Insurance premiums to total USD2.2b in 2012

The insurance market will continue to expand this year, with total premiums expected to reach USD2.2 billion, up 24% from last year, says a recent report from A.M. Best.

The insurance market will continue to expand this year, with total premiums expected to reach VND 46 trillion (USD2.2 billion), up 24 percent from last year, says a recent report from A.M. Best, a credit rating agency covering the insurance industry.

However, Association of Vietnam Insurers (AVI) general secretary Phung Dac Loc predicted earlier this year that the insurance sector had the potential to continue to expand further. He forecasted that non-life insurance premiums would increase by about 28 per cent to VND27.5 trillion (USD1.3 billion), while life insurance premiums were expected to grow by 18 percent to VND18.9 trillion (USD900 million).

The director of the Ministry of Finance's Insurance Supervisory Authority, Trinh Thanh Hoan, also predicted that total premiums could reach VND43 trillion (USD2 billion) in 2012.

Hoan cautioned, however, that companies needed to adapt to the competitive market, and he advised insurers to focus on attracting high-quality human resources, developing new products, expanding distribution networks and concentrating on micro insurance products.

A.M. Best expected difficult economic conditions over the next few years to create a challenging environment but anticipated that insurers would access the stock market and increase fund raising in the second half of the year to support business expansion.

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