The operating performance of NongHyup Property and Casualty Insurance is assessed as adequate with a five-year average operating ratio (2016-2020) of 98.2% and a return-on-equity ratio of 3.3%, notes AM Best.
The operating performance of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, one of South Korea's biggest general insurers, is underpinned by its relatively low loss ratio compared with domestic peers and strong investment performance that helped the company consistently produce double-digit return on equity in each of the past five years with an average of 15.5% (2016-2020), notes AM Best.
Fitch Ratings' outlook on Korean life and non-life insurance for 2022 is tagged as 'Neutral', considering wider investment margins and better underwriting performance, which could be offset partly by the pressure on capital strength.
South Korean insurance companies' earnings jumped more than 37% in the first nine months of this year amid the coronavirus pandemic and a bullish stock market, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Korean Re will likely maintain largely stable underwriting performances despite COVID-19. This is backed by the reinsurer's tightened underwriting, with reduction of unprofitable accounts and exclusion of event cancellations or business disruptions to manage the pandemic impact, says S&P Global Ratings (S&P).
Samsung Life Insurance, South Korea's biggest insurer, has announced that it will launch a co-investment fund with Korea Post to invest KRW400bn ($336m) in foreign blue chip companies over the next 10 years, and to expand cooperation in alternative investments like private equity and real estate.
Kyobo Life Insurance, which the third largest life insurer in South Korea by assets, plans to go public on the Korea Exchange(KRX) by next year, with the initial public offering aimed at laying the groundwork to turn the company into a financial group with a holding company structure to offer a wider range of financial services other than insurance.
The operating performance of KB Insurance, one of the top five non-life insurers in South Korea, is assessed as adequate with a weighted five-year average consolidated return-on-equity ratio of 8.4% (2016-2020) and an operating ratio of 96.4%, notes AM Best.
South Korea's two main financial regulators - the policymaking Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) - have met the heads of major insurance companies and banking groups to discuss policy initiatives to support the growth of market players through deregulation.
BMS, the UK-based independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, yesterday announced the acquisition of Seoul-based insurance broker, Value-add Insurance Broker (VIB).