Abolishing fire safety acceptance inspection: When responsibility for risk assessment shifts from the state to the market

From July 1, 2026, the fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) acceptance inspection procedure for construction works and means of transport will be officially abolished under Resolution 66. Project owners will self-certify acceptance and bear full responsibility for meeting safety requirements, while state management agencies shift their focus to post-inspection during operation.

This is a notable reform step.
For many years, the PCCC acceptance inspection was one of the key prerequisites before a facility could be put into operation. Abolishing this procedure helps reduce time, costs, and administrative steps required for businesses, while aligning with the broader trend of shifting from pre-approval controls to post-audit supervision that has been adopted across many sectors.

However, from a risk management and insurance standpoint, a very practical question arises:

Once there is no longer an official acceptance document issued by a state management agency, what will insurance companies rely on to assess whether a newly completed construction work is genuinely safe before issuing a fire and explosion insurance policy?

Because physical risk does not disappear simply because an administrative procedure has been abolished.

A sprinkler system may not yet be operating at its designed capacity.

A fire pump station may not have been fully load-tested.

A factory's production layout may have changed since the original design documentation.

A shopping mall may satisfy every requirement on paper, yet still have significant weaknesses once it is actually in operation.
 

In the past, many insurance companies treated the PCCC acceptance document as one of the key bases for assessing insurability. With this link now gone, the responsibility for verifying conditions on the ground must inevitably shift to another party.

That party is the market.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICE
In developed insurance markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Australia, risk assessment has long ceased to depend on administrative approval certificates. Underwriting decisions for large assets are typically based on on-site surveys, independent technical assessments, and internationally recognized risk management standards.

For an oil refinery, a power plant, or a commercial complex worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, no insurer or reinsurer bases its underwriting decision on a permit alone. They rely on what actually exists on site.

Therefore, the abolition of PCCC acceptance inspections can be seen not merely as an administrative reform, but also as a milestone marking Vietnam's gradual shift from an approval-based management model toward a risk-assessment-based management model.
 

THE ROLE OF INDEPENDENT RISK SURVEYS
In this context, independent risk surveys will increasingly become an essential component of the fire and explosion insurance underwriting process. This is not intended to replace the role of government authorities, but rather to help insurers, reinsurers, and clients obtain an objective view of the actual safety condition of insured assets.

At Hanoi Re, risk survey and risk management consulting services have been conducted for many years across key industries such as petrochemicals, energy, electrical and electronics manufacturing, infrastructure, shipbuilding, and large-scale commercial complexes. Assessments are carried out directly on-site, focusing on factors that may influence both the frequency and severity of losses, rather than merely reviewing documentation.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
International experience shows that companies with strong risk management systems not only experience fewer losses but also gain easier access to insurance coverage, often enjoying more favorable terms and more competitive insurance costs. This is also the direction that Vietnam’s insurance market can expect to follow in the coming years.

The simplification of an administrative procedure is a positive signal for the business environment.

But it does not change the nature of risk.

It only changes who is responsible for assessing it.

And as that responsibility shifts from the State to the market, independent risk-assessment capability will become the decisive factor in the quality of every insurance policy issued.

* This article presents an in-depth professional perspective on the transition from pre-approval control to post-audit supervision, reshaping the core capabilities (Underwriting & Risk Engineering) of Vietnam’s insurance and reinsurance industry ahead of the historic milestone of July 1, 2026.