"27 Trillion Won Paid in Cancer Insurance Claims Over 5 Years... Covering Medical Expenses and Income Compensation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Insurance companies have paid out a total of 27 trillion won in cancer insurance claims over the past five years.

Seok-young Kim, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, revealed this in a report titled "The Social Role and Development Direction of Private Cancer Insurance" at the 2nd Insurance Law Forum held on the 11th of this month at the institute's conference room.

The report investigated the scale of cancer insurance payouts for death, hospitalization, surgery, and diagnosis from 2014 to 2018.

The average cancer diagnosis insurance payout per cancer insurance contract was estimated at 14.5 million won for life insurance and 10.85 million won for non-life insurance.

The combined total for hospitalization, surgery, and diagnosis was 17.55 million won for life insurance and 12.95 million won for non-life insurance, while cancer death insurance payouts were 12.93 million won for life insurance and 24.75 million won for non-life insurance.

The report stated, "Private insurers paid approximately 6 trillion won in cancer insurance claims in 2018, contributing to minimizing the economic difficulties faced by cancer patients who have insurance," and diagnosed that "cancer insurance claims cover cancer treatment costs and also function to compensate for income loss."

According to the report, the cancer incidence rate in 2017 was 282.8 per 100,000 population, a 2.3% decrease compared to the previous year. Additionally, the relative survival rate of cancer patients from 2013 to 2017 was 70.4%, which is 1.3 times higher than the 54.1% survival rate of cancer patients from 2001 to 2005, ten years earlier.

However, the report pointed out that cancer incidence brings economic burdens such as medical expenses and income loss.

In 2017, the annual per capita nursing care benefit cost for cancer patients was approximately 10 million won, with out-of-pocket expenses (covered and non-covered) amounting to about 2.55 million won.

Research Fellow Kim explained, "As the cancer incidence rate stabilized in 2010, various cancer insurance products have been developed, shifting focus from cancer death to cancer diagnosis," adding, "Cancer insurance products released since 2018 have been developed in the direction of expanding coverage amounts and periods, as well as increasing coverage amounts for minor cancers (such as thyroid cancer and other skin cancers)."

He also advised, "Insurance companies face a dilemma of choosing between risk management and consumer benefits, such as with renewable and non-renewable products," and emphasized that "efforts to develop cancer insurance products that ensure consumer protection and stable product operation are necessary."

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