Agriculture and Other Specialty Lines

Thanks to the continuous expansion of the primary agriculture insurance market, we saw our gross written premiums increase by 6.5 percent for crop business and 29.2 percent for livestock business to KRW 174.6 billion and KRW 74.4 billion, respectively, in 2018. However, our profitability sharply declined as our crop loss ratio jumped to 155 percent due to spring frost, hail, and typhoons. At the same time, exceptional damage from heatwaves sent our livestock loss ratio up to 148 percent.

We recorded a double-digit growth in premium income in 2018 from our overseas agricultural business, which amounted to KRW 111 billion. Based on our experience in domestic crop insurance, we have been implementing overseas agricultural programs since 2014. We wrote business from 14 countries worldwide in 2018, and our effort to expand into overseas markets will continue to gain traction going forward.

In the case of natural peril insurance, there was a decrease in the value of the primary market in 2018 due to slowing sales, which also impeded our business growth. In addition, the market suffered two typhoons, resulting in a loss ratio of 65 percent for the year. 

Korean Re is well-positioned to lead the domestic reinsurance market for crop, livestock, and natural perils insurance by exclusively providing local insurers with access to overseas reinsurance capacity. We have been successfully playing this role as a reliable provider of reinsurance capacity, contributing to market development for government-sponsored insurance plans.

Gross Written Premiums: Agriculture and Other Specialty Lines

(Units: KRW billion, USD million)

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