Vietnam: Regulatory official outlines goals for insurance market
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Feb 2018
Vietnam Regulation
The insurance market needs to focus on two goals this year, which are to maintain a stable and sustainable growth rate, attracting more investors, and to enhance the role of insurance in the economy, according to Mr Phung Ngoc Khanh, Director of the Finance Ministry’s Department of the Insurance Supervisory Authority.
To achieve the above objectives, there should be joint efforts and contributions by both the regulatory agency and insurance companies, he said in an interview with the local media.
He said that it is necessary to continue to improve the legal framework for insurance business, and enhance the financial capacity, efficiency and competitiveness of insurance companies. The industry needs to accelerate the development of new insurance products and new distribution channels, and invest in modern technologies to allow broader access to all customers.
Mr Khanh said that in the immediate future, the Ministry of Finance will continue to study and improve policies to support enterprises to diversify their products, especially those products that have significant social and economic significance. In the long term, the Ministry will study whatever changes are needed to the insurance law and submit proposed amendments to the government and lawmakers by 2020.
At the same time, the Ministry is conducting research on a risk-based capital management model to be applied gradually in the Vietnamese insurance market. There are also plans to build a common database for health and motor insurance. At present, the Ministry is drafting a decree on electronic transactions in the financial sector, including the insurance sector. It will continue to issue guidelines for digital insurance.
Mr Khanh said that there are 63 insurers in the Vietnamese market, comprising non-life insurers, life insurers and reinsurers. A