24 Districts in Seoul Enroll Residents for Life Safety Insurance
Many Miss Out Due to Lack of Awareness
"Plans to Strengthen Publicity"
Lee Ju-young (47, pseudonym), who lives in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, had to bear a considerable amount of hospital bills after undergoing surgery due to a burn accident last year. Then, recently, she heard about the Life Safety Insurance (Resident Safety Insurance) from a friend. Lee said, "Receiving insurance money I didn't expect seems to relieve some of my stress."
Gangnam-gu, Seoul, renewed its Life Safety Insurance this year and newly added coverage for treatment costs for children injured in traffic accidents while walking (up to 5 million KRW) and non-emergency hospital treatment costs for dog bite injuries (up to 200,000 KRW). Until last year, compensation was only available for emergency room treatment due to dog bites.
Life Safety Insurance is an accident insurance that Seoul's autonomous districts subscribe to with district budgets for their residents. Coverage items vary by district. Gangnam-gu covers nine items including dog bite accidents, accidental death (5 million KRW), public transportation injury treatment costs (up to 1 million KRW), and compensation for victims of sexual violence crimes (up to 5 million KRW). Some districts also cover funeral expenses for accidental death, traffic accident injury treatment costs in school zones and silver zones, drowning deaths, heat illness diagnosis fees, and medical expenses for socially vulnerable injury victims.
All residents registered in the respective district are automatically enrolled, and compensation can be received even if the accident occurs in another area. Many districts design the insurance to allow overlapping compensation even if residents have personal insurance such as indemnity insurance. Some exclude overlapping compensation. Starting with 11 districts in 2020, 22 district offices had subscribed by the end of last year. Seocho-gu began providing benefits from February this year, and Yangcheon-gu plans to implement it in March, leaving Songpa-gu as the only district among the 25 districts not yet subscribed.
The most common cases of receiving insurance money are accidents where people fall or collide while walking or exercising. By coverage item, the order is injury accident diagnosis fees, injury sequelae disability, public transportation injury treatment costs, and burn surgery fees. Although these are statistics from Gangseo-gu, other areas are expected to be similar.
Residents who manage their insurance well are reaping significant benefits. Jung-gu spent 166.13 million KRW on insurance premiums over three years until last year, but during this period, residents received 497.67 million KRW (489 cases) in insurance money to help cover treatment costs. The sharp increase in insurance claims was due to the rise in deaths from infectious diseases caused by COVID-19 in 2022, but residents have benefited at least as much as the premiums they pay annually.
The annual insurance premium paid by each district office ranges from 70 million KRW to 200 million KRW. The amount varies depending on the population of the area and the scope of coverage benefits. Seoul City also subscribes to 'Citizen Safety Insurance' to cover social disasters, natural disasters, injuries from fire explosions, and collapse accidents. Districts strive to differentiate coverage items to avoid overlap controversies and enhance effectiveness.
Automatic enrollment does not mean automatic compensation. Kim Joo-won, an official from Gangseo-gu, said, "We distribute notices through online channels such as the district's social media and website, banners at community service centers, weekly and monthly newsletters, and about 1,000 other locations." Lee Chan-mi, an official from Gangnam-gu, said, "Many residents are unaware. Please inform those around you."
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