[Becoming an Insurance Insider] Mini Insurance Boom Amid COVID-19... "Be Sure to Check the Terms"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Mini insurance, which was a specialized product targeting the younger generation, has been expanding its scope since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only does it offer practicality by allowing customers to select only the coverage they want with affordable premiums, but it also gains attention for its convenience in the non-face-to-face era, enabling subscription without separate insurance planning.

According to the insurance industry on the 21st, insurance companies have recently been competing to launch mini insurance exclusively online.

Hanwha General Insurance launched an online-exclusive long-term product, 'LIFEPLUS Momdeohan Children's Insurance,' which focuses on infection, surgery, and fractures for children aged 0 to 10 years old with a monthly premium of 3,500 KRW.

This product can be subscribed to via the Hanwha Direct website and mobile, covering diseases caused by infections such as hand, foot, and mouth disease diagnosis fee (once a year, 50,000 KRW), specific infectious disease diagnosis fee (500,000 KRW), tuberculosis diagnosis fee (first time only, 500,000 KRW), and environmental disease hospitalization fees for conditions that may appear in children such as atopy, allergic rhinitis, asthma, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia, with a limit of 120 days and 20,000 KRW per day.

It also covers surgery fees for injuries and illnesses, fracture diagnosis fees due to fracture accidents, cast treatment fees, and fracture splint treatment fees.

NH Nonghyup Life Insurance also introduced mini insurance that covers brain and heart diseases. The online-exclusive product 'NH Online Brain & Heart Strong Insurance,' available on their website, covers only high-cost treatment diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage and acute myocardial infarction.

The insurance amount can be selected from a minimum of 5 million KRW to a maximum of 20 million KRW. The premium is 8,200 KRW for men and 5,700 KRW for women when subscribing with conditions of 10 million KRW coverage, maturity at age 80, 20-year payment period, monthly payment, and age 40. If diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage or acute myocardial infarction during the insurance period, premium payments are waived.

Kyobo Life Insurance is selling 'Kyobo Mini Coverage Insurance' and 'Kyobo Mini Savings Insurance,' which significantly reduce the premium burden.

When subscribing to one unit (coverage amount of 10 million KRW), if hospitalized in a hospital, you can receive 20,000 KRW per day for hospitalization fees, and 50,000 KRW per day if hospitalized in a tertiary general hospital. To prepare for various surgeries, surgery fees are covered from 100,000 KRW to 3 million KRW per surgery depending on the type of surgery (types 1 to 5).

Kyobo also offers the industry's first health management service for mini insurance subscribers, called Kyobo Mini Healthcare Service. This service, added when subscribing to Kyobo Mini Coverage Insurance, provides one-on-one health consultations with medical professionals through Kyobo Life's product add-on service application (app), as well as guidance to specialized hospitals or renowned medical staff and assistance with appointment reservations to support treatment and recovery.

Premiums can be paid monthly or annually. For a 30-year-old male, the premium is 4,500 KRW per month (3-year payment, 3-year maturity).

Kyobo Mini Savings Insurance is a savings-type insurance that allows you to prepare a lump sum after 3 or 5 years by paying premiums of 30,000 to 100,000 KRW monthly. It guarantees the principal even if maintained for only one month, and adopts a method where business expenses are deducted from the interest on the accumulated funds rather than the paid premiums, resulting in a refund rate exceeding 100% from one month after subscription.

Because premiums are low, mini insurance should not be chosen indiscriminately. Insurance experts advise that although mini insurance allows you to select only the coverage you want at an affordable price, the coverage period is short and coverage items are limited, so you should be cautious about subscribing according to your situation.

An industry official said, "Customer demand for reasonable insurance products that provide coverage only for the necessary period is increasing," and added, "You should carefully check the coverage terms and conditions to select the product that is truly necessary for you."

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