Demand for AMK Micro Insurance Increased Remarkably

Phnom Penh: The purchase of micro-insurance policy among AMK loan clients have increased noticeably in the first four months of 2017 according to AMK monthly performance highlights. The high demand is owing to Cambodians recognizing and understanding the benefits of being insured. There is now a widespread awareness of the impact on family financial management when the unexpected happens.

The monthly performance highlights show that the number of micro-insurance (MI) clients have increased to over 210,000, that’s approximately 62% of total AMK loan clients as of April 2017 to only 180,000 MI clients in 2016.

AMK Microfinance Institution Plc. partnered with Forte Micro-Insurance Company to provide micro-insurance services to AMK loan clients in 2014. At that time, only 9,000 of total AMK loan clients purchased the policy. But, the numbers have gradually increased from year to year since then.

Mr. Kea Borann, AMK Chief Executive Officer, said that “Cambodian people in both rural and city areas have a healthy knowledge of the benefits of micro-insurance and other accidental insurance plans. This is a good sense as micro-insurance secures your family’s financial management when risks or accidents happen. We will never know if and when accidents would happen to any of our family members.” He added that “Without purchasing micro-insurance policy, some people have been pushed into poverty jeopardized by an accident that happened to their family member. Some people are forced to sell their properties. A micro-insurance policy is like having a net to catch you and protect your family whenever untoward things happen, one can still manage one’s expenses well.”

Mr. Borann strongly recommends to all Cambodian people who have not yet purchased AMK micro- insurance policy to consider one. The policy provides huge benefits such as coverage of up to KHR 200,000 per day for daily hospital, for surgery up to KHR 600,000 per case, death/permanent disability by accident up to KHR 2 to 3 million, death due to illness up to KHR 600,000, and for death due to accident up to KHR 6.6 to 7.6 million.

The micro-insurance service is provided only to AMK loan clients. As of April 2017, around 200,000 clients have been compensated with the sum amount of over one million USD. With the increase of micro-insurance demands, AMK recently launched new micro-insurance services for the public one of which is the personal accident (PA) insurance which will cover up to USD 10,000. 

One AMK loan client, Mrs. Pon Nim, living in Prek 3 village, Samrong commune, Phnom Kravach district, Pursat province, said that her family was in a potentially financial disaster as she had to undergo surgery when she and her husband figured in a traffic accident. But they were able to avoid any financial constraints or challenges because she and her husband both have purchased AMK micro-insurance policies. She got the compensation of over KHR 6,000,000. “If not for the AMK micro-insurance, my family could have gone into poverty borrowing from informal money lenders who charge exorbitant interests or I could have sold my valuable properties for our treatment fees.”

AMK is a leading Microfinance Institution in terms of outreach and borrower numbers. As of April 2017, AMK has coverage 89% of total villages across Cambodia with number of staff over 2,400, total clients of over 580,000 with a loan portfolio over USD151 million. The number of offices have reached 151 and over 2,500 agents nationwide. AMK is providing variety of financial services including Loan, Deposit, Money Transfer, Micro Insurance, Personal Accident Insurance, Payment Service, Payroll Service, Mobile Banking, ATMs and CDMs.