Gwangju City "Prepare for Natural Disasters by Enrolling in Flood and Windstorm Insurance"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City is promoting subscription to flood and windstorm insurance so that citizens can receive appropriate compensation in case of damage caused by natural disasters.

Last summer, Gwangju declared the entire Buk-gu and Gwangsan-gu areas, as well as parts of Dong-, Seo-, and Nam-gu, as special disaster zones due to heavy rainfall that caused massive damage.

Accordingly, disaster relief funds were provided based on damage reports to private facilities, but since the total support amount per household cannot exceed 50 million KRW, adequate compensation may not be possible in cases of severe damage.

Flood and windstorm insurance is a policy insurance managed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety under the Flood and Windstorm Insurance Act, designed to supplement the government's disaster relief fund system and to promote citizens' voluntary responsibility for disaster management.

Government support (national and local funds) can cover 70% to 92% of the insurance premium, making the personal burden very low.

In fact, the premium for a house of 80㎡ is about 60,000 KRW; the government supports 42,000 KRW for ordinary citizens, so individuals only need to pay 18,000 KRW. Compensation benefits vary depending on subscription and compensation types, but in the case of total destruction of a house, loss compensation of up to 72 million KRW can be received.

The insurance subscription targets include houses (including apartments and tenants' movable property), greenhouses, and small business owners (stores and factories). For group contracts for apartment complexes, it covers jointly owned facilities such as machine rooms, electrical rooms, senior citizen centers, and management offices.

Flood and windstorm insurance can be subscribed through five insurance providers: DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, KB Insurance, and NH Nonghyup Insurance. Information about the insurance system is also available at each district office’s disaster management department and local administrative welfare centers.

Baek Gwang-chun, head of the Natural Disaster Division of the city, said, “We hope citizens subscribe to the affordable flood and windstorm insurance supported by the government to prepare for natural disaster damage caused by climate change.” He added, “To promote subscription, we will use various methods such as posting posters, distributing brochures, advertising on city buses, promoting at residents’ autonomous meetings and other meetings, and broadcasting promotional videos on the city website and electronic billboards.”

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