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Insurers target higher growth with more diverse products
The insurance industry had targeted growth of 10-12 per cent for non-life insurance and 12-14 per cent for life insurance this year, according to the Viet Nam Insurance Association.
The industry was also expected to reinvest roughly VND100 trillion (US$4.76 billion) this year, up VND9.5 trillion against last year.
Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA) Trinh Thanh Hoan said to meet the target, insurance products and services would be diversified to better meet the demands of a wide range of organisations and individuals, with difficulties forecast to besiege the financial, banking and real estate sectors, making it difficult to expand the market.
The ISA reported that total insurance premiums last year surged 11 per cent against the previous year to VND40.59 trillion ($1.93 billion). Non-life insurance contributed VND22.67 trillion ($1.08 billion), up 10.2 per cent, while life insurance reached VND17.92 trillion ($853.3 million), up 12 per cent.
Last year’s leading non-life insurer was Bao Viet Insurance Corporation with premiums of VND5.4 trillion ($260 million), accounting for 23.8 per cent of the market share. It was followed by PetroVietnam Insurance Joint Stock Corporation with VND4.6 trillion ($221 million), representing 20.4 per cent of the market.
Hoan said although the industry failed to meet its growth target of 17 per cent last year, the result was considered a success in the context of the economic slowdown. The market remained stable and foreign investors saw rich potential in the Vietnamese insurance market, Hoan said.
The Viet Nam Insurance Association also attributed the result to the success of diversified insurance products such as individual asset insurance, healthcare, export credit and agriculture.
Last year, the Ministry of Finance also selected three insurers to implement pilot agricultural insurance services in more than 20 cities and provinces which attracted the participation of 200,000 farming households with total premiums of VND220 billion. Seven others were also selected to take part in the ministry’s pilot export credit insurance programme.
vietnamnews
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