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Premium Volume in 2018
The total premium of the Korean insurance market slightly contracted by 1.2% in 2018. The decline was driven by savings products, with insurers less keen on these under IFRS 17. Meanwhile, Korea recorded its 3.45% market share, and placed 7th globally and 3rd in Asia.
[Unit: in millions of USD, %]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Premium Volume in 2018테이블입니다
| Rank |
Country |
Premium Volume in 2018 |
Premium Volume
in 2017 |
| Total |
M/S |
Life |
Non-Life |
| 1 |
United States |
1,469,375 |
28.3 |
593,391 |
875,984 |
1,377,114 (6.7%) |
| 2 |
PR China |
574,877 |
11.1 |
313,365 |
261,512 |
541,446 (6.2%) |
| 3 |
Japan |
440,648 |
8.5 |
334,243 |
106,405 |
422,050 (4.4%) |
| 4 |
United Kingdom |
336,510 |
6.5 |
235,501 |
101,009 |
283,331 (18.8%) |
| 5 |
France |
257,963 |
5.0 |
165,075 |
92,888 |
241,603 (6.8%) |
| 6 |
Germany |
241,485 |
4.7 |
96,439 |
145,046 |
222,978 (8.3%) |
| 7 |
South Korea |
179,024 |
3.5 |
98,072 |
80,951 |
181,218 (-1.2%) |
| 8 |
Italy |
170,273 |
3.3 |
125,341 |
44,933 |
155,509 (9.5%) |
| 9 |
Canada |
127,903 |
2.5 |
54,070 |
73,833 |
119,520 (7.0%) |
| 10 |
Taiwan |
121,908 |
2.4 |
102,044 |
19,864 |
117,474 (3.8%) |
|
World |
5,193,225 |
100.0 |
2,820,175 |
2,373,050 |
4,891,694 (6.2%) |
Source : Sigma, No.3/2019, Swiss Re
* Note: Rank is based on total premium volume
Insurance Density : Premium Per Capita in 2018
Insurance density reached US $3,465 in 2018 which placed Korea into 17th place overall in the world. Life and non-life insurance density totaled US $1,898 and US $1,567 respectively.
[Unit : USD]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Insurance Density : Premium Per Capita in 2018테이블입니다
| Rank |
Country |
Population
(millions) |
Premiums per Capita in 2017 |
| Total |
Life |
Non-Life |
| 1 |
Cayman Islands |
- |
11,642 |
462 |
11,179 |
| 2 |
Hong Kong |
7.0 |
8,863 |
8,204 |
659 |
| 3 |
Switzerland |
9.0 |
6,934 |
3,555 |
3,379 |
| 4 |
Denmark |
6.0 |
6,289 |
4,590 |
1,699 |
| 5 |
Ireland |
5.0 |
5,253 |
4,356 |
897 |
| 6 |
Taiwan |
24.0 |
5,161 |
4,320 |
841 |
| 7 |
Luxembourg |
1.0 |
5,001 |
2,995 |
2,006 |
| 8 |
Singapore |
6.0 |
4,958 |
3,944 |
1,014 |
| 9 |
Finland |
6.0 |
4,926 |
4,019 |
907 |
| 10 |
Netherlands |
17.0 |
4,890 |
913 |
3,977 |
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| 17 |
South Korea |
52.0 |
3,465 |
1,898 |
1,567 |
|
World |
7,613.0 |
682 |
370 |
312 |
Source : Sigma, No.3/2019, Swiss Re
Insurance Penetration : Premium as a % of GDP in 2018
Insurance penetration in the Korean insurance market was a remarkable 11.2% on 2018 which placed it 5th in the world and 3rd in Asia. Much like insurance density, life insurance had a higher penetration rate at 6.1% compared to non-life insurance at 5.1%
[Unit : %]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Insurance Penetration : Premium as a % of GDP in 2017테이블입니다
| Rank |
Country |
GDP (USD billion) |
Premiums as % of GDP in 2018 |
| Total |
Life |
Non-Life |
| 1 |
Taiwan |
584 |
20.9 |
17.5 |
3.4 |
| 2 |
Hong Kong |
363 |
18.2 |
16.8 |
1.4 |
| 3 |
Cayman Islands |
4 |
17.5 |
0.7 |
16.8 |
| 4 |
South Africa |
374 |
12.9 |
10.3 |
2.6 |
| 5 |
South Korea |
1,604 |
11.2 |
6.1 |
5.1 |
| 6 |
United Kingdom |
2,824 |
10.6 |
8.3 |
2.3 |
| 7 |
Denmark |
351 |
10.4 |
7.6 |
2.8 |
| 8 |
Finland |
275 |
9.9 |
8.1 |
1.8 |
| 9 |
Netherlands |
913 |
9.2 |
1.7 |
7.5 |
| 10 |
France |
2,777 |
8.9 |
5.8 |
3.1 |
|
World |
85,276 |
6.1 |
3.3 |
2.8 |
Source : Sigma, No.3/2019, Swiss Re
Total Premium Income
In 2018, the Korean insurance industry recorded KRW 200.8 trillion which was a year on year decrease of 0.2%. The life insurance sector decreased by 2.8% to reach KRW 110.8 trillion while the non-life insurance sector grew by 3.1% to reach KRW 90.0 trillion.
[Unit : KRW trillion, %]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Premium Volume in 2018테이블입니다
| Classification |
FY'14 |
FY'15 |
FY'16 |
FY'17 |
FY'18 |
| Life |
110.6 [1.8] |
117.2 [6.0] |
119.8 [2.2] |
114.0 [-4.8] |
110.8 [-2.8] |
| Non-Life |
75.7 [8.4] |
79.2 [4.6] |
83.4 [5.3] |
87.3 [4.7] |
90.0 [3.1] |
| Total |
186.2 [4.4] |
196.4 [5.5] |
203.3 [3.5] |
201.3 [-1.0] |
200.8 [-0.2] |
Source: Insurance Statistics Yearbook(2019), KIDI
Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate the growth rate compared to the previous year. Numbers may not add up precisely to the total due to rounding error.
Total asset
In terms of total assets, the Korean insurance industry grew by 4.1%, reaching KRW 1155.2 trillion in 2018. Despite faster growth in the non-life insurance industry, life insurance accounted for the bulk of assets at KRW 857.2 trillion while non-life accounted for KRW 298.0 trillion.
[Unit : KRW trillion, %]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Premium Volume in 2018테이블입니다
| Classification |
FY'14 |
FY'15 |
FY'16 |
FY'17 |
FY'18 |
| Life |
662.1 [10.8] |
724.9 [9.5] |
782.2 [7.9] |
832.8 [6.5] |
857.2 [2.9] |
| Non-Life |
200.3 [17.4] |
226.1 [12.9] |
252.0 [11.5] |
277.1 [10.0] |
298.0 [7.5] |
| Total |
862.4 [12.3] |
951.0 [10.3] |
1034.2 [8.7] |
1109.9 [7.3] |
1155.2 [4.1] |
Source: Insurance Statistics Yearbook(2019), KIDI
Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate the growth rate compared to the previous year. Numbers may not add up precisely to the total due to rounding error
Number of Insurers in Korea
As of 2018, fifty-five insurers are conducting business operations in Korea, of which twenty-four are in the life insurance business while thirty-one are in non-life insurance business.
[Unit : KRW trillion, %]
Korean Insurance Industry Update-Premium Volume in 2016테이블입니다
| Category |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
| Life |
22 |
22 |
22 |
23 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
24 |
| Non-Life |
28 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
| Total |
50 |
52 |
52 |
53 |
53 |
55 |
56 |
56 |
56 |
56 |
56 |
55 |
Source: Monthly Financial Statistics Bulletin, FSS
Note: The number of non-life insurance companies includes reinsurance companies and foreign insurance company branches in Korea.
Note: All figures are on a year-end basis