Customers at the insurance company Bao Viet Life, a member of the insurance-finance group Bao Viet Holdings. More market access must be given to the private insurance units to help improve the industry

“In the market economy, insurance is seen as a State service. If the State can’t meet market demand, private firms and individuals must join and make the sector work properly,” Khanh said on May 20 at a debate about the draft of amended Law of Insurance during the 14th National Assembly’s seventh meeting.

“They (private firms and individuals) are also able to work with foreign companies to set up insurance firms that meet international standards,” she said.

Agreeing with fundamental changes made in the draft law, Khanh said the role and responsibility of auxiliary service firms must be clarified as this was a new segment in Vietnam.

In addition, the quality of the personnel resource would be a big challenge as it might not be sufficient to meet market demand for insurance auxiliary services, she said.

“Basically, we agree with the Government’s proposal on the draft law,” Khanh said, adding it would be very important to make changes to the Law of Insurance as it is one of the policies that may be affected by Vietnam’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Regarding the quality of insurance-finance personnel, deputy Le Quan said the draft law complied with international conventions and the CPTPP.

However, those working in the insurance-finance sector might be asked to have a working licence only to prove their “knowledge, skills, attitude and quality,” he said.

“It would be unnecessary to require them to graduate from universities, colleges and professional training programmes” as such a standard may hinder them from getting employed, Quan added.

However, the training for the insurance workforce was now too simple and low quality, deputy Ton Ngoc Hanh said.

An insurance salesman might have only passed a short training course, she said. Therefore, it would be difficult for the State to manage the sector because companies were unable to manage their employees in the long run.

“This will remain a big difficulty for the Vietnamese insurance industry as it has a big growth potential,” Hanh said.

That fact showed there needed to be a regulation to control insurance companies in training and management, she added.

The draft on amended Law of Insurance is one of the first two draft laws presented for debate at the 14th National Assembly’s seventh meeting, which runs from May 20 to June 15, 2019.

According to the Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the Law of Insurance, in addition to seven other laws, must be adjusted to meet the CPTPP and other deals Vietnam has signed.

Changes must be made to realise the policies of the Party and the State to comply with international practices and agreements, creating a better business environment for organisations, businesses and individuals to foster Vietnam’s socio-economic development. — VNS