Insurance sector enjoys solid growth this year   A customer registers to use services at Bao Viet Insurance in the northern province of Bac Kan (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Insurance enterprises accumulated more than 152.5 trillion VND (6.7 billion USD) to reinvest this year, up 18 percent against last year, the Insurance Association of Vietnam (IAV) said. IAV Chairman Phan Kim Bang said in 2015, non-life insurers have invested 36.4 trillion VND (1.6 billion USD) in the country's economy while life insurers have contributed 116.1 trillion VND (5.1 billion USD). Many insurers have bought long term government bonds, of which the 20-year government bonds alone reach 6 trillion VND (266 million USD), he said. The life insurance sector reported growth of 29.5 percent in premium income, which topped 36.6 trillion VND (1.6 billion USD). This is the highest growth rate in life insurance during the last 10 years, Bang said. Revenue from non-life insurance premium reached 31.3 trillion VND (1.4 billion USD), an increase of 14 percent. Insurance premium debts are also better controlled this year, he added. Bang said the financial capacity of insurance companies has been increasing steadily. Total assets of the market players have increased 21.7 percent against last year, to over 201 trillion VND (8.9 billion USD), in which the non-life sector accounts for 70 trillion VND (3.1 billion USD) and the life sector accounts for 131 trillion VND (5.8 million USD). He added that insurers are performing well in their mission to be the safe financial shield for policyholders, as well as providing more value-added services. Total insurance indemnity and benefit payments increased 2 percent, to 21 trillion VND (930 million USD), in which non-life insurers indemnified 13 trillion VND (580 million USD) and life insurers paid nearly 8 trillion VND (355 million USD). Bang said insurers have actively implemented government policies, such as insurance for offshore fishing vessels, a voluntary pension plan and compulsory fire insurance. The information was released during an anniversary ceremony held on December 18 to observe Vietnam Insurance Market Day and the foundation of Insurance Association of Vietnam on December 24, 1999. The event, co-organised by the Insurance Association of Vietnam (IAV) and the Ministry of Finance's Insurance Management and Supervision Department, aimed to look back at the achievements and shortcomings of the year 2015 and predict the market situation in the coming year. In 2016, Vietnamese economy is expected to achieve a higher growth rate when joining the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) agreement, Bang said, and added that the insurance demand will increase accordingly and Vietnamese insurance market will develop strongly in the coming years. Insurers will not only underwrite their current and traditional product lines, but also introduce their new products, such as the voluntary pension insurance, insurance for public and government assets and guarantee insurance, Bang said. The life insurance sector and non-life sector is expected grow by more than 25 percent and more than 18 percent, respectively, in 2016, Bang added. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha said 2016 is the first year of implementing the Ministry of Finance's Insurance Market Development Plan from 2016 to 2020, and added that insurance authorities and companies need to initiate an action plan and better solutions for the new period to ensure sustainable development of the insurance market. He also ordered the insurance authorities to strengthen control over businesses to ensure healthy competition among insurance companies.-VNA