Major non-life insurers in South Korea have confirmed that auto insurance premiums will rise by 1.3%-1.4% this year, marking the first increase in five years since 2021.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will implement a 1.4% hike, while DB Insurance and KB Insurance will raise premiums by 1.3%.
According to industry sources, the four major insurers—Samsung Fire & Marine, DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire, and KB Insurance—recently completed rate verification with the Korea Insurance Development Institute, paving the way for the approved premium increases.
As of 2024, the average domestic car insurance premium stood at KRW692,000 ($480).
With a 1.3%–1.4% increase, policyholders are expected to pay an additional KRW9,000–9,700 on average.
With major non-life insurers—accounting for around 80% of the auto insurance market—having finalised their premium hikes, mid-sized insurers are also stepping up their preparations to hike premiums.
Typically, mid-sized players wait for large insurers to complete rate verification before submitting similar increase proposals to the Korea Insurance Development Institute.
As a result, premium increases by mid-sized insurers are expected to fall in the low- to mid-1% range.
This marks the first rise in car insurance premiums in five years. After maintaining a premium freeze in 2021, non-life insurers implemented four consecutive years of reductions, cutting rates by 1.2%–1.4% in 2022, 2%–2.5% in 2023, 2.5%–3% in 2024, and 0.4%–1% in 2025.