South Korea's insurers saw their profits decline in the first quarter from a year earlier due to increased insurance operating losses, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) released yesterday.
The Seoul Organising Committee (SOC) for the 30th East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) has announced the postponement of the mega regional event scheduled for 30 August 2020 in Seoul to the year 2022.
The main impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the 1Q2020 results of the top 10 insurers in the Korean life and non-life sectors is from heightened financial market uncertainty rather than the resultant business disruptions, according to Moody's Investors Service.
South Korea's financial regulator yesterday said that it would stamp out sales promotions of offshore retirement plans through unauthorised online channels such as social media, in an alert to consumers.
Hana Financial Group, South Korea's third largest banking group, will launch a digital insurance unit next month through its newly acquired subsidiary, The-K NON-Life Insurance.
The indemnity insurance loss ratio of South Korean insurers reached 137.2% in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the previous quarter and 5.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic affecting the economy, most life insurers in South Korea have reported a steep plunge in their net profits.
Owners of certain breeds of dogs will be required to acquire general insurance to compensate for any physical or property damages starting in February next year.
South Korea's third largest life insurer, Kyobo Life Insurance, faces the challenge of developing new growth drivers due to the mature and highly competitive domestic life insurance market to maintain its profitability amid the lingering low interest-rate environment, notes Fitch Ratings.
The Financial Services Commission has approved the acquisition of a 70% stake in The-K Non-Life Insurance by Hana Financial Group. This is Hana's first acquisition in the non-banking sector and part of the group's bid to boost earnings from the non-banking financial sector.