The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2026
DBV Insurance called itself 'Vietnam's Number 1 auto insurer' and the NCC fined it
A Vietnamese auto-insurer claimed it was Vietnam's 'Number 1 motor vehicle insurance' and the NCC fined it VND 200 million for misleading the public.
DBV Insurance Group · 2026-07-10
What happened
DBV Insurance Group Joint Stock Company, a Vietnamese provider of car and motorbike insurance, claimed on its website and Facebook page that it was 'Top 1 motor vehicle insurance' and 'Vietnam's Number 1 motor vehicle insurance' (Bảo hiểm xe cơ giới số 1 Việt Nam). The National Competition Commission found the claim inaccurately implied the company held the top market position when it did not.
On 10 July 2026 the NCC announced a penalty of VND 200 million (about US$7,700) against DBV for the misleading advertising, under the Law on Competition 2018, and required the company to publicly correct the claim.
The case sat in the same vein as the other VND 200 million decisions the NCC issued in 2025 against insurers and delivery firms posting 'Number 1' and superlative claims without the data to back them, making the fabricated ranking the offence rather than the size of the fine.
Why it happened
- A 'Number 1 in Vietnam' claim asserts a market ranking the company could not substantiate, and in motor insurance the rank is a choice driver for buyers choosing between near-identical policies
- Posting the superlative on its own website and Facebook made it read as an official fact rather than as advertising, so customers took the false position at face value
- The claim aimed to pull customers toward DBV by implying dominance over rivals, which is exactly the customer-solicitation conduct the law targets
- The fine was small, but the forced public correction publicly branded the company as having lied about its standing
The lesson
A 'No. 1' / 'top' market claim is only safe when you hold the ranking data that proves it — regulators treat an unverifiable position claim as misleading advertising, not puffery.
Sources
- VnExpress: Một hãng bảo hiểm ôtô - xe máy bị phạt 200 triệu đồng vì quảng cáo gây nhầm lẫn
- Asia Insurance Review: Vietnam insurer fined VND200m for unfair competition
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