[2024 National Audit] Insurance Lawsuits Steadily Increase Over 5 Years... Surpassing 5,000 Cases for the First Time Last Year

Lawsuits related to insurance companies have steadily increased over the past five years, reaching an all-time high last year.

According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Min Byung-duk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Anyang Dongan-gap, Gyeonggi Province, and the Political Affairs Committee), the total number of lawsuits in the insurance industry rose approximately 32% from 4,047 cases in 2019 to 5,366 cases in 2023.

Min Byung-duk, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The number of lawsuits filed against insurance companies remained relatively stable at around 4,000 cases annually between 2019 and 2021. However, it increased to 4,748 cases in 2022 and surged past 5,000 cases last year. This upward trend is attributed to various reasons, including disputes over insurance payouts, contract cancellations, and service quality issues.

In 2023, the overall win rate for the insurance industry averaged 40%, with a noticeable performance gap between large and small-to-medium-sized insurers. Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance and NongHyup Property & Casualty Insurance saw significant declines in their win rates, revealing vulnerabilities in managing legal disputes. Leading companies such as Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance recorded win rates below the industry average at 29% and 31%, respectively, raising concerns that larger firms may be struggling more with risk management.

Min Byung-duk stated, “As insurance has become an important part of our daily lives, it is natural for insurance-related disputes to increase to some extent. However, since managing litigation risks is directly linked to the interests of companies, shareholders, and ultimately insurance policyholders, it is necessary to avoid excessive disputes and establish a system that can manage them stably.”

[Source: Office of Min Byung-deok]