Rapid Growth of Pet Insurance, but Enrollment Rates Remain Stagnant

Despite 52% Rapid Growth Last Year, Subscription Rate Only 1.4%
Authorities "Amend Regulations to Allow Long-Term Insurance Products"

Last year, the scale of pet insurance contracts (companion animal insurance) grew by more than 50% compared to the previous year.

According to the non-life insurance industry on the 6th, as of the end of last year, the number of pet insurance contracts with 10 domestic non-life insurers (NongHyup, Lotte, Meritz, Samsung, Carrot, Hanwha, Hyundai, ACE, DB, KB) reached 109,088, an increase of 51.7% compared to the previous year (71,896 contracts). During the same period, the number of new pet insurance contracts also rose to 58,456, up 66.4% from the previous year (35,140 contracts). The pet insurance gross written premium (the premium received by insurers from policyholders) was 46.8 billion KRW, a 62.9% increase from the previous year (28.8 billion KRW).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' 2022 survey, the estimated number of companion animals in Korea is 7.99 million. The pet insurance subscription rate remains at 1.4%. The subscription rate has steadily increased from 0.4% in 2020, 0.7% in 2021, to 0.9% in 2022. The number of households with companion animals in Korea is 6.02 million, accounting for 25.4% of all households.

The financial authorities plan to revise related regulations soon to promote pet insurance activation, allowing not only short-term (under 1 year) insurance products but also long-term (3 to 5 years) insurance products to be available for subscription at places such as animal hospitals and pet shops.