Insurance Industry Prepares Support Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The insurance industry announced on the 27th that it will provide support to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

The life insurance industry will first provide support to the public and small business owners affected by COVID-19 through measures such as deferring premium and policy loan interest payments and prompt payment of insurance claims. They will also promote non-face-to-face services to enable convenient and rapid use of insurance services.

Additionally, the insurance industry will strengthen self-regulation efforts to prevent cases of "insurance fear marketing," such as encouraging unnecessary insurance subscriptions by exploiting COVID-19 infection anxieties, and will actively work to prevent exaggerated advertisements using provocative phrases and incomplete sales.

Life insurance companies will also actively pursue plans to support emergency relief supplies such as masks and hand sanitizers for children in COVID-19 affected areas and vulnerable groups like elderly living alone, and contribute to revitalizing domestic consumption by early purchasing of necessary goods.

Samsung Life Insurance plans to donate sponsorship funds for COVID-19 victims, NongHyup Life Insurance will purchase goods to revitalize the local economy and provide new loan funds for affected small business owners. Shinhan Life Insurance will deliver masks to socially marginalized groups (elderly living alone).

The Life Insurance Association will donate 10 million won collected from executives and employees to the National Disaster Relief Association. The association has also temporarily suspended life insurance-related qualification exams (for planners and variable insurance) nationwide until the 6th of next month.

The non-life insurance industry will implement deferral of premium and loan principal payments, extension of loan maturities, and prompt payment of insurance policy loans to support victims.

In particular, they will provide rapid insurance subscription inquiry services and ensure prompt insurance claim payments for affected policyholders, and will fully refund guarantee insurance premiums if tourism or travel is canceled due to COVID-19.

The General Insurance Association plans to deploy specialized counseling personnel to ensure that insurance-related complaints related to COVID-19 are handled promptly, and if building closures occur, counseling personnel will switch to remote work to enable non-face-to-face consultations via online and telephone.

The non-life insurance planner qualification exams have been canceled four times until the first week of March, and related group training such as the public-private joint insurance fraud investigation training scheduled for March has been postponed.

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