraging the country’s relatively low labour costs.

“We will continue to research the insurance market in Cambodia through this office hereafter, as well as deliver safety and security to customers, mainly Japanese companies by offering insurance products and service through referral of affiliated companies,” the company’s press release said.

Youk Chamroeunrith, managing director of Forte Insurance, who said his firm is a referral partner for Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, said that the Japanese insurer’s decision to establish a local representative office would provide better customer services to its potential customers, mainly Japanese manufacturers.

Building trust

“It is good to have a Japanese insurer coming to provide information and consultancy about insurance information to Japanese investors in Cambodia,” he said.

“It will build more trust for existing Japanese companies, and for us it is good to partner with them to provide insurance products.”

According to the Insurance Association of Cambodia (IAC), the Kingdom’s seven general insurance companies reported a total premium of $21.6 million during the first quarter of the year, up 6.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

A government official with knowledge of insurance regulation said yesterday that insurers did not require an operating licence if they only intend to establish a representative office.