S. Korean insurers’ Q124 profits plummet by 11.1%

This was equivalent to $3.58b.

The net income of South Korea’s insurers bagged $3.58b (KRW4.8443t) during the first quarter of the year (Q124), falling 11.1% year-on-year (YoY), data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showed.

Life insurers dipped 34.8% to $1.39b (KRW1.875t). Bucking this trend, insurance income slightly increased on a YoY basis, whilst investment income narrowed.

Notably, profits of non-life insurers surged 15.4% to $2.20b (KRW2.969t) in Q124, whilst insurance income expanded on the back of decreasing liabilities for incurred claims. However, investment income fell mainly due to losses on valuation of financial assets.

Premium income for all insurance companies in the first three months of 2024 was $43.62b (KRW58.9521t), down $57.8m (KRW78.1b) or 0.1% from the previous year. 

Life insurance premium income decreased by $744.4m (KRW1.0059t) or 3.5% to $20.75b (KRW28.0393t), with growth in protection-type insurance (13.3%) but declines in savings-type plans (9.2%), variable life insurance (2.1%), and retirement pensions (33.5%). 

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Non-life insurance premium income rose by $686.6m (KRW927.8b) or 3.1% to $22.88b (KRW30.9128t), with long-term insurance increasing by 4.9% and general insurance by 10.2%, though auto insurance and retirement pensions decreased by 0.3% and 4.7%, respectively.

Overall profitability declined, with return on assets (ROA) dropping 0.27 percentage points to 1.58% and return on equity (ROE) falling 2.03 percentage points to 11.95% year-over-year. 

As of March 2024, total assets of insurance companies were $904.72b (KRW1,222.6t), down $1.48b (KRW2.0t) or 0.2% from December 2023, whilst shareholders' equity decreased by $6.44b (KRW8.7t) or 5.2% to $116.77b (KRW157.8t). 

Higher interest rates reduced the valuation of financial assets, leading to a decrease in total assets, while total liabilities increased by $4.88b (KRW6.6t) due to rising insurance operating activities.