Did COVID-19 Save the Worst Auto Insurance Loss Ratio? "Stability Expected Until Year-End"

Impact of COVID-19 Still Present
Positive Trend in Traffic Volume Decline

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The loss ratio for automobile insurance has been stabilizing for an extended period since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the property and casualty insurance industry on the 7th, the preliminary loss ratios for automobile insurance in October for the four major property and casualty insurers?Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, DB Insurance, and KB Insurance?ranged from 84% to 86.3%.

Although this is a slight increase compared to the previous month’s loss ratios of 84.4% to 87% for the four companies, it is 12.5 percentage points lower than the average loss ratio of 97.7% during the same period last year.

By company, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance recorded an automobile insurance loss ratio of 86.3%, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance 84%, DB Insurance 85.5%, and KB Insurance 85%.

The cumulative loss ratio from January to October also improved compared to last year. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance posted 84.9%, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance 84.6%, DB Insurance 84.1%, and KB Insurance 83.9%, showing a decrease of about 5 to 6 percentage points year-on-year.

With local COVID-19 infections continuing recently, the property and casualty insurance industry expects this trend to persist until the end of this year. Last year, the automobile insurance loss ratios of the big four insurers all exceeded 100% in November and December.

An industry official explained, "Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, long-distance driving and outings have decreased, so traffic volume has not significantly increased. If this trend continues until the end of the year, it will have a positive effect on loss ratio management."

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