Demand for U.S. Dollar on the Increase
Competition in the dollar insurance market is heating up as demand for the U.S. dollar as a safe asset is on the increase with interest rates remaining low. The Q1 sales of some dollar insurance products almost tripled from a year ago and insurers are coming up with more and more such products.
Prudential Life Insurance’s whole-life dollar insurance launched in 2018 posted 5,335 new contracts in Q1, up almost 300 percent year on year. In addition, the total sales of MetLife’s dollar insurance amounted to 116,000 cases at the end of March this year with an initial premium of approximately 33 billion won. In short, the dollar insurance demand is increasing fast with uncertainties and volatilities rising in financial markets.
In this regard, MetLife recently released annuity insurance providing a life annuity in dollar and allowing won-based subscription even without a foreign currency account and the dollar.
Prudential Life Insurance's new products include whole-life dollar insurance that can be conveniently bought even by those with diseases and senior citizens. KDB Life Insurance released a similar product early this year, too.