Vietnam has introduced amendments to its regulations on universal life insurance to help carriers expand their distribution channels.
The new rules laid out in a new government circular will take effect on June 1, according to a report by the Vietnam Briefing.
Under the new rules, insurance agents will just need three months of experience as life insurance agents, down from the current requirement of six months.
Instead of two years, insurance agents will just need one year of working experience in the areas of finance, banking, or insurance.
The latest circular also removed the minimum 24-hour mandate to train insurance agents, the Vietnam Briefing report said.
According to the report, insurance agents should not violate laws on occupation ethics and on the operation of their profession.
The circular also set guidelines on the creation of professional operation insurance reserves by life insurers.
In July 2015, PwC assurance partner Nguyen Hoang Nam said there were 17 life insurers, 29 non-life insurers, one branch of a foreign non-life insurer, two reinsurers, and 12 insurance brokers operating in Vietnam.
He said that the life insurance segment was seeing a significant contribution from foreign companies while non-life insurance was still dominated by local players
“Insurance in Vietnam is still seen as a promising market in the medium and long terms. There are also a number of challenges that insurance players are facing,” he said.
Reuters also reported in July 2015 that according to Vietnam’s state media, 90% of the country's 90 million people do not have life insurance policies.
