More Korean insurers expanding overseas: FSS

Aggregate profits of Korean insurers saw a 34.9% surge in 2022.

Korean insurance operations are growing extensively across the globe with 11 Korean insurers having 39 overseas operations, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

This was higher compared with the 35 seen in 2020.

“An overseas operation here refers to an overseas branch or a subsidiary in which the parent company holds over 50% ownership. A subsidiary is the most common form of overseas operations for Korean insurers, with 28 subsidiaries and 11 branches as of late 2022,” reported Korea Re.

Of the 39 total operations in 2022, 30 are non-life insurers whilst 9 are life insurers.

In 2022, Korean insurers saw improved overseas business results, driven by premium income growth. 

Aggregated net income surged by 34.9% year-on-year (YoY) to $123m. Insurance operations contributed $112m net income, marking a 23.4% increase. 

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Whilst performance varied across countries, operations in Asia exhibited stronger results.

Life insurers rebounded from pandemic-related challenges in face-to-face marketing, with non-insurance operations like real estate rentals also contributing to net income growth, Korean Re said. 

Non-life insurers experienced profit growth due to expansion in emerging Asian markets.

Total assets of Korean insurers' overseas operations decreased by 3.5% to $6.3b YoY by December 2022. 

Liabilities also dropped 4.5% to $3.8b, and total shareholders' equity reached $2.6b, down 1.9% from the previous year. 

These declines were primarily due to the exclusion of Samsung Property & Casualty Insurance Company (China) from calculations by the FSS, following its conversion into a joint venture with Tencent.