KIDI's Last Year's Auto Insurance Data
Loss Ratio 4%P Higher Compared to Under 65
Last year, the accident rate for drivers aged 65 and over was found to be 13% higher than that of drivers under 65.
According to the Korea Insurance Development Institute on the 7th, among the primary insured persons enrolled in automobile insurance last year, the number of contracts for drivers aged 65 and over was 2,586,338, with 118,287 accidents, resulting in an accident rate of 4.57%. In contrast, the accident rate for drivers under 65 was lower at 4.04% (18,287,065 contracts, 739,902 accidents). The accident rate for drivers aged 65 and over was 1.13 times that of those under 65, which is 13% higher.
Accidents caused by drivers aged 65 and over also involved more victims, and the proportion of seriously injured victims, indicating accident severity, was higher. The average number of victims per accident caused by drivers under 65 was 1.96, whereas for drivers aged 65 and over, it was 2.63. Additionally, among the victims (1,451,078 people) of accidents caused by drivers under 65, the combined proportion of seriously injured (injury grades 1 to 11) and deceased was 7.67%, while for victims (305,320 people) of accidents caused by drivers aged 65 and over, the combined proportion of seriously injured and deceased was 8.72%.
As both the frequency and severity of accidents involving elderly drivers were higher, the loss ratio for insurance companies was also higher for this group. The loss ratio refers to the proportion of insurance premiums received by the insurer that are paid out as claims to victims due to accidents.
Last year, the loss ratio for drivers aged 65 and over was 80.2%, nearly 4 percentage points higher than that of drivers under 65 (76.3%). The average accident cost per driver (loss amount/number of accidents) was also higher for drivers aged 65 and over. The average accident cost for drivers under 65 was 4,466,566 KRW, while for drivers aged 65 and over, it was 4,812,659 KRW.
Meanwhile, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute analyzed that the risk of traffic accidents increases noticeably from age 70 and rises sharply from age 80. The issue of elderly drivers became a "hot topic" after it was revealed that the driver involved in the wrong-way driving accident at City Hall Station on the night of the 1st was 68 years old.
Meanwhile, accidents involving elderly drivers continue to occur. Around 9:20 a.m. on the 6th, a compact car driven by an elderly man in his 80s, Mr. A, hit two pedestrians in front of a gas station in Seogye-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The car driven by Mr. A was on the third lane of a one-way three-lane road heading from Seoul Station to Namyeong Station when it turned toward the sidewalk in front of the gas station, hitting one pedestrian, then traveled about 20 meters and hit another pedestrian before crashing into a nearby wall and coming to a stop. The two pedestrians hit by the car were transported to the hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.
Also, a woman in her 70s who hit a pedestrian while driving, causing injury, and fled the scene without providing aid was recently caught by the police. On the 3rd, the Incheon Western Police Station announced that they are investigating Ms. B (77, female) on charges of hit-and-run causing injury under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Ms. B is suspected of hitting a man in his 50s while driving a passenger car on a road in Bullo-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, around 9:34 p.m. on the 1st, and fleeing the scene. It was investigated that she was driving straight in the second lane of a three-lane one-way road when she hit the man crossing near a crosswalk. The victim sustained serious head injuries and is currently hospitalized. The police, after receiving the report, pursued and arrested Ms. B at her residence around 1:30 a.m. on the 2nd, about four hours after the incident.
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