South Korea Insurance Report Q4 2011

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c20ea3/south_korea_insura) has announced the addition of the "South Korea Insurance Report Q4 2011" report to their offering.

The largest South Korean insurers have the scale and financial strength that would make them titans by the standards of virtually all other countries.

Many of the leading foreign insurers have taken the view that the opportunities in South Korea are too good to ignore. Manulife is still looking for a suitable entrance point to the market.

South Korea stands out as an insurance market that is very large and still steadily growing. Its prospects are helped by demographics and new laws, but it cannot yet be fairly described as mature.

Transparency and access to capital has been boosted by initial public offerings, including that of Samsung Life, the largest South Korean company.

The life segment should continue to achieve steady single-digit growth over the medium term. The inadequacy of organised pensions and social security, at a time when the overall population is ageing rapidly, means South Korea is a very prospective market for annuities. Rising numbers of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) also present an opportunity.

The latest company results, published in Q311 in relation to the three months to the end of June 2011, confirm that trends remain favourable. Samsung Life, the dominant player in the life segment, reported single-digit growth in overall premiums compared to Q210, however, business development was held back by the company's emphasis on promoting profitability (via a focus on protection products distributed through its own exclusive agency force). Riskbased capital (RBC) ratios have strengthened dramatically.