If Cancer Diagnosis Insurance Exceeds 50 Million KRW, Mortality Rate Halves

A study has found that the higher the amount of cancer diagnosis insurance benefits held, the lower the probability of death from cancer.

Hanwha Life announced on the 22nd that its big data expert group, DataLAB, analyzed mortality rates according to income levels among customers who received cancer insurance benefits from 2008 to 2022, revealing these results.

DataLAB's analysis of the 5-year mortality rate of customers receiving cancer diagnosis insurance benefits showed that the cancer mortality rate for customers receiving insurance benefits of 50 million KRW or more was 15.7%, less than half of the mortality rate (34.4%) of customers without diagnosis insurance benefits.

In particular, holding cancer diagnosis insurance benefits of 50 million KRW or more resulted in a cancer mortality rate below 20%, regardless of income level. The more cancer diagnosis insurance benefits held, the higher the transfer rate to superior hospitals compared to existing hospitals during cancer treatment.

The annual number of cancer cases in Korea increased 2.5 times from 101,849 in 1999 to 247,952 in 2019. The 5-year survival rate rose from 39.4% in 1993?1995 to 65.6% in 2015?2019.

To identify factors affecting cancer survival rates, DataLAB analyzed the mortality rates of customers receiving cancer diagnosis insurance benefits from 2008 to 2022. The lowest income quintile had a mortality rate of 31.8%, about 1.5 times higher than the highest quintile (20.7%). The second quintile was 29.9%, the third 28.4%, and the fourth 26.8%, indicating that mortality rates decreased as income levels rose.

Jeon Gyeong-won, team leader of Hanwha Life DataLAB, said, "It is difficult to prevent cancer occurrence, but it is possible to reduce mortality through cancer insurance," adding, "Considering the premiums to be paid, a cancer diagnosis insurance benefit of around 50 million KRW is analyzed as an appropriate level to increase survival rates."