Insurance Company Branding War, Betting on 'Exclusive Usage Rights'

4 Applications from Life Insurers and 6 from Non-Life Insurers This Year
Long-Term Image Building Effects Over Profit Increase

Insurance companies are showing efforts to brand themselves by acquiring exclusive usage rights, known as 'insurance company patents.' They are introducing creative products themed around women, long-term care, dementia, and more, which also influence the establishment of their identity. Rather than engaging in cutthroat competition with unreasonable products emphasizing high policies or refund rates, it is considered more desirable to build each company's image through the development of original products.

Exclusive usage rights are a system where the Life Insurance Association and the General Insurance Association conduct their own reviews to grant exclusive sales rights so that other companies cannot sell similar products. When a creative product that did not previously exist is introduced, its originality is recognized, and exclusive sales rights are granted for a certain period. The new product review committees of each association conduct the review, and to qualify for exclusive usage rights, members who give a score of 80 or higher must constitute at least two-thirds of the attending members.

According to the Life and General Insurance Associations on the 14th, the number of exclusive usage rights applications submitted by each insurance company this year is four for life insurers and six for general insurers.

Unlike general insurers, who passed four out of six applications, all four applications from life insurers were made within the past three weeks, and none have completed the review yet. It usually takes about a month from application to acquisition. A life insurance industry official said, "It seems that the recent increased pressure from regulatory authorities has made it difficult to sell short-term payment whole life insurance, which is a mainstay for life insurers, so alternatives are needed, which may have had some influence." The most recent applicant for exclusive usage rights is Mirae Asset Life Insurance, which applied on the 13th for two types, including the 'Non-dividend Rider for Salary Non-hereditary Genetic Testing Coverage.' LINA Life Insurance also applied on the 10th for the 'Non-dividend Dynamic Health OK Insurance' product, marking its first application in five years since 2019.

However, since these exclusive usage rights are usually granted for only about 3 to 6 months, their effect is greater in strengthening brand image rather than immediately improving profitability. For example, Hanwha General Insurance, after CEO Na Chaebeom's inauguration last year, decided to focus on becoming a 'women-specialized insurer' and introduced women-specialized insurance products. They acquired their first exclusive usage right this year with the 'Hanwha Signature Women’s Health Insurance 2.0,' launched in January. This product was developed in cooperation with CHA Hospital and offers a breast cancer (receptor type) diagnosis rider and childbirth encouragement subscription preservation services.

Hanwha General Insurance evaluates that the sales of this product have partly contributed to performance expansion and is aiming to further strengthen its appeal to women. According to Hanwha General Insurance, the accumulated gross written premium since the product launch in July until last month reached 78.2 billion KRW. Accordingly, Hanwha General Insurance recently applied for an additional exclusive usage right for the 'Breast Cancer Prognosis Prediction Test Rider' and is awaiting the results.

KDB Life Insurance also has two rider products related to dementia that obtained exclusive usage rights last year. KDB Life is drawing plans to specialize in the dementia field, including signing a business agreement with the Yongsan-gu Dementia Safety Center this year. This is interpreted as a result of CEO Im Seung-tae’s inauguration last year, who urged the company to consider products related to 'common diseases' on a company-wide basis.

KB Life, which is leading the way as the first in the life insurance industry to enter the long-term care business, solidified its brand image last month by applying for exclusive usage rights for the 'KB Golden Life Care Whole Life Insurance Non-dividend.' This product links whole life insurance with long-term care services. Specifically, if the policyholder is assessed as needing long-term care and requires admission to a care facility, they can be given priority admission to elderly care facilities operated by its subsidiary, KB Golden Life Care.