Vietnam’s insurance industry maintained positive growth in the first four months of 2019, with total premiums surging by 17 percent year-on-year to 44.3 trillion VND (1.9 billion USD), the Ministry of Finance reported.

Insurers pay out 12.5 trillion VND to customers in the first four months of 2019
(Photo: VNA)

Besides maintaining a high growth rate, the financial status of insurance firms also improved in the period with total assets rising by 21.4 percent to 401.9 trillion VND (17.17 billion USD).

During the period, insurance companies re-invested 328.7 trillion VND (14.04 billion USD) into the economy, marking a rise of 26.5 percent year-on-year.

Insurers also paid out 12.5 trillion VND (534 million USD) to customers, surging 31.2 percent compared with the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA), the insurance industry is targeting a growth rate of 20 percent this year.

Experts remain upbeat about the industry’s health in the coming years, forecasting that it will maintain an annual growth rate of 10-20 percent. 

Many banks that cooperate with insurers to provide bancassurance products even expect an annual growth rate of up to 30-40 percent.

The ISA reported that the country has 64 insurance companies, including 30 non-life insurers, 18 life insurers, two reinsurance companies and 14 insurance brokerage companies.

There are up to 850 non-life insurance products and 450 life insurance products sold on the Vietnamese market.