KB Insurance Auto Insurance Premiums Increase by 3.5% from the 29th... Price Hikes Continue Until Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Starting with KB Insurance, non-life insurance companies will raise automobile insurance premiums from the end of this month.

According to the industry on the 13th, KB Insurance decided to increase automobile insurance premiums by an average of 3.5% starting from the 29th. A KB Insurance official said, "We decided to raise premiums after receiving rate verification from the Korea Insurance Development Institute," adding, "There may be cases where premiums decrease if discounts such as good driver discounts are applied."

Following this, other non-life insurers such as Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, DB Insurance, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance are also expected to join the premium hike starting next month. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will raise premiums by 3.5%, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance by 3.3%, and DB Insurance is known to increase premiums at a similar level.

Non-life insurers are raising premiums again from the beginning of the year after unusually increasing them twice last year. Although insurers initially wanted to raise premiums by around 5%, the financial authorities consistently urged restraint on the increase rate, resulting in a finalized increase rate of about 3.5%.

Last year, automobile insurance is expected to record the largest operating loss ever. The operating loss from January to November last year was 1.2938 trillion won, and considering the loss ratio in December, which was the highest ever, the annual operating loss is expected to exceed the record high of 1.5369 trillion won (in 2010).

Looking at the December loss ratios on a preliminary basis, almost all insurers, including Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (100.1%), Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance (101.0%), DB Insurance (101.0%), and KB Insurance (100.5%), exceeded 100%.

An official from an insurance company said, "Not all factors for the premium increase were reflected in this hike," adding, "We need to take some time and observe regarding any additional increases."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.