Samsung Life Insurance Reports 8.5% Decrease in H1 Net Profit "Improvement in Policy Retention Rate and Loss Ratio" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Samsung Life Insurance announced on the 13th that its net profit for the first half of the year was 726.4 billion KRW, a decrease of 8.5% compared to the same period last year.

Sales increased by 9.2% from the same period last year to 18.01 trillion KRW, but operating profit decreased by 4.6% to 924.6 billion KRW.

Net profit for the second quarter recorded 469.8 billion KRW, an increase of 44.8% compared to the same period last year. Sales decreased by 8.2% to 7.6384 trillion KRW, while operating profit grew by 35.6% to 550 billion KRW.

Samsung Life explained that insurance profits increased due to improved policy retention rates and loss ratios, and that the variable annuity guarantee reserve profit and loss recovered as the stock market gradually stabilized.

The new contract value, an indicator representing the flow of future profits, was 302.8 billion KRW in the second quarter, down 17% compared to the same period last year, and new contract APE (Annualized Premium Equivalent) also decreased by 5.9% to 624.1 billion KRW compared to the same period last year.

Due to interest rate declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and weakened face-to-face sales capabilities, the company minimized the impact through non-face-to-face marketing and other measures.

As of the end of June, Samsung Life's total assets stood at 317.8 trillion KRW, and the solvency margin ratio (RBC ratio), which measures capital soundness, was 337%.

A Samsung Life official said, "Although the difficult management environment continued in the second quarter due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, we achieved excellent results through contract management, improved management efficiency, and stable asset management."