Korean insurers see 2022 profit surge 11.1%

The Korean insurance market is expected to grow by 2.1% in 2023.

South Korean insurance firms saw their net income jump 11.1% to KRW9.18t (US$6.9b), attributable to a rise in retirement annuity premiums, according to Korean Re.

In Korean Re’s 2022 annual report, it stated that Korean insurers delivered opposing results. The life insurance sector saw a decline in their net profits by 6.0%, whilst the non-life insurers performed better with a 26.6% recorded growth.

“The robust performance of the non-life sector was backed by improvements in both underwriting and investment results. Non-life insurers’ underwriting losses narrowed thanks to a drop in long-term insurance loss ratios amid a relatively benign claim environment and an increase in new long-term business,” Korean Re said.

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The industry’s return on assets (ROA) ratio increased from  0.07% to 0.69%, and its return on equity (ROE) ratio jumped from 2.27% to 8.22%.

“As of the end of December 2022, insurers reported a decrease in assets compared to a year earlier. Their total assets declined by 3.6% to KRW1,310t (US$980t), which is broken down into KRW938.3t (US$700b) for life insurance and KRW371.8t (US$280b)for non-life insurance.” the report added.

Moving forward, the report stated the market is expected to grow by 2.1% in 2023.

(KRW1 = US$0.00075)