Circular No. 37/2019/TT-NHNN guiding the insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for insurance companies.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the insurance agency activities of credit institutions,

foreign bank branches for insurance enterprises

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions dated June 16, 2010; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Credit Institutions dated November 20, 2017;

Pursuant to the Insurance Business Law on December 9, 2000; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Insurance Business Law on November 24, 2010; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Insurance Business Law and the Intellectual Property Law on June 14, 2019;

Decree No. 73/2016/ND-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Insurance Business Law and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Insurance Business Law; Decree No. 80/2019/ND-CP dated November 1, 2019 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 73/2016/ND-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Insurance Business Law and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain provisions of the Insurance Business Law; Decree No. 98/2013/ND-CP dated August 28, 2013 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of insurance business, lotterybusiness has been amended and supplemented with certain provisions pursuant to Decree No. 48/2018/ND-CP dated March 21, 2018 of the Government;The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issues this Circular guiding the insurance agency activities of credit institutions, foreign bank branches for insurance enterprises number This Circular guides the insurance agency activities of credit institutions, foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises, non-life insurance enterprises, health insurance enterprises, reinsurance enterprises, and foreign non-life insurance enterprise branches (hereinafter collectively referred to as insurance enterprises).  

Decree No. 16/2017/NĐ-CP dated Credit institutions, foreign bank branches restructure repayment terms for the principal balance and/or interest of a debt (including debts within the scope of adjustment under Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015 of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas (as amended and supplemented)) when meeting all of the following conditions: of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Director of Banking Inspection and Supervision;

1. Credit institution (excluding policy banks), foreign bank branches (hereinafter collectively referred to as credit institutions)..

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

 2. Organizations and individuals related to the insurance agency activities of credit institutions for insurance enterprises.   

Article 2. Applicability

Principles of insurance agency activities of credit institutions

1. Credit institutions must meet the conditions and comply with the regulations on insurance agency activities for insurance enterprises as stipulated by laws on insurance business.

Article 3. 2. Credit institutions shall not use insurance premiums collected for purposes other than those agreed upon in the insurance agency agreement.   

3. Insurance agency activities of credit institutions must be recorded in the License issued by the State Bank of Vietnam to credit institutions.

Article 4. Contents of insurance agency activities of credit institutions

The insurance agency activities of credit institutions for insurance enterprises include one or more of the following activities:

 Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Introducing customers:

Credit institutions introduce customers who have a need to purchase insurance so that insurance enterprises can offer insurance products.

2. Offering insurance:

Credit institutions directly offer insurance, explain the terms and conditions of insurance products to customers who wish to purchase insurance; or offer insurance through electronic means, online insurance, or other methods in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. Arranging the conclusion of insurance contracts:

Credit institutions guide and assist customers in establishing insurance contracts, receiving insurance claim applications, and arranging the conclusion of insurance contracts according to the insurance agency agreement and the provisions of the law on insurance business.  

4. Collecting insurance premiums:

Credit institutions collect insurance premiums from customers on behalf of the insurance enterprise according to the

agreement in the insurance agency agreement.

5. Arranging claims settlement and payment of insurance benefits when an insured event occurs:
Credit institutions support and guide customers regarding claim procedures, receive claim applications from customers, and transfer them to the insurance enterprise for review and decision-making on compensation and payment of insurance benefits. In cases where authorized by the insurance enterprise, credit institutions compensate and pay insurance benefits to customers.

6. Performing other activities related to the implementation of the insurance agency agreement in accordance with the provisions of the law on insurance business and the authorization of the insurance enterprise.   

Credit organizations support and guide customers regarding procedures for requesting resolution of insurance benefits rights, receive claim request files from customers, and transfer them to insurance companies for assessment and decision-making on compensation and payment of insurance money. In cases where authorized by insurance companies, credit organizations compensate and pay insurance money directly to customers.

6. Perform other activities related to the implementation of insurance agency contracts in accordance with laws on insurance business and pursuant to the authorization of insurance companies.

Article 5. Insurance Agency Contracts

1. An insurance agency contract shall be established in writing in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Insurance Business and related laws.

2. An insurance agency contract must include the main contents as prescribed by the Law on Insurance Business and agreements on providing and reconciling information, and paying insurance premiums between the insurance company and the credit institution.

Article 6. Rights and Obligations of Credit Institutions in Insurance Agency Activities

1. A credit institution has the rights of an insurance agent as prescribed by the Law on Insurance Business.

2. A credit institution has the obligations of an insurance agent as prescribed by the Law on Insurance Business and the following obligations:

a) Explain to customers that insurance products distributed through the credit institution are not products of the credit institution;

b) Manage and store a list of employees within the credit institution directly performing insurance agency activities for the insurance company as agreed upon in the insurance agency contract;

c) Provide the insurance company with full and accurate information about collected insurance premiums, payments of insurance benefits, and other agreed-upon payments as stipulated in the insurance agency contract;

d) Pay the entire amount of collected insurance premiums to the insurance company after deducting the insurance agency commission, payments of insurance benefits, and other agreed-upon payments as stipulated in the insurance agency contract;

đ) Provide the insurance company with full and accurate information and reconcile with the insurance company regarding necessary customer information that the credit institution is obligated to collect according to Article 7 of this Circular;

Article 7. Provision and Reconciliation of Information

1. The provision of customer information must comply with the provisions of the Law on Confidentiality and Provision of Customer Information of Credit Institutions.

2. A credit institution shall provide the insurance company with the following minimum information:

a) For customer referral and insurance sales activities: In case the customer is an individual, the information includes the name, age, gender, contact address, phone number, email address of the customer; In case the customer is an organization, the information includes the name, address, phone number, email address, and contact person of the organization;

b) For arranging the conclusion of insurance contracts: Information related to the insured customer, the insured object, and other necessary information for assessing and issuing insurance contract decisions;

c) For collecting insurance premiums: A list of the number of customers from whom premiums have been collected and the total amount of premiums collected;

d) For arranging claims settlement and payment of insurance money when an insurance event occurs at the request of the insurance company: A list of amounts to be compensated, amounts of insurance money to be paid, and claim request files, insurance payment request files.

3. At least once a month as agreed upon in the insurance agency contract, the credit institution is responsible for coordinating with the insurance company to reconcile information on new insurance contracts, premium income, changes in effective insurance contracts, and information related to arranging claims settlement and payment of insurance money when an insurance event occurs as carried out by the credit institution.

Article 8. Reporting System

Quarterly, no later than the 25th day of the last month of each quarter, the credit institution must submit directly or send via postal service to the State Bank of Vietnam (the Banking Supervisory Authority as specified in Clause 1 of Article 9 of this Circular or the State Bank of Vietnam branch in the province or centrally-administered city as specified in Clause 2 of Article 9 of this Circular) a report on the credit institution's insurance agency activities for the insurance company according to the form attached to this Circular. The data cut-off period for the report runs from the 15th day of the month immediately preceding the reporting quarter to the 14th day of the last month of the reporting quarter.

 Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 9. Responsibilities of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Authority, The State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally governed cities

1. The Banking Inspection and Supervision Authority shall conduct inspections and supervision over the insurance agency activities of credit institutions, except for cases provided for in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally governed cities shall conduct inspections and supervision over the insurance agency activities of credit institutions with headquarters within their jurisdiction that fall under the micro-prudential inspection and supervision targets of the State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally governed cities.

Article 10. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from March 2, 2020.

Article 11. Implementation

The Director of the Office, the Head of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Authority, the Heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally governed cities, the Chairmen of the Board of Directors, the Chairmen of the Board of Members, and the General Managers (Directors) of credit institutions are responsible for implementing this Circular./.