Prudential Vietnam Assurance Private Ltd. reported an increase of 19 per cent in total revenue in insurance premiums last year to reach over VND19 trillion (US$818.3 million), retaining its position as the leading life insurer in Viet Nam.

Its new premiums reached VND4.5 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent.

The insurer paid out VND6.7 trillion in settlements during the year, an increase of 7 per cent over the preceding year.

Speaking at the media gathering in HCM City on Thursday, Steve Clark, the company’s CEO, said the company was very pleased with its 2018 results. This year, which marks its 20th anniversary in Viet Nam, the insurer will continue to provide financial protection for more families, optimise its agency force to better serve customers, and work with more banks to develop bancassurance products.

"Viet Nam’s insurance market still has huge potential for growth," he said. According to the Ministry of Finance, the penetration of life insurance is at 10 per cent and is expected to increase to 15 per cent within three years.

Prudential also made substantial investments in government bonds, investing over VND62 trillion in 20-year and 30-year bonds by the end of last year.

In addition, the company has also given back to the community. From 2012 to 2018, it invested VND175 billion in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects, including providing scholarships for students, doing eye tests for children, and sharing the pain of victims of traffic accidents.

Late last year, Prudential and the World Wide Fund for Nature signed a collaboration agreement on the project “Building plastic pollution-free communities”, which aims to find solutions for plastic pollution problems on a large scale, he said.

This year, Prudential launched a new campaign called “We are the people that DO” in Viet Nam to demonstrate its commitment to always putting customers first and delivering innovative and comprehensive solutions to support their evolving needs while making engagement easier for today’s digital-savvy customers. — VNS