The insurance sector in South Korea has seen a notable increase in combined net income, up nearly 50% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same period last year.
This growth covers both life and non-life insurance companies, according to the Financial Supervisory Service in a report by The Korea Times.
The combined net income of 22 life insurance companies and 31 non-life insurance companies in Korea totalled KRW 11.33 trillion (approximately US$ 8.74 billion) for the January-September period. This figure represents an increase of 47.2% over the same period last year.
Specifically, the net income of life insurance companies increased by 49.4% to around KRW 4.4 trillion during this period. At the same time, non-life insurers reported a 45.8% increase in combined net income to KRW 7.02 trillion.
This substantial increase in net income was mainly due to a low base effect. This effect was due to the significant increase in insurance reserves in the same period last year, which had almost offset investment income of KRW 24.7 trillion.
In addition, the premium income of these insurance companies reached KRW 162.3 trillion in the first nine months of this year. This is an increase of 3.8%, or KRW 5.98 trillion, over the previous year.
In terms of financial performance measures, the return on assets of these companies improved by 0.54 percentage points to 1.32%. However, return on equity decreased by 0.39 percentage points to 9.06%.
At the end of September, the total assets of these insurance companies stood at KRW 1,153.4 trillion. This is down 12%, or KRW 156.7 trillion, from the KRW 1,310 trillion recorded at the end of 2022.
Elsewhere in the country, a recent study found that although international students pay health insurance premiums in South Korea, less than one in seven are satisfied with the country’s health insurance system.
