Cambodia's New Prakas: Is Your Property Insurance Portfolio Ready?
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Cambodia's fire and property insurance market has just gone through its most significant regulatory change in nearly two decades. In March 2025, the NBFSA issued a new Prakas on Fire, Business Interruption and Property All Risks insurance — replacing a framework that had been in place since 2007. For many insurers operating in the market, the regulation is known. What is less clear is what it actually means for their existing book of business.
What has changed
The new Prakas is not simply a rate revision. It consolidates three product lines — Fire, Business Interruption and Property All Risks — under a single regulatory framework for the first time. Key changes include:
A completely rebuilt tariff table with over 150 occupation codes across three construction classifications and three hazard levels. Every policy written under the old structure needs to be re-mapped.
Construction separation rules now formally codified in law. Where adjacent buildings do not meet the minimum separation distances, they are treated as a single risk and rated at the highest applicable rate. This has direct implications for any multi-building or mixed-use risks in the portfolio.
Property All Risks as a regulated product line — a category the 2007 Prakas did not cover at all. The new framework introduces a mandated policy wording, a minimum rate formula, and a USD 300 minimum premium.
Explicit minimum rates for six additional perils, including flood, windstorm and riot, each with a defined compensation cap of 20% of total sum insured or USD 1 million, whichever is lower.
A formal sum-insured discount scale, replacing what was previously underwriter discretion. Discounts are now capped by hazard class and sum insured — up to 30% for large low-hazard risks, with more conservative caps for higher-hazard categories.
A standardised BI wage base table covering indemnity periods from 12 to 36 months, with detailed dual-wage multipliers that need to be reflected in any compliant BI pricing model.
Enforcement powers formally granted to the Insurance Association of Cambodia under Article 2, meaning compliance scrutiny is no longer limited to the regulator alone.
The gap that most insurers haven't closed yet
The regulation is public. What most insurers in the Cambodia market do not yet have is a clear, quantified picture of where their current portfolio stands relative to the new requirements — which policies are priced below the new minimums, what the repricing exposure looks like across the book, and what needs to be rebuilt in their rating tools to ensure ongoing compliance.
This is not a straightforward exercise. The shift from the old tariff to 150+ new occupation codes involves judgement calls, edge cases and risks that do not map cleanly. PAR, if not previously written, requires a pricing model built from scratch. And the BI wage base table introduces a level of technical complexity that most existing tools were not designed to handle.
Acting late carries real risk. With the IAC now holding enforcement powers, the question is not whether to address this — it is how quickly it can be done properly.
How Actomate™ can help
At Actomate™, we offer a portfolio gap analysis specifically designed for this regulatory transition. Working with your existing book data, we map your portfolio against the new tariff structure, identify policies sitting below the regulatory minimums, and quantify the total repricing exposure. Where needed, we also support the build or validation of compliant rating tools for Fire, PAR and BI.
The output is straightforward: a clear view of where your portfolio stands today, what needs to change, and a practical path to get there — before the IAC comes asking.
If you are operating in the Cambodia general insurance market and want to understand your position under the new Prakas, we would be happy to have that conversation.
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