Traffic Accident Experiment at 8 km/h... Insurance Industry Examines Minor Injury Cases (Comprehensive)

KIDI Research on Minor Accident Passenger Injury Occurrence
Estimation of Excess Medical Costs for Mild Patients... Development of Management Indicators

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The insurance industry is launching a study to investigate how much injury occupants sustain in minor car accidents such as fender benders. This is to establish evidence to assess the appropriateness of excessive medical treatment for minor accident patients, who are considered a major cause of the increase in automobile insurance loss ratios.

According to the insurance industry on the 20th, the Korea Insurance Development Institute recently began a research project on occupant injury occurrence in minor accidents. They will recreate vehicle-to-vehicle collisions such as contact and reversing accidents (backing collisions) and measure the extent of damage in accidents at speeds below 8 km/h, which are known to pose almost no injury risk to occupants.

Specifically, they plan to recruit seven male and seven female test subjects in their 40s and 50s and conduct accident reenactment tests. Medical diagnoses will be made through MRI measurements, electromyography, and nerve conduction tests before and after the tests. Through this research, the institute aims to estimate the scale of excessive medical treatment costs for minor injury patients and develop management indicators for excessive treatment.

Kang Ho, president of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, stated earlier this year, "We will actively support strengthening the management of automobile insurance and indemnity medical insurance, which are representative social safety nets, this year as well." He also announced plans to create an 'Occupant Injury Risk Analysis Report' for minor traffic accidents and to promote public discussion on standard treatment guidelines for minor accidents.

The insurance industry sees the need for public discourse to minimize moral hazard caused by minor accidents. The amount of automobile insurance payments for minor accidents has surged in recent years.

The number of minor injury patients classified as injury grades 11 to 14 increased by only 11%, from 1.52 million in 2015 to 1.7 million in 2019, but the insurance payments made to them rose by nearly 60%, from 1.75 trillion won to 2.78 trillion won.

According to average treatment costs for traffic accident patients collected from the four major non-life insurers, treatment costs for patients in injury grades 1 to 11 slightly decreased from 5.28 million won in 2018 to 5.11 million won in 2019, but during the same period, treatment costs for patients in grades 12 to 14 increased by more than 12%, from 570,000 won to 640,000 won.

The insurance industry believes that the continuous increase in treatment costs for minor injury patients is due to excessive oriental medicine treatments.

According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the number of Western medicine patients under automobile insurance increased by only 90,000, from 1.8 million in 2015 to 1.89 million in 2019, but the number of oriental medicine patients more than doubled, from 580,000 to 1.27 million.

Therefore, there have been calls for objective evidence regarding minor accident injuries. Overseas, safety ranges with almost no risk of injury occurrence in minor accidents have already been established.

Canada and the United Kingdom have enacted and operate minor injury regulations, and Italy and Spain also pay insurance benefits with stricter conditions for proving minor injuries. Japan has applied an exemption rule for collisions at speeds below 15 km/h since 1990.

An insurance industry official said, "It is not easy to objectively prove the degree of injury and full recovery from minor accidents," adding, "If reasonable treatment guidelines for minor accidents can be presented, excessive medical treatment can be significantly reduced."

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