Samsung Life and Fire & Marine Insurance Simultaneously Launch 'Long-term Care Health Insurance'

Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance have simultaneously launched long-term care health insurance.

According to the financial sector on the 7th, Samsung Life Insurance will start selling the 'Samsung Together Long-term Care Insurance' from the 8th, which addresses the blind spots of the elderly long-term care insurance and guarantees the entire treatment journey of long-term care.

South Korea is entering a super-aged society, leading to an increase in the number of people recognized as needing long-term care and a rising trend in care costs. Even if one is certified for long-term care grades and has elderly long-term care insurance, separate costs borne by the care patient and their family still occur. For example, a 70-year-old certified as long-term care grade 2 only needs to pay 20% of facility benefits and 15% of home care benefits under public elderly long-term care insurance. However, if using 'hospital or nursing hospital' services, nursing care costs are fully borne by the individual, and if cared for by family, family sacrifices are inevitable.

Samsung Long-term Care Insurance was developed to fill the coverage gaps for hospital admission and family care, which are blind spots in elderly long-term care insurance. This product guarantees a long-term care diagnosis insurance benefit when a long-term care state grade 1-2 is confirmed under the main insurance after the coverage start date (90 days after enrollment). If death occurs before the long-term care diagnosis reason arises, 100% of the insured amount is paid as a death benefit.

After the coverage start date, a new 'Long-term Care (Grades 1-4) Support Rider' has been introduced, which provides support funds for home care, facility benefits, nursing hospital admission, or family care support upon diagnosis of long-term care state grades 1-4. It guarantees all treatment areas of long-term care without restrictions on location or duration.

The ‘Senior Care Service’ also attracts attention. This service is an additional service provided to policyholders without extra cost according to the terms and conditions. It consists of the ‘Basic Care Service,’ which offers dementia monitoring and hospital appointment agency services; the ‘Premium Care Service,’ which provides housekeeping helpers and nursing services during hospitalization upon diagnosis of long-term care grades 1-4; and the ‘Long-term Care Day Care Service,’ which offers home care and home bathing services upon diagnosis of long-term care grades 1-2.

Samsung also launched the 'Samsung Simple Together Long-term Care Insurance' targeting those with pre-existing conditions, lowering the barrier for customers with pre-existing conditions who had difficulty enrolling in insurance.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance also launched the 'Samsung Together Long-term Care Health Insurance' on the same day.

Enrollment is available from ages 40 to 70. The insurance period can be chosen between a maturity at age 100 type and an 85-year maturity with extension to age 100 type. The 85-year maturity with extension to age 100 type offers reasonable premiums for healthy customers; if no cancer, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, or long-term care diagnosis (grades 1-2) occurs until the insurance matures at age 85, coverage is extended to age 100 without additional premium payments.

It includes three types of diagnosis benefit coverages that provide home care services. A notable feature is that after hospital discharge, professional care services from certified caregivers can be received at home. This enables comprehensive care combining hospital treatment and home care.

Various dementia-related coverages have also been added. In addition to simple dementia diagnosis benefits, new riders cover dementia MRI, PET, CT examination fees, specific dementia treatment costs, outpatient daily allowances for direct dementia treatment, and support funds for dementia long-term care home and facility benefits.

Customers who enroll in August and September will receive the digital assistant service ‘Ddokbi’ free for one year. ‘Ddokbi’ is a service that helps senior customers easily resolve daily inconveniences through chat consultations. It plans to provide various customized services such as travel preparation, accommodation and flight reservations, restaurant recommendations, purchase agency, and taxi calls.

A Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance official stated, “We aimed to create a product that provides necessary coverage at reasonable premiums for healthy customers and practical assistance for customers with pre-existing conditions, walking together with our customers,” adding, “We plan to continuously develop and offer various products needed by customers in the future.”