Citizen T.L.T reflected that the company was established in Vietnam and plans to invest abroad to do insurance agency services.
This company will sign contracts with insurance companies to provide services such as insurance product consulting, drafting insurance contracts, collecting insurance premiums, supporting compensation settlement... abroad.
According to reports, the enterprise is not an insurance enterprise, a reinsurance enterprise, and also does not engage in insurance services.
Citizens said that according to Article 41 of the 2025 Investment Law, insurance is one of the conditional foreign investment industries and occupations.
However, the Law on Insurance Business only stipulates the conditions and forms of investment abroad for insurance enterprises and reinsurance enterprises, and there are no regulations applicable to insurance agency activities.
Therefore, citizens believe that businesses investing abroad only to do insurance agency service business are not subject to meeting specialized conditions according to the Law on Insurance Business.
According to reports, in Vietnam, insurance agency operations are not a business line with strict conditions like insurance business.
Individuals and organizations acting as insurance agents only need to be trained, certified as agents and operate under the authorization of the insurance company, and do not have to meet the requirements for legal capital or bear financial risks like insurance companies.
From there, citizens request the Ministry of Finance to guide and clarify whether businesses that are not insurance businesses or reinsurance businesses when investing abroad to do insurance agency service business must meet specialized conditions according to the Law on Insurance Business and/or must apply for approval from the Ministry of Finance or not?
Answering the above content, the Ministry of Finance said that the Law on Insurance Business and guiding documents have stipulated insurance agency activities as well as investment activities abroad in the field of insurance business.
Article 100 of the Law on Insurance Business; Articles 47 and 48 of Decree No. 46/2023/ND-CP stipulating the conditions, limits, dossiers, order, and procedures for investing abroad of insurance enterprises and reinsurance enterprises.
In addition, Article 125 of the Law on Insurance Business stipulates the operating conditions of insurance agents.
In which, for insurance agents who are organizations, they must be established and operate legally in Vietnam; register the business lines and occupations of insurance agency operations according to the provisions of the Enterprise Law.
For organizations operating in conditional business lines, licenses, certificates, certificates or confirmation and approval documents from competent authorities (if any) must show the content of insurance agency operations.
Articles 124, 126, 127, 128 and 130 of the Law on Insurance Business and Article 62 of Decree No. 46/2023/ND-CP stipulate the conditions and contents of insurance agency contracts, operating principles, rights and obligations of insurance enterprises, reinsurance enterprises, mutual organizations providing microinsurance and insurance agents.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the Law on Insurance Business and guiding documents for implementation only regulate outward investment activities for insurance enterprises and reinsurance enterprises; do not regulate outward investment activities of enterprises that are not insurance enterprises or reinsurance enterprises to carry out insurance agency activities abroad.
For cases where enterprises are not insurance enterprises, reinsurance enterprises have investment needs abroad, the Ministry of Finance proposes to study the provisions of the Enterprise Law, Investment Law and related legal documents, and at the same time contact competent authorities for specific guidance on conditions and procedures for investing abroad.
