Joint Circular No. 86/2014/TTLT-BTC-NHNN dated July 02, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam guiding insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprisesenterprises

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guiding insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises[1]

Pursuant to December 9, 2000 Law No. 24/2000/QH10 on Insurance Business and November 24, 2010 Law No. 61/2010/QH12 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Insurance Business;

Pursuant to June 16, 2010 Law No. 47/2010/QH12 on Credit Institutions;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 45/2007/ND-CP of March 27, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP of December 23, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 156/2013/ND-CP of November 11, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

The Minister of Finance and the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgate the Joint Circular guiding insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular guides insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Life insurance enterprises lawfully established and operating in Vietnam.

2. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches established and operating under the Law on Credit Institutions.

3. Organizations and individuals involved in insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 3. Insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises

Insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises include one, several or all of the following activities:

1. Introducing customers:

Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may introduce customers wishing to buy insurance to life insurance enterprises for the latter to counsel on and offer insurance.

2. Offering insurance:

a/ Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may offer, and explain conditions and terms of, insurance products to customers;

b/ Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may receive information on customers wishing to buy insurance and transfer such information to life insurance enterprises for appraisal of information and issuance of insurance policies.

3. Arranging the conclusion of insurance policies:

a/ Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may guide customers in making insurance request dossiers and receive these dossiers from customers;

b/ For insurance request dossiers which are not required to be appraised or which credit institutions or foreign bank branches are authorized to appraise as agreed in insurance agency contracts, credit institutions and foreign bank branches may issue insurance policies or insurance certificates to customers as authorized by life insurance enterprises;

c/ For insurance request dossiers required to be appraised before issuance of insurance policies as agreed in insurance agency contracts, credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall transfer these dossiers to life insurance enterprises for appraisal. Life insurance enterprises shall issue, or authorize credit institutions or foreign bank branches to issue, insurance policies or insurance certificates to customers.

4. Collecting insurance premiums:

Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may collect insurance premiums from customers on behalf of life insurance enterprises and transfer the collected premiums to life insurance enterprises at rates agreed in insurance agency contracts.

5. Arranging the payment of face amounts in case of occurrence of insured events:

Credit institutions and foreign bank branches may provide customers with support and guidance on procedures for requesting settlement of insurance benefits, and receive their dossiers of request for payment of face amounts and transfer them to life insurance enterprises for appraisal before issuing decisions on payment of face amounts. Life insurance enterprises shall pay, or authorize credit institutions or foreign bank branches to pay, face amounts to customers.

6. Other activities and obligations related to the conclusion and performance of insurance policies in accordance with the law on insurance business and as authorized by life insurance enterprises.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Conditions for credit institutions and foreign bank branches to conduct insurance agency activities for life insurance enterprises

1. Being permitted by the State Bank of Vietnam to conduct insurance agency activities in their establishment and operation licenses.

2. Signing insurance agency contracts with life insurance enterprises. Having staff members directly acting as insurance agents who are trained in insurance agency and granted insurance agent certificates under Article 11 of this Circular.

Article 5. Principles of insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises

1. A credit institution or foreign bank branch may not concurrently act as an agent for another life insurance enterprise without the written approval of the life insurance enterprise for which it currently acts as an agent; may not influence insurance buyers to provide false information or not to provide necessary information for the life insurance enterprise; and may not incite customers to cancel currently effective insurance policies in any form.

2. Staff members of a credit institution or foreign bank branch who directly act as insurance agents shall be managed within the general insurance agents system of Vietnam Insurance Association.

3. Life insurance enterprises, credit institutions and foreign bank branches may link insurance products with banking products and services but shall ensure that the conclusion of insurance policies is separated from the conclusion of other contracts of credit institutions and foreign bank branches, and independently take responsibility for their own products and services.

Article 6. Insurance agent contracts

1. An insurance agent contract must have the following contents:

a/ Name, address, establishment and operation license, at-law representative of or person authorized by the credit institution or foreign bank branch;

b/ Name, address, establishment and operation license, at-law representative of or person authorized by the life insurance enterprise;

c/ Effective date and validity duration of the contract;

d/ Contents and scope of agency activities authorized by the life insurance enterprise to the credit institution or foreign bank branch for performance;

dd/ Insurance commissions and other payments (if any);

e/ Rights and obligations of the life insurance enterprise;

g/ Rights and obligations of the credit institution or foreign bank branch;

h/ Agreement on information provision between the life insurance enterprise and the credit institution or foreign bank branch;

i/ Termination of the contract;

k/ Dispute settlement and jurisdiction.

2. In addition to the contents specified in Clause 1 of this Article, an insurance agent contract may contain other lawful contents as agreed by the life insurance enterprise and the credit institution or foreign bank branch.

Article 7. Insurance commissions and agent management expenses

1. Life insurance enterprises shall pay insurance commissions to credit institutions and foreign bank branches as agreed in insurance agency contracts, which must not exceed the insurance commission levels currently prescribed by law.

2. In addition to insurance commissions, life insurance enterprises may pay agent management expenses and other expenses as prescribed by law and agreed in insurance agency contracts.

Article 8. Rights and obligations of life insurance enterprises in insurance agency activities

1. Life insurance enterprises shall exercise the rights in insurance agency activities as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 29 of the Government’s Decree No. 45/2007/ND-CP of March 27, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business.

2. Life insurance enterprises shall perform the obligations in insurance agency activities as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 29 of the Government’s Decree No. 45/2007/ND-CP of March 27, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business, and the following obligations:

a/ To design insurance products, calculate insurance premiums and cash surrender values, set up professional provisions and calculate profits to be divided to holders of life insurance policies (if any) in accordance with the Law on Insurance Business and guiding documents;

b/ To notify in writing or otherwise customers of the termination of insurance agency contracts with credit institutions or foreign bank branches. To guide customers buying insurance through credit institutions or foreign bank branches how to pay periodical insurance premiums, and notify them of changes during the performance of contracts and request for payment of face amounts.

Article 9. Rights and obligations of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in insurance agency activities

1. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall exercise the rights of insurance agents prescribed in Clause 1, Article 30 of the Government’s Decree No. 45/2007/ND-CP of March 27, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business.

2. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall perform the obligations of insurance agents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 30 of the Government’s Decree No. 45/2007/ND-CP of March 27, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Insurance Business, and the following obligations:

a/ To explain to customers that insurance products they distribute are not their products and are not compulsory;

b/ To manage and keep lists of staff members acting as insurance agents for life insurance enterprises;

c/ To coordinate with life insurance enterprises in fully and accurately monitoring customers’ collected insurance premiums and any payments related to insurance policies and transfer such premiums and payments to life insurance enterprises; to pay insurance benefits and other amounts to customers as authorized by life insurance enterprises and agreed in insurance agency contracts;

d/ To compensate and indemnify life insurance enterprises for arising charges and expenses incurred by life insurance enterprises due to violations of their staff members when conducting insurance agency activities for life insurance enterprises.

Article 10. Provision and cross-checking of information

1. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall provide life insurance enterprises with the following essential information:

a/ Names, age, gender and contact addresses of customers wishing to buy insurance, for insurance offer activities;

b/ Provision and cross-checking of information about insurance buyers and information necessary for appraisal to make decisions on issuance of insurance policies, for activities of arranging the conclusion of insurance policies;

c/ Lists of customers who have paid insurance premiums, total collected premiums; amounts of premiums to be collected, names, addresses and serial numbers of contracts of customers who still owe insurance premiums, for insurance premium collection activities;

d/ Lists of payable face amounts and dossiers of request for payment of face amounts, for activities of arranging the payment of face amounts in case of occurrence of insured events;

dd/ Information about themselves and their customers to serve the design of insurance products of life insurance enterprises, which must not contravene the law on information confidentiality.

2. Monthly or as agreed in insurance agency contracts, credit institutions, foreign bank branches and life insurance enterprises shall cross-check data on new insurance policies, revenues from insurance premiums, and changes in effective insurance policies performed by credit institutions or foreign bank branches.

Article 11. Training of staff members of credit institutions and foreign bank branches to act as insurance agents

1. Life insurance enterprises shall develop training programs and coordinate with credit institutions or foreign bank branches in organizing training courses and take responsibility for the grant of insurance agent certificates to their staff members who directly act as insurance agents.

2. Life insurance enterprises and credit institutions or foreign bank branches shall reach agreement and select training forms for basic training programs, including full-time training, online training or other forms in accordance with law. Particularly, training programs on products must be conducted on a full-time basis, except for products of term insurance.

3. The training duration must be at least 4 (four) hours for an insurance product and at least 16 (sixteen) hours for products of investment-link insurance.

4. The duration of quarterly training for staff members of credit institutions and foreign bank branches who sell unit-link insurance products must be at least 3 (three) hours.

Article 12. Confidentiality of customer information

Credit institutions, foreign bank branches and life insurance enterprises shall keep customer information confidential in accordance with law.

Article 13. Reporting regime

1. No later than the 15^th of the first month of a quarter, life insurance enterprises shall, in addition to the reports under current regulations, submit to the Ministry of Finance (the Insurance Supervisory Authority) reports on insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in the previous quarter, made according to the form provided in Appendix I to this Circular (not translated).

2. Quarterly, credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall report to the State Bank of Vietnam on the implementation of insurance agency activities for life insurance enterprises, made according to the form provided in Appendix II to this Circular (not translated).

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Responsibilities of related agencies and units

1. Life insurance enterprises, credit institutions, foreign bank branches and related organizations and individuals shall organize insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises in accordance with this Circular and relevant regulations.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall perform the state supervision and management of life insurance enterprises and the State Bank of Vietnam shall perform the state supervision and management of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in carrying out insurance agency activities for life insurance enterprises.

3. The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam shall coordinate and exchange information with each other in managing and supervising insurance agency activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for life insurance enterprises.

Article 15. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on September 1, 2014.

2. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam for consideration and settlement.-

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
TRAN XUAN HA

For the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam
Deputy Governor
DANG THANH BINH