A huge surge in overseas travel has resulted in a spike in the demand for travel insurance products from non-life insurance companies.
A report in Business Korea said that in 2024, travel insurance premiums in South Korea hit an all-time high, and the first quarter of 2025 has already surpassed last year’s performance for the same period. To attract customers in the travel insurance market, non-life insurers are engaging in aggressive price competition and offering differentiated services. The report mentioned that with increasing overseas travel among Koreans, travel insurance premiums from nine domestic non-life insurers, including major players Samsung Fire & Marine, Hyundai Marine & Fire, KB and Meritz Fire & Marine, recorded a high of 90.2bn won ($63.2m) in 2024, which was a 16.7% hike from the previous year at 77.3bn won. Over 90% of the demand for travel insurance comes from overseas travellers.
The travel insurance segment was till recently dominated by mobile based insurers like Shinhan EZ and Kakao Pay and the entry of large companies has changed the game as they are also introducing specialised travel insurance products. Kakao Pay manged to get 3m cumulative subscribers in just 1 year and 8 months by offering a safe return bonus if no accidents occur.