Vietnam’s insurance market has maintained a high growth rate despite the adverse impact of the world economic crisis, industry insiders have said.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) show that insurance companies in Vietnam collected a combined 11.92 trillion VND (some 681 million USD) in premiums during the first half of 2009, up 11 percent against the same period last year.

Of the total, 6.29 trillion VND (359.4 million USD) came from non-life insurance premiums and the rest, 5.36 trillion VND (306.2 million USD), was sourced from life insurance, a year-on-year rise of 13.5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

While these numbers are a positive sign, they still reflect an overall slowing of growth in this sector, which experts attribute to the impact of the ongoing global financial crisis, along with consumers tightening their belts.

Insurance companies have introduced a series of new products, with higher levels of coverage and more reasonable premiums in a bid to lure new policy holders, alongside encouraging current customers to keep their policies active.

General Director of Korea Life Vietnam , Jung Seop Hyun, said, although Vietnam’s life insurance industry is no longer enjoying the boom it once did, it has a lot of potential for further development, as just 10 percent of the country’s population now owns life insurance.

In its recent report on Vietnam’s insurance outlook through 2013, the global group Business Wire said Vietnam is one of the few markets with prospects in this area, citing the country’s population of more than 85 million and its strong foreign investment inflow.

Business Wire forecasted that Vietnam’s life insurance industry will rise at an annual growth rate of 11 percent and the non-life insurance sector will surge by 24.5 percent per year between 2009 and 2013.

Director of the MoF’s Insurance Supervision Department, Trinh Thanh Hoan, revealed that his division is planning to issue a number of new directives in order to improve insurance companies’ management capacity and operational efficiency.

Hoan recommended that insurers diversify their products and focus on those with strong growth prospects, such as health, education, retirement, credit and agricultural insurance.

Vietnam is currently home to 49 domestic and foreign insurance companies, 55 percent of which are non-life insurance firms. The MoF has set an annual growth target of 12-13 percent for the insurance industry in 2009 and 2010./.