[2020 National Audit] 11 Trillion Won in Unclaimed Insurance Benefits... "Payment Obligations Must Be Strengthened"

Jeon Jae-su "Fundamental Measures Needed, Including Strengthening Insurance Companies' Payment Obligations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] It has been revealed that the total amount of insurance payouts that customers have not claimed despite the maturity date passing or the occurrence of payout reasons has exceeded 11 trillion won.

According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 12th to Jeon Jae-su, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of August this year, the unpaid insurance payouts from a total of 35 companies, including 24 life insurance companies and 11 non-life insurance companies, amounted to 11.0819 trillion won. The amount of unpaid insurance payouts has been increasing every year. It was 8.0048 trillion won in 2017, 8.8515 trillion won in 2018, 10.0032 trillion won in 2019, and 11.0819 trillion won as of August 2020.

The majority of unpaid insurance payouts were from life insurance companies, which have many long-term insurance policies. As of August this year, it was 10.7246 trillion won, accounting for 96.8% of the total. By type of insurance payout, surrender payouts were the highest at 7.059 trillion won, followed by maturity payouts (3.0434 trillion won) and dormant payouts (447.8 billion won).

By insurance company, among life insurers, Heungkuk Life Insurance had the highest amount at 2.0006 trillion won, followed by Samsung Life Insurance (1.5712 trillion won) and Tongyang Life Insurance (1.5698 trillion won). Among non-life insurers, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (561.9 billion won), DB Insurance (462.5 billion won), and Lotte Insurance (394.3 billion won) had the highest amounts.

Currently, insurance companies notify consumers within a certain period about the occurrence of insurance payout events and how to receive the payouts. However, most insurance companies notify only via mail, email, or text messages, and telephone contact is rare. According to data submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service, only 13 out of the 35 companies (37.1%) directly notify customers through outbound calls (sending information to customers). Among major insurance companies, only Kyobo Life Insurance has implemented a telephone contact policy.

Assemblyman Jeon Jae-su said, "The government has been promoting institutional improvements to expand insurance payouts, such as establishing the 'Hidden Insurance Money Search' integrated inquiry system in 2017, but unpaid amounts have been increasing every year, raising doubts about the effectiveness of these improvements. It is now time for more fundamental measures, such as imposing disclosure obligations to strengthen insurance companies' duty to pay insurance payouts."

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