Marine and Aviation

2018 was another challenging year for the marine insurance market, which was reeling from the restructuring of the shipping industry, where oversupply has been a major concern for several years. With this backdrop, our marine and aviation business recorded gross written premiums of KRW 517.9 billion for 2018, which was down 9.7 percent from the previous year.

Our hull and energy premiums shrank by 1.7 percent to KRW 363.2 billion due to the continued contraction of the direct insurance market in the aftermath of the restructuring of the shipping industry. Our cargo insurance business decreased by 4.5 percent to KRW 82.4 billion, resulting from our effort to adjust the cargo business portfolio by cutting unprofitable overseas accounts. We saw our aviation book of business reduce by 38.7 percent to KRW 72.3 billion due to a decreased number of domestic satellite launches and the impact of our overseas portfolio restructuring.

In 2019, the marine insurance market is expected to recover following the start of construction of vessels ordered by LNG carrier ship owners and domestic shipping companies since 2017. It is difficult, however, to expect the growth of the market as negative impacts are still coming from the distress in the domestic shipbuilding and shipping industries and a decline in maritime trade volume amid the U.S.-China trade dispute.

In spite of the difficult market conditions, Korean Re is striving to build a profit-oriented portfolio focused on principle-based underwriting, while seeking to find new growth engines such as offshore windfarm insurance. Furthermore, we are committed to achieving stable growth by continuing to explore business opportunities in such lines as builder’s risks of naval vessels, marine liability, and fine arts. 

Gross Written Premiums: Marine and Aviation

(Units: KRW billion, USD million)

– Individual figures may not add up to the total shown due to rounding.