Car insurers' net income falls 84% on back of rise in accidents
Published: 25 Mar. 2026, 15:10
![Used cars are tightly packed at a secondhand-car export complex in Yeonsu District, Incheon, on March 8, as exports to the Middle East, the region that accounts for roughly one-third of Korea’s total used-car exports, face disruptions amid the ongoing Iran war. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/03/25/6ab65d09-78f4-4b90-a8b4-d057081219c8.jpg)
Used cars are tightly packed at a secondhand-car export complex in Yeonsu District, Incheon, on March 8, as exports to the Middle East, the region that accounts for roughly one-third of Korea’s total used-car exports, face disruptions amid the ongoing Iran war. [YONHAP]
The combined net income of insurance firms in Korea from their auto insurance business dropped sharply from a year earlier in 2025 due partly to an increase in the number of accidents, data showed Wednesday.
The combined net income of insurance companies that offer car insurance came to 95.1 billion won ($63.6 million) last year, down 84 percent from a net profit of 589 billion won a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
The sharp drop in net profit was partly attributed to a rise in the number of accidents, which rose from 3.82 million a year earlier to 3.84 million in 2025.
The insurers' loss rate shot up 3.7 percentage points last year to 87.5 percent.
Their insurance premiums fell 1.8 percent on year to 20.3 trillion won last year, according to the data.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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