KB Insurance's Cancer Insurance Contracts Jump 10-Fold in One Month (Comprehensive)

Guaranteed Targeted Anticancer Drugs and More
New Products Gained Buzz Last Month
Subscription Amount Also Increased 6.5 Times to 1.1 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] KB Insurance's newly launched cancer insurance has hit a jackpot. The new coverage and special contracts, developed by accurately understanding consumer needs, have spread by word of mouth, resulting in an extraordinary achievement of nearly a tenfold increase in cancer insurance sales last month alone.

According to the insurance industry on the 11th, KB Insurance's new cancer insurance contracts last month totaled about 30,000 cases. The subscription amount during this period reached 1.1 billion KRW. This represents a tenfold increase in the number of cases and a 6.5-fold increase in amount compared to the previous month. KB Insurance considers this performance very unusual. In fact, the company's average monthly cancer insurance sales are around 200 million KRW.

A KB Insurance official said, "Cancer insurance is not a product that sells a lot in a specific season like travel insurance or is seasonal. It is not an issue like driver insurance, which saw a surge in sales due to the recent implementation of the so-called Min-sik Act (Amendment to the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes), but sales have increased significantly, boosting internal morale." In fact, other insurers' cancer insurance sales last month showed little change.

KB Insurance attributes this performance change to the newly launched cancer insurance. They explained that reflecting the coverage that customers expect or need in cancer insurance in the new product had a positive effect.

Launched on the 15th of last month, "KB Cancer Insurance and the Story of Living Healthily" features coverage for the latest cancer treatment method, "Targeted Anticancer Drug Authorization Treatment Costs." This is the first in the non-life insurance industry. Targeted anticancer drugs are often prescribed as non-reimbursable under health insurance, placing a heavy burden on patients.

Another advantage is the industry's first coverage for "Thyroid and Prostate Needle Biopsy Tissue Pathology Diagnosis Fees." This coverage pays insurance benefits once a year not only when cancer is confirmed by tissue pathology diagnosis through needle biopsy for thyroid and prostate disease differentiation but also when it is not cancer. Recognized for its originality from a cancer prevention perspective, it has also obtained exclusive usage rights from the Korea Insurance Development Institute for the next three months.

The insurance covers re-diagnosis cancer (▲primary cancer ▲metastatic cancer ▲recurrent cancer ▲residual cancer) diagnosis fees for cancers including thyroid cancer, other skin cancers, and prostate cancer, and also includes a "Pay-Back" function for premium waivers. If any of the three major premium waiver reasons occur during the coverage period (cancer diagnosis, disease/injury with over 80% disability) or any of the five major premium waiver reasons occur (cancer diagnosis, stroke diagnosis, acute myocardial infarction diagnosis, disease/injury with over 80% disability), not only is the future premium waived, but previously paid premiums are also refunded.

A company official said, "Customer inquiries about the new coverage and specialized functions equipped in the cancer insurance launched last month are pouring in," adding, "Sales in June are also expected."

Meanwhile, insurance companies are releasing products that focus not only on increasing coverage amounts but also on preventing cancer in advance. As cancer survival rates increase, the burden of treatment costs grows, and demand inevitably rises. According to the "2018 Health Insurance Statistical Yearbook" jointly published by the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, cancer treatment costs totaled 9.0092 trillion KRW, accounting for 11.6% of the total medical expenses of health insurance subscribers. The average medical expense per person was about 6.1 million KRW.