Vietnam's life insurance segment is expected to exceed its annual targetof 15 percent with 19-21 percent growth in the previous three quarters,a senior industry official says.
This year'srevenues for this segment is estimated at more than 21.15 trillion VND(1.01 billion USD), Vietnam Insurance Association general secretaryPhung Dac Loc said at a two-day conference that opened in Ho Chi MinhCity on November 28.
The "Vietnam Insurance 2013 –Capturing Vietnam's Fast Growing Insurance Market" conference isorganised by IBC Asia, a division of Informa Plc, the largest publiclyowned organiser of conferences and courses in the world.
The non-life insurance segment is expected to meet the 10 percentgrowth target for the year, although it saw a negative growth rate ofminus 5 percent in the first quarter.
However, thesegment rallied in the second and third quarters with growth of 5percent and the third quarter sees 8.6 percent growth. It is expected topost revenues of 25.034 trillion VND (1.19 billion USD) this year.
The country would celebrate 20 years of Vietnamese insurance marketdevelopment next month, Loc said, adding the demands on life insuranceand health insurance has increasing rapidly in the past time.
Over the past 20 years, there were 20 million school students, 5million labourers, 1.5 million auto owners, 7 million motorbike owners,200,000 business owners and more than 6 million other people who havejoined life insurance schemes.
Many foreign-investedcompanies in transportation, telecommunication, oil exploitation,electricity, tourism and shipbuilding sectors have also purchasedinsurance, he said.
Organisers said the conferenceaims to provide a platform for insurance companies and financeorganisations to capitalise on the Vietnamese market.
The conference will focus in particular on the latest strategies inproduct development, designing effective marketing campaigns andestablishing cohesive distribution channels.
Amongthe topics discussed yesterday were the strengthening of regulatoryframeworks to support further development of Vietnam's insurance market;growth potential of the life insurance segment; mergers andacquisitions (M&A) and impact of the restructuring process on theinsurance industry.
Jack Howell, chief executive ofPrudential Vietnam, said the Vietnamese insurance market is relativelysmall now, but poised to grow in the near future.
Hesaid, "strong GDP growth will help drive the Vietnamese insurancemarket and a strong distribution system will help drive growth for firmsin Vietnam."
The market growth needs to incorporate anticipated product needs based on the economy and demographics, Howell said.
Along with sales, companies are responsible for educating consumers onthe value of life insurance and financial planning since it (customereducation) is key pre-requisite to customer acquisition, he said.
Education will help to ensure that the market enjoys sustainable and responsible growth, he said.
Le Hai Phong, executive director and chief financial officer of BaoViet Holdings, said that the insurance industry played a relatively weakrole in the Vietnamese economy, but has the capacity and potential toexpand and contribute much more.
He said there werestill many gaps between local practices and international bestpractices that need to be narrowed, especially in capital management,risk management and International Financial Reporting Standards.Industry regulators in Vietnam should ensure consistency and enhancedtransparency, he said.
Conference participants onNovember 29 will continue their discussions on raising insuranceawareness in developing markets, the future of micro-insurance andprivate health insurance development in Vietnam.-VNA
This year'srevenues for this segment is estimated at more than 21.15 trillion VND(1.01 billion USD), Vietnam Insurance Association general secretaryPhung Dac Loc said at a two-day conference that opened in Ho Chi MinhCity on November 28.
The "Vietnam Insurance 2013 –Capturing Vietnam's Fast Growing Insurance Market" conference isorganised by IBC Asia, a division of Informa Plc, the largest publiclyowned organiser of conferences and courses in the world.
The non-life insurance segment is expected to meet the 10 percentgrowth target for the year, although it saw a negative growth rate ofminus 5 percent in the first quarter.
However, thesegment rallied in the second and third quarters with growth of 5percent and the third quarter sees 8.6 percent growth. It is expected topost revenues of 25.034 trillion VND (1.19 billion USD) this year.
The country would celebrate 20 years of Vietnamese insurance marketdevelopment next month, Loc said, adding the demands on life insuranceand health insurance has increasing rapidly in the past time.
Over the past 20 years, there were 20 million school students, 5million labourers, 1.5 million auto owners, 7 million motorbike owners,200,000 business owners and more than 6 million other people who havejoined life insurance schemes.
Many foreign-investedcompanies in transportation, telecommunication, oil exploitation,electricity, tourism and shipbuilding sectors have also purchasedinsurance, he said.
Organisers said the conferenceaims to provide a platform for insurance companies and financeorganisations to capitalise on the Vietnamese market.
The conference will focus in particular on the latest strategies inproduct development, designing effective marketing campaigns andestablishing cohesive distribution channels.
Amongthe topics discussed yesterday were the strengthening of regulatoryframeworks to support further development of Vietnam's insurance market;growth potential of the life insurance segment; mergers andacquisitions (M&A) and impact of the restructuring process on theinsurance industry.
Jack Howell, chief executive ofPrudential Vietnam, said the Vietnamese insurance market is relativelysmall now, but poised to grow in the near future.
Hesaid, "strong GDP growth will help drive the Vietnamese insurancemarket and a strong distribution system will help drive growth for firmsin Vietnam."
The market growth needs to incorporate anticipated product needs based on the economy and demographics, Howell said.
Along with sales, companies are responsible for educating consumers onthe value of life insurance and financial planning since it (customereducation) is key pre-requisite to customer acquisition, he said.
Education will help to ensure that the market enjoys sustainable and responsible growth, he said.
Le Hai Phong, executive director and chief financial officer of BaoViet Holdings, said that the insurance industry played a relatively weakrole in the Vietnamese economy, but has the capacity and potential toexpand and contribute much more.
He said there werestill many gaps between local practices and international bestpractices that need to be narrowed, especially in capital management,risk management and International Financial Reporting Standards.Industry regulators in Vietnam should ensure consistency and enhancedtransparency, he said.
Conference participants onNovember 29 will continue their discussions on raising insuranceawareness in developing markets, the future of micro-insurance andprivate health insurance development in Vietnam.-VNA
