Postpartum Depression and Premature Ovarian Failure... Insurance Companies Capturing Women's Hearts [1mm Financial Talk]

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance and ABL Life Launch Women's Insurance This Month
Expanding Riders from Cancer and Women's Diseases to Childbirth and Childcare Support

Insurance companies are launching women-specific insurance products one after another to capture the female market.

According to the insurance industry on the 6th, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance launched the women-only insurance product "Good & Good Women’s Health Insurance" earlier this month. It is designed to cover risks according to women’s life cycles. During pregnancy and childbirth, it focuses on breast, reproductive organs, thyroid, urinary diseases; during menopause, it covers bone diseases, sleep, and mental disorders; and in old age, it concentrates on muscle, joint, and brain diseases. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance led the market by launching the industry’s first child-specialized insurance 20 years ago. They plan to create synergy by offering discount benefits linking women’s insurance and children’s insurance. A Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance official explained, "We developed this product to provide women-specific coverage that was not included in existing comprehensive and health insurance."

ABL Life also introduced "THE Toktok-twine Women’s Health Insurance" earlier this month. This product prepares for each cycle from pregnancy preparation to post-childbirth, including cancer diagnosis benefits for body parts where women frequently develop cancer. ABL Life newly developed the "Women’s Integrated Cancer (excluding minor cancers) Diagnosis Rider." It classifies cancers common in women into nine categories and guarantees cancer diagnosis benefits up to nine times, once per group. It also includes riders that cover artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization treatment costs for infertility treatment and postpartum care support funds.

Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance launched the "HeungGood (Good) All-in-One Women’s MZ Insurance" in May, specialized for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) among women. It strengthened coverage for major female-related cancers (breast, thyroid, etc.) and included a rider for "Advance Payment of Fertility Preservation Procedure Costs." Fertility preservation procedures involve preserving reproductive cells to maintain fertility due to concerns about infertility or subfertility. With the increase in women’s social activities leading to higher marriage and childbirth ages, demand has recently increased.

The traditional leader in women’s insurance is Hanwha General Insurance, whose representative product is the "Signature Women’s Health Insurance." First introduced in July last year, this product offers riders such as critical illness coverage within five years after childbirth, postpartum care support funds after infertility treatment, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome diagnosis benefits, and specific female reproductive organ prolapse treatment costs. These riders obtained a six-month exclusive usage right at the time of launch. The "Enhanced Critical Illness Coverage within Five Years after Childbirth" was also selected as the first excellent case of the Financial Supervisory Service’s Win-Win Cooperation Financial New Product. This year, they launched "Signature Women’s Health Insurance 2.0" to strengthen coverage.

Insurance companies’ keen interest in women’s insurance is analyzed to be due to women’s life expectancy surpassing 90 years this year and the increasing economic power and social status of women. According to the revised 10th Experience Life Table this year, the average life expectancy for women is 90.7 years, surpassing 90 years for the first time in history. As women’s life cycles lengthen, their interest in insurance is also growing. According to statistics from the Korea Insurance Development Institute, as of 2022, women’s life insurance subscription rates were higher than men’s across all age groups.

With the government showing high interest in low birthrate countermeasures and increasing corporate support, women’s insurance is expected to grow further. An industry insider said, "While existing women’s insurance focused on female cancers or female-related diseases, recently there has been a trend toward more riders related to childbirth and childcare," adding, "Many insurance companies are preparing related products as part of their participation in the government’s low birthrate countermeasures."