Bancassurance industry blossoms

Agribank Insurance Joint Stock Co (ABIC) earned VND120 billion ($6 million) in the first 10 months of this year through products it sold using the service, a rise of 53 per cent against the same period last year, accounting for 47 per cent of the company's total revenue.

The co-operation between ABIC and Vietnam Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development had helped the insurance firm increase revenue and created an opportunity for it to expand its activities through the bank's network and customers, said Mai Sinh, a representative of ABIC.

However, not all bancassurance activities had been successful, due to a lack of information sharing, supporting agents and customer care, he added.

"Bao Viet Life Insurance hit its annual target of $3 million in the first 10 months of this year," Quach Thanh Nam, chief of Bao Viet Life Insurance's bancassurance section, told Vietnam News.

Bao Viet Life Insurance customers enjoyed user-friendly procedures for all the services the company provides such as trade loans and mortgages, he said.

"The company wants to improve bancassurance services to meet customer demand from 2011 to 2013. Our customers will be able to use online payment and internet transactions," Nam added.

An Binh Bank (ABBank) had co-operated with large insurance companies such as Prudential Life Co and Prevoir Life Co to provide bancassurance services and to meet the demands of customers, a representative of ABBank said.

ABBank signed a contract with Prevoir on November 12 under which customers are able to take out insurance for loans over VND24 billion ($1.2 million).

So far, 1,600 customers have taken out insurance policies earning the bank VND194 billion ($9.7 million) in revenue. The bank is expected to invest in new facilities, computing applications and management technology to improve service quality for customers.

Insurance companies started using bancassurance to expand their market shares, increase revenue and save on sales costs, allowing customers to benefit from increased access to financial services.