South Korean insurance companies’ combined net profit increased by 13.2% in the first nine months of the year, boosted by higher sales and investment returns amid elevated interest rates, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed. The aggregate net profit of 22 life insurers and 31 non-life insurers reached KRW13.4tr (USD9.53bn) during the January-September period, up KRW1.56tr from the same period last year.
Life insurers saw net profit rise 12.6% to KRW5.31tr, while non-life insurers posted a 13.6% increase to KRW3.05tr. Insurance premium income totalled KRW170.01tr, a 4.8% year-on-year increase. Return on assets stood at 1.44% at end-September, up 0.07 percentage point, and return on equity rose by 2.08 percentage points to 11.35%.