KB Sonbo's Surprise... Cancer Insurance Contracts Jump 10 Times in One Month

Coverage for Targeted Anticancer Drugs and More
New Products Gained Buzz Last Month
Subscription Amount Also Reaches 1.1 Billion Dollars

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] KB Insurance's newly launched cancer insurance has become a huge hit. As new coverages and special clauses, developed by accurately understanding consumer needs, spread by word of mouth, the number of cancer insurance sales surged nearly tenfold last month alone.

According to the insurance industry on the 11th, KB Insurance's new cancer insurance contracts last month totaled about 30,000 cases. The insured amount during this period reached 1.1 billion KRW. This represents a tenfold increase in the number of contracts and a 6.5-fold increase in the amount compared to the previous month. KB Insurance considers this performance very unusual. In fact, the company's average monthly cancer insurance sales amount is around 200 million KRW.

A KB Insurance official stated, "Cancer insurance is not a product that sells heavily in a specific season like travel insurance, nor is it an issue-driven product like driver insurance, which surged after the recent implementation of the so-called Min-sik Law (Amendment to the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes). Therefore, the significant increase in sales has greatly boosted internal morale." In fact, other insurers' cancer insurance sales last month showed little change.

KB Insurance attributes this performance change to the newly launched cancer insurance. They explained that reflecting the coverages that customers expect or need in cancer insurance extensively in the new product has proven effective.

Launched on the 15th of last month, the 'KB Cancer Insurance and Living Healthily Story' features coverage for the latest cancer treatment method, 'Targeted Anticancer Drug Authorization Treatment Costs.' This is the first in the non-life insurance industry. Targeted anticancer drugs are often prescribed as non-reimbursable under health insurance, resulting in a heavy burden on patients. Another merit is the industry's first coverage for 'Thyroid and Prostate Needle Biopsy Tissue Pathology Diagnosis Fees.' This coverage pays insurance benefits not only when cancer is confirmed through needle biopsy tissue pathology diagnosis for thyroid and prostate disease differentiation but also once annually even if the result is not cancer. Recognized for its originality from a cancer prevention perspective, it has also obtained exclusive usage rights from the General Insurance Association for the next three months. It covers re-diagnosis cancer (▲primary cancer ▲metastatic cancer ▲recurrent cancer ▲residual cancer) diagnosis fees for cancers including thyroid cancer, other skin cancers, and prostate cancer, and also includes a 'Premium Waiver Pay-Back' function.

A KB Insurance official said, "Customer inquiries about the new coverages and specialized functions embedded in the cancer insurance launched last month are flooding in," adding, "Sales in June are also expected to be strong."

Meanwhile, insurance companies are increasingly releasing products that focus not only on increasing coverage amounts but also on preventing cancer in advance. This is because as cancer survival rates rise, the burden of treatment costs grows, inevitably increasing demand. According to the '2018 Health Insurance Statistical Yearbook' jointly published by the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, cancer treatment costs totaled 9.0092 trillion KRW, accounting for 11.6% of the total medical expenses of health insurance subscribers. The average medical expense per person was about 6.1 million KRW.

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