Việt Nam’s non-life insurance market sees more M&A deals

The non-life insurance sector is mainly dominated by financially strong businesses with solid foundations and suitable strategies. Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

HÀ NỘI — After the acquisition of two domestic insurance companies by Korea’s DB Group last year, M&A activities in the Vietnamese non-life insurance sector have become attractive again this year, with a notable deal.

Chubb Limited has recently announced agreements to acquire the insurance businesses of Liberty Mutual in Việt Nam. The transactions are expected to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026 and are subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Liberty Insurance in Việt Nam offers a range of consumer and commercial P&C products, including automotive, accident, health and non-motor insurance such as fire/property and industrial all-risk.

The acquisition of Liberty Mutual is part of Chubb’s ambition to continue expanding its markets. However, expanding the market share in the Vietnamese insurance market is diffcicult for 100 per cent foreign-owned insurance companies.

Currently, the market share gap between the leading group and the rest is still very large. Seven leading insurers, PVI Insurance, Bảo Việt Insurance, Bảo Minh Insurance, Military Insurance, BIDV Insurance, Petrolimex Insurance, and VietinBank Insurance, hold more than 60 per cent of the total market share in non-life insurance revenue while the rest of the market share is divided among 25 other insurance companies.

Despite the difficulties, the Vietnamese non-life insurance market is still an attractive destination for foreign investors thanks to great expectations for the industry’s growth potential.

Observers say that currently, the non-life insurance sector is mainly dominated by financially strong businesses with solid foundations and suitable strategies. These businesses will lead the market, while those that are not strong enough may have to leave the race.

As of 2024, there were 32 non-life insurance companies, a single branch of a foreign non-life insurance company and two reinsurance companies in Việt Nam, of which Techcom Non-Life Insurance Joint Stock Company was licensed and put into operation this year.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, the original premium revenue for the non-life sector in 2024 was estimated at more than VNĐ79.36 trillion, an increase of 11.68 per cent compared to 2023.

PVI led in terms of premium revenue with nearly VNĐ13.33 trillion last year, an increase of 21.12 per cent compared to 2023. The company’s revenue accounted for 16.79 per cent of the total market share.

With an estimated revenue of nearly VNĐ10.46 trillion, an increase of 3.09 per cent compared to 2023, Bảo Việt Insurance followed with a market share of 13.18 per cent. — VNS