Online Insurance
The Korea Life Insurance Association announced on April 20 that the annual online insurance sales in the domestic insurance sector increased from 1.879 billion won to 7.555 billion won between 2012 and last year. It added that the ratio of online insurance sales jumped from 0.008% to 0.06% during the same period.
Term and cancer insurance products are two of the most popular online insurance products in the South Korean market these days. An increasing number of customers are opting for online term and cancer insurance products nowadays as these are available at lower premiums not including insurance planner costs. Some of these products are up to 53% cheaper than their offline counterparts.
“Online insurance marketing is particularly suitable for markets with better Internet environments such as South Korea,” the association explained, continuing, “By utilizing it, consumers can select better products for them at lower costs after checking hundreds of insurance products in a convenient way.” It added, “The ratio is likely to continue to increase over time.”
In the meantime, industry experts are predicting that an increase in online insurance sales will not necessarily result in a decline in offline insurance sales. According to them, customers with a higher level of price sensitivity and in less need of after-sales services are likely to prefer online insurance contracts while those looking for total services remain loyal to insurance planners.