Samsung Life Insurance Launches Industry's First 'Group Insurance for Fewer Than 5 People'

From April 1, Workplaces with 2 to Less Than 5 Employees Can Also Enroll in Group Insurance
Expected to Alleviate Management Risks and Strengthen Social Safety Nets

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Samsung Life Insurance announced on the 30th that starting from the 1st of next month, it will be the first in the insurance industry to sell group insurance products called 'Corporate Welfare Protection Insurance' and 'Corporate Welfare Health Insurance' that small businesses with fewer than 5 employees can also subscribe to.

Group insurance is a type of insurance where the business owner is the policyholder and the employees are the insured. When incidents such as employee death, injury, or illness occur, insurance benefits are paid for purposes such as industrial accident compensation, civil liability compensation, and employee welfare.

Previously, there was a regulation that group insurance could only be subscribed to by groups consisting of 5 or more people, making it difficult for self-employed individuals or small business owners to enroll. However, in February, the Financial Services Commission designated Samsung Life Insurance's 'Group Insurance for 2 or more but fewer than 5 people' as an innovative financial service to resolve this issue. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of 2018, businesses with fewer than 5 employees accounted for 1.93 million out of 2.65 million total businesses, representing 72.8%, while the accident rate was 1.07%, about twice the 0.54% rate of all businesses.

Samsung Life Insurance expects that with this product, business owners can effectively prevent management risks, and employees can prepare for unexpected misfortunes.

There are two types of group insurance sold by Samsung Life Insurance. Corporate Welfare Protection and Corporate Welfare Health can be used respectively for industrial accident compensation and welfare purposes.

Corporate Welfare Protection is mainly a product that covers injuries, allowing employees to subscribe to various special contracts with their consent to prepare for industrial accident compensation or civil liability compensation. It can also be used when compensation beyond the scope of industrial accident insurance is needed in case of accidents. In line with this launch, it is characterized by covering not only death but also disability caused by accidents under the main insurance, and changing some renewable special contracts with premiums adjusted every 3 years to non-renewable types.

Corporate Welfare Health mainly covers illnesses rather than injuries. Notably, it added a 'simplified disclosure type' for the first time in group insurance, allowing subscription even for older individuals or those with medical history. For the simplified disclosure type, self-employed business owners who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions only need to disclose three pre-contract obligations, and if there are no particular issues, they can subscribe.

A Samsung Life Insurance official said, "This product is significant in resolving the blind spots of group insurance for small-scale businesses that have been neglected so far," adding, "It is a product worth considering from the perspective of preparing for future risks and employee welfare."