Insurance premiums in Vietnam grow 6.8% to $2.5 bln in Q1

Insurance premiums in Vietnam grew 6.8% year-on-year to VND59.46 trillion ($2.53 billion) in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Of this, the figure for life insurance increased slightly by 3.1% year-on-year to VND39.59 trillion ($1.69 billion), versus growth of 15% in Q1/2022.

Premiums for non-life insurance went up 15.2% to VND19.87 trillion ($846.79 million).

In a recent report, VNDirect, a leading Vietnamese securities brokerage house, said bancassurance activities are no longer the “cash cow” of the banking sector due to weaker demand amid slower economic growth and tightened inspections in the sector.

The Ministry of Finance has identified multiple wrongdoings in bancassurance activities after conducting checks since the end of 2022, said Doan Thanh Tuan, deputy head of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA), at a quarterly press conference held by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

Tuan added relevant authorities are finalizing their conclusions and would announce the results soon.

The finance ministry said that it would cooperate with the State Bank of Vietnam to check the distributions of insurance products to banks’ customers, especially the “forced” sales of insurance policies.

In 2022, the total assets of life insurers jumped 15.8% year-on-year to VND694.08 trillion ($29.58 billion). The sector re-invested VND592.81 trillion ($25.26 billion) into the economy last year, up 13.9%, while gaining VND183.11 trillion from insurance premiums, according to the Insurance Supervisory Authority.

In terms of premiums, the biggest life insurers were Baoviet Life with 18.8% of the total, Prudential with 17.7%, Manulife with 17%, Dai-ichi with 12.7%, and AIA with 10.3%.