Transparency in selling student health insurance

My child's homeroom teacher informed me about the cost of buying personal insurance for students at the parent-teacher meeting at the beginning of the new school year with a fee of 200,000 VND/student/year.

The homeroom teacher also clearly explained that student health insurance is voluntary, and parents can opt out if they deem it unnecessary.

The homeroom teacher further analyzed that participating in personal insurance is to protect children throughout the school year. After the teacher's analysis, the majority of parents in the class agreed to buy personal insurance for their children.

However, I, like many other parents, do not know which insurance product we buy for our children is provided by which unit, nor do we have information about specific benefits, insurance procedures, etc.

In previous school years, my child and his classmates also registered for personal insurance but did not have any certificates, receipts or insurance cards. Of course, no one wants their child to receive this insurance money, but if it happens, will it be easy to complete the procedures to pay the insurance?

Student personal insurance is voluntary insurance based on the agreement between parents, schools and insurance providers. The Department of Education and Training and schools will review, research and evaluate the capacity of insurance product providers to propose to parents.

Therefore, some schools have only one insurance company providing services, but some schools have 3-4 units providing student body insurance products. This raises questions about the transparency in dividing market share for this insurance product.

In Hai Duong, there are more than 10 insurance companies providing personal insurance and accident insurance products for students. In the 2024-2025 school year, the whole province has 500,000 students and most of them participate in this type of insurance. The premium for personal insurance products is also quite diverse, depending on the benefit level to calculate the fee, from about 100,000 VND - 300,000 VND/year.

From the above revenue compared to the cost that businesses have to pay for insurance risk benefits during the year, it is easy to calculate a not small profit. Therefore, for many non-life insurance companies, student body insurance is truly a quality "piece of cake".

Participating in student health insurance is a humane policy, sharing difficulties with insurance participants when unfortunate risks occur. Schools need to implement it transparently to create peace of mind and trust for parents and students.

Schools need to publicize the insurance companies providing services so that parents can choose the unit. Insurance companies need to organize propaganda and introduce information about insurance products to more parents of students; clearly guide the process of paying risk benefits to customers...