Insurance industry heads to 20% growth this year

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Bui Gia Anh, the association’s general secretary, said the insurance market had maintained its strong growth so far this year.

The mechanisms and policies in the insurance industry were nearly complete while businesses had secured their financial security to become more competitive and effective, Anh said.

The total assets of insurance companies in the first seven months of the year were estimated at VND423.4 trillion (US$18.2 billion), representing a 19% year-on-year increase.

During the period, insurance companies re-invested nearly VND342.8 trillion into the economy, marking a rise of 26% from the same period last year.

The sector’s total revenue in the January-July period surged by 24% from the same period last year to VND71.1 trillion. Insurance firms paid out VND10.3 trillion to customers in the period, up 30%. The number of new insurance contracts reached 1.22 million, a 27% rise.

In 2018, the total market premium revenue is estimated at VND133.65 trillion (US$5.75 billion), up 24% year-on-year, marking the fifth year in a row that the Viet Nam insurance market has achieved a premium growth rate of over 20%.

Since 2015, life insurance has grown rapidly at an average rate of 33% per year, compared with 21% per year in the period 2012-2014.

Previously, leaders of some insurance companies forecast that the sector's growth rate would be lower than in previous years. However, it has grown more quickly than expected so far this year.

The country now has 64 life insurance firms, 18 non-life insurance firms, two reinsurance businesses and 14 other insurance brokers.

According to Ngo Trung Dung, the association’s deputy general secretary, the country now has 779,600 insurance agents. Agent quality has been an area of focus for life insurance companies, and firms have introduced policy adjustment to develop strong agent channels.

By Hoang Ha