HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam must develop policies to promote the popularity of agriculture insurance, especially at a time when natural disasters are significantly impacting production, according to the finance ministry.

Nguyễn Quang Huyền, deputy director of the Insurance Authority Agency under the Ministry of Finance, said it was essential to continue insurance products for the agriculture sector because the pilot implementation proved its important role as a financial solution for farmers.

“Policies to encourage farmers to buy agriculture products are needed,” Huyền said.

Huyền said the finance ministry would work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other authorities on the continued implementation of agriculture insurance products on a large scale, and on a voluntary basis with financial support being provided to vulnerable groups like the poor and near-poor.

Regarding insurance for fishermen, Huyền said the ministry would push to implement Decree 67 on fishery development policies by removing bottlenecks that hurt insurance firms and fishermen.

As of June 30, insurance for the fishery sector collected premiums worth VNĐ387 billion (US$17.3 million), with nearly 15,000 boats and 145,960 fishermen insured.

Compensation was estimated at VNĐ59.8 billion, to date. There were four insurance firms providing insurance to fishermen, including Bảo Việt, Bảo Minh, Petrolimex and PVI.

During the 2016-20 period, the ministry will focus on improving the legal framework for insurance operations, especially policies to encourage disaster insurance and diversifying insurance products to meet market demand.

In addition, regulations on risk and financial management would be issued to enhance system safety, as well as the operation efficiency and competitiveness of insurance firms and the development of a market database to promote transparency and competition.

The finance ministry’s statistics showed that in the first half of this year, total premiums reached more than VNĐ38.6 trillion, representing a rise of 26 per cent over the same period last year.

There were 60 insurance firms and one foreign branch in Việt Nam, including 29 non-life insurance, 17 life insurance, 12 brokerage and two reinsurance firms. - VNS