Domestic Life & Health

In 2025, the domestic life insurance market achieved modest growth, sustaining the upward trend in premium income from the previous year. Under the IFRS 17 framework, life insurers continued to focus on protection insurance products as a primary driver for securing the Contractual Service Margin (CSM) and enhancing financial soundness. However, the total CSM is projected to stagnate or decline marginally, weighed down by a slowdown in new business growth and limited upside for premium growth, coupled with revisions to actuarial assumptions such as lapse rates and loss ratios.

The protection insurance market experienced robust growth, driven by expanded demand for short-term payment whole life insurance and increased sales of no-cash value and low-cash value health insurance products. In contrast, savings insurance struggled to gain growth momentum, hampered by its lower profitability profile under IFRS 17 and downward adjustments to credited interest rates.

Despite our strategic efforts to improve profitability by reducing low-margin contracts and portfolio optimization, Korean Re recorded gross written premiums of KRW 906.3 billion in 2025, representing a 2.2% increase from the previous year. This growth was driven by improved underwriting terms for in-force policies and a proactive strategy to acquire high-margin new business. Notably, the continued optimization of terms and conditions for reinsurance treaties for medical expense insurance and a conservative underwriting strategy based on precise profit and loss analysis led to a KRW 500 million increase in net profit to KRW 35 billion, exceeding our profit target.

In parallel with our profitability improvement efforts, we are also contributing to the advancement of the domestic life reinsurance market by introducing AI-driven underwriting techniques to primary insurers, hosting specialized medical seminars, and providing technical collaboration and support.

In 2026, competition in the protection insurance market is expected to intensify as insurers strive to secure new business CSM, while GAs further solidify their market dominance. Premium income from protection insurance is projected to reach KRW 66.2 trillion, reflecting a 7.6% year-on-year growth. On the other hand, savings insurance premiums are anticipated to decline by 4.8% to KRW 26.1 trillion, amid a downward interest rate outlook and concerns over an economic slowdown, despite structural growth drivers such as population aging and the increasing need for retirement planning. Overall, the total premium income from protection and savings insurance is expected to increase by 3.8% to KRW 92 trillion, reflecting a shift in product portfolio dynamics within the life insurance industry.

In response to these market conditions, we will focus on securing profitability in the midst of intensifying market competition in protection insurance through sophisticated pricing techniques based on data-driven conservative underwriting strategies. Additionally, we will continue to provide technical marketing support to primary insurers and facilitate joint product development efforts to counteract growth stagnation. By leveraging decades of accumulated experience in domestic reinsurance operations, we will also strengthen stable business relationships with primary insurers while implementing capital-efficient portfolio strategies in alignment with IFRS 17.

█ Gross Written Premiums: Domestic Life & Health

(Units: KRW billion, USD million)

	2025 (KRW)	2025 (USD)	2024 (KRW)	2024 (USD)
Domestic Life & Health	906.3	631.8	886.5	647.8