FWD Group which was founded in 2013 as an insurance arm of investment group Pacific Century Group. The main market of FWD Group is Southeastern Asia. Since the establishment of the group, it has been speedily expanded in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. The core business of FWD Group is to provide life and medical insurance, employee benefits and general insurance across Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Mr.Huynh Thanh Phong said that the insurer Great Eastern Life Vietnam of Singapore’s Great Eastern Life Assurance was acquired by FWD Group last month in an attempt to enter Vietnam’s market faster by taking advantage of Great Eastern Life Vietnam’s existing market share, personnel and infrastructure.
FWD Group also cooperates with An Binh Joint Stock Bank (ABBANK) by signing a 15-year bancassurance partnership agreement on July 14,2016 which will offer it the exclusive right to distribute its life insurance and saving products to the ABBANK’s customers. Mr.Huynh Thanh Phong revealed that bancassurance currently accounts for only around 3 percent of sales in Vietnam compared to 50-60 percent in other Asian markets, meaning a huge opportunity for the group. Vietnam is shifting from an insurance industry that focuses on single-channel distribution to one with multi-channel distribution. Therefore, the first step of FWD Group when enter Vietnamese market is making the bancassurance deal
By providing consulting services and designing a contract, alongside its 24-hour and convenient customer care, and easy-to-understand products, the group hopes to change the way people feel about insurance and make them more aware of the importance of life insurance for them and their families, he added.
According to the Insurance Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance, the Vietnam’s insurance market has regained growth momentum after a few years of slowing down. In the first six months of the year, premiums revenues amounted to around VND38.61 trillion (US$1.7 billion), a 25.9% rise year-on-year, the highest since 2011. Of the total premiums revenues, the non-life insurance segment accounting for VND17.58 trillion (up 15%) and the life insurance segment for VND21.03 trillion (up 36.78%).
The Ministry of Finance said that the Vietnam’s insurance market still has much room for further growth. The ratio of premiums revenue to gross domestic product (GDP) stands at a mere 2%, compared to 3.35% in ASEAN, 5.37% in Asia and 6.3% in the world.
