Six-Month Exclusive Use Right...Recognition for Quantifying New Medical Technology Risks
About 80% in Their 50s and 60s...Leading the Cartilage Regeneration and Preservation Paradigm
Hanwha Life announced on the 26th that its “CartiLife Surgery Rider,” which covers knee joint regenerative treatment based on autologous stem cells, has reached a cumulative total of approximately 36,000 contracts just two months after its launch.
The rider has been granted a six-month exclusive use right by the Korea Life Insurance Association. Although coverage that has obtained an exclusive use right is generally not priced with a high loading rate, as it offers entirely new protection that did not previously exist, about half of all policyholders have chosen to add this rider.
This rider is the industry’s first coverage that compensates for knee cartilage regeneration surgery based on autologous stem cells. It was granted the exclusive use right in recognition of the fact that it structured as coverage a new medical technology that was not guaranteed under existing insurance products, and quantified the associated risks.
Hanwha Life also focused on alleviating the financial burden of the latest regenerative treatments. Although CartiLife surgery is a treatment method that is increasingly being adopted in clinical practice, the average treatment cost is around 15 million won, creating a significant cost burden.
Policyholders in their 50s and 60s accounted for close to 80% of all subscribers to the rider. Demand has been concentrated among middle-aged and older customers seeking to preserve joint function before undergoing artificial joint replacement surgery, and Hanwha Life analyzes that this interest in regenerative treatment has translated into actual enrollment.
The rider is attached to and sold with the “Signature H Integrated Health Insurance” product. If the insured undergoes CartiLife surgery during the policy term, the benefit is paid once, for the first such surgery only.
Lee Sanghee, Head of Product Development at Hanwha Life, said, “Recently, the medical field has been shifting from a focus on artificial joint replacement to a focus on cartilage regeneration and joint preservation,” adding, “This rider is a case where we have proactively reflected autologous stem cell-based regenerative treatment in insurance coverage in line with this shift in the treatment paradigm.”
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