Insurance Research Institute Questions Whether Insurers' Public Interest Projects Contribute to Enhancing Trustworthiness

(Source: Korea Insurance Research Institute)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] There are claims questioning whether the public interest projects carried out by insurance companies genuinely contribute to enhancing the trustworthiness of the insurance industry. It is pointed out that these public interest projects are merely simple donations and fail to engage consumers or bring about change.

On the 3rd, the Korea Insurance Research Institute published a report titled "Diagnosis and Tasks of the Insurance Industry (3) - Consumer-Centered Management," stating that "the satisfaction level of domestic insurance consumers is lower compared to other industries," and diagnosing that "the biggest reason for the slow improvement in insurance consumer satisfaction is the deep-rooted misunderstandings consumers have about insurance and the insurance companies' lack of understanding of consumer behavior."

The report suggested that for consumer-centered management in the insurance industry, it is necessary to analyze insurance consumer behavior reflecting the changed environment, improve the effectiveness of consumer protection systems through behavioral science approaches, and enhance consumer satisfaction through efficient social responsibility fulfillment strategies.

The report argued, "It is necessary to analyze the changed insurance consumers' purchasing methods and experiences, as well as the demand for insurance services that will expand in the future," and "an analysis of the digitalization of the entire insurance industry value chain and changes in digital insurance consumer experiences due to the entry of platform companies into the insurance market must be conducted."

It also emphasized, "When designing consumer protection systems for insurance consumers, the cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics of consumers must be fully considered, and the interactions between systems should be examined," adding, "Insurance companies should find practical measures to ensure that consumer protection systems work effectively, rather than focusing solely on regulatory compliance."

Furthermore, it stated, "Beyond simple public interest donations, consumer trust should be enhanced through differentiated social responsibility fulfillment strategies that consumers can experience and empathize with," and "In particular, it is necessary to link insurance services with social responsibility activities so that insurance policyholders can tangibly feel the impact."

Byun Hye-won, a research fellow at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, said, "Japanese life insurance companies sent agents to the field during the Great East Japan Earthquake to check on policyholders first and promptly paid insurance claims, receiving great acclaim," and added, "The role of insurance companies needs to expand beyond just paying claims after accidents to monitoring policyholders from the contracting process through before and after accidents and providing services that policyholders need."

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