September Auto Insurance Loss Ratio Nears 87%... Impact of Heatwaves and Heavy Rainfall

Last month, the loss ratio of automobile insurance for major non-life insurance companies surged. It is understood that record-breaking heatwaves and heavy rains in some regions had an impact.

According to the non-life insurance industry on the 22nd, the automobile insurance loss ratio of four major non-life insurers?Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, and KB Insurance?averaged 86.6% (simple average of the four companies) last month, up 4.6 percentage points from 82% in the same period last year.

This year, the year-on-year increase in automobile insurance loss ratio had been around 3 percentage points, but last month it rose to 4 percentage points.

Looking at the automobile insurance loss ratio by insurer last month, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance recorded 86.5%, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance 86.3%, KB Insurance 86%, and DB Insurance 87.5%. Generally, a loss ratio of 80% is considered the breakeven point for automobile insurance.

The cumulative loss ratio for the four major non-life insurers from January to September this year was 81.1%, up 2.9 percentage points from 78.2% last year.

An industry insider said, "Due to climate factors such as heatwaves and heavy rains, the number of accidents and the loss amount per case have significantly increased, pushing automobile insurance into a deficit zone," adding, "If the effect of this year's premium reductions and seasonal factors such as heavy snow and freezing in winter are added, the performance will worsen further."