Insurance Industry Watches Korea Investment Holdings' Moves... Cautious of "Dark Horse in Whole Life Insurance and Client Sales"

If a Life Insurer Is Acquired, Threat to Kyobo's Holding Company Transition and Hanwha Life

If a Non-Life Insurer Is Acquired, Challenge to Meritz in Planner Recruitment and Gross Premiums

Industry: "Aggressive Sales Could Lead to Overheated Short-Term Competition"

Korea Investment Holdings is accelerating its push into the insurance sector by actively participating in both life and non-life insurance M&A deals, drawing keen attention from the industry. Observers note that if Korea Investment Holdings acquires a life insurer, it could combine short-term whole life insurance sales targeted at high-net-worth individuals with asset management (WM) services. If it acquires a non-life insurer, it is expected to ignite competition for securing insurance planners and expanding gross written premiums.

"Could Emerge as a Major Player in Whole Life Insurance with a Life Insurer Acquisition"

Namgoo Kim, Chairman of Korea Investment Holdings. The Asia Business Daily DB

As of June 24, according to the insurance industry, both life and non-life insurers are closely watching which company Korea Investment Holdings will acquire. The companies currently involved in the bidding include KDB Life Insurance and BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance in the life sector, and Yebyeol General Insurance and Lotte Insurance in the non-life sector.

Industry experts believe that if Korea Investment Holdings acquires a life insurer, it could excel in providing customized tax-saving consulting for high-net-worth individuals, especially through short-term whole life insurance products. Whole life insurance can serve as a tool to minimize tax burdens during inheritance and gifting, depending on the contract structure, premium payer, and beneficiary designation. Currently, insurance planners (FPs) affiliated with insurers offer these services to policyholders, and major life insurers such as Samsung Life Insurance, Hanwha Life Insurance, and Kyobo Life Insurance are known to have strengths in this area.

Short-term whole life insurance typically has a premium payment period of 5 to 7 years, shorter than standard whole life policies, making it easier to generate significant contract service margin (CSM) in a short time. As a result, these products are regarded as “star performers” for improving an insurer’s accounting profitability indicators. The potential for Korea Investment Holdings to leverage its securities and asset management expertise to deliver differentiated services in this field is why some believe it could disrupt the business foundations of traditional life insurers.

An industry official commented, “If a securities-affiliated company like Korea Investment Holdings offers such services, private bankers (PBs) from the WM division, who mainly serve high-net-worth clients, could partially replace the traditional role of insurance planners at life insurers.”

Could Shake Up the Big Three Rivalry in Life Insurance

If Korea Investment Holdings acquires a life insurer, it could significantly alter the existing competitive landscape in the life insurance sector. It may emerge as a formidable competitor to Kyobo Life Insurance, which is currently pursuing conversion into a holding company through its acquisition of SBI Savings Bank, and could also pose a challenge to Hanwha Life Insurance, which, alongside Samsung Life and Kyobo Life, has long maintained a leading market position. At the end of last year, Hanwha Life Insurance fell behind Shinhan Life in standalone net income, raising concerns about its market standing.

Another industry source said, “Many believe that if Korea Investment Holdings enters the insurance business with aggressive marketing, it could become a dark horse threatening the market positions of traditional major players. In particular, if it acquires a life insurer, it could further strain Hanwha Life Insurance, which has recently struggled against Shinhan Life’s challenge, and will inevitably be compared to Kyobo Life Insurance, which is accelerating its transformation into a holding company.”

Planner Recruitment Becomes a Key Variable If a Non-Life Insurer Is Acquired

If Korea Investment Holdings acquires a non-life insurer such as Yebyeol General Insurance or Lotte Insurance, it is likely to actively compete for insurance planner recruitment. In the non-life sector, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance has intensified competition by launching the “Meritz Partners” remote sales platform and rapidly securing a large number of part-time planners. Since launching Meritz Partners in March 2024, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance has recruited about 15,000 part-time planners in just two years. As of the end of the first quarter, the company had 46,552 exclusive planners, fiercely competing with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in this area.

The industry expects that if Korea Investment Holdings enters the insurance business as a latecomer, it will likely adopt a strategy focused on rapidly increasing the number of planners and gross written premiums, rather than conservative approaches such as managing policy retention rates. In particular, if it acquires Lotte Insurance, it could leverage Lotte Insurance’s mobile sales support platform “Wonder” to quickly establish a presence in the part-time planner market. Lotte Insurance, which launched Wonder in December 2023, is regarded as a pioneer in the part-time planner market.

However, if Korea Investment Holdings challenges traditional leaders such as Meritz Fire & Marine and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in planner recruitment, regulatory pressure over market overheating could intensify. In late April 2024, the Financial Supervisory Service warned in its “2025 Insurance Company Sales Channel Efficiency and Supervision Direction” report that the influx of part-time planners was reducing the efficiency of product sales and weakening job stability for planners across the industry.

An industry official said, “Whether Korea Investment Holdings acquires a life or non-life insurer, it is highly likely to pursue aggressive sales strategies. If each company’s sales teams face increased short-term performance pressures, regulatory authorities could also strengthen internal control requirements. In any case, the entry of Korea Investment Holdings into the insurance business will become a factor that shakes up the entire industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.