FSS: "Citizen Safety Insurance" Covers Disasters and Accidents; All Citizens Eligible for Benefits

Automatically enrolled for all registered residents
Covers disasters, fires, public transportation accidents, and more
Claims must be filed with the insurer, not the local government

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on November 1 that citizens registered as residents are automatically enrolled in “Citizen Safety Insurance,” which covers disasters and accidents, but may be unaware of their coverage.

Examples of Major Death and Permanent Disability Coverage Items Under Citizen Safety Insurance. Financial Supervisory Service.

Citizen Safety Insurance is insurance that local governments may choose to purchase. It covers death and permanent disability resulting from natural disasters, including sunstroke and heatstroke; social disasters, excluding infectious diseases; fires, explosions and collapses; and accidents while using public transportation. Additional coverage may include agricultural machinery accidents, wildlife-related injuries and toxic-substance accidents, taking into account local characteristics such as rural and fishing communities.

The FSS advised people using Citizen Safety Insurance to check which insurance policies covered their registered address at the time of the accident; check the policies offered by both metropolitan and lower-level local governments; understand that coverage details differ by local government; file claims with the insurance company, not the local government; and note that claims can be filed for accidents that occurred within the past three years.

According to the FSS, insurance claims can be filed in all of the following cases: when the same coverage is provided under multiple policies; when separate policies provide coverage for different types of benefits; and when separate policies cover different reasons for payment.

For example, if a resident of District B in City A dies in a fire, they can claim the full combined amount of KRW 35 million: KRW 25 million in fire-related death benefits from City A and KRW 10 million from District B.

If a 10-year-old resident of District D in City C is injured after being hit by a car while walking in a school zone, they can claim the full combined amount of KRW 15 million: up to KRW 10 million in treatment costs for school-zone traffic accident injuries from City C and up to KRW 5 million in treatment costs for traffic accident injuries involving a child pedestrian from District D.

If a resident of District F in City E suffers burns in a fire, undergoes one surgery and sustains a permanent disability, they can claim a total of KRW 21 million: up to KRW 20 million in fire-related injury and permanent disability benefits from City E, plus KRW 1 million per burn surgery from District F.

People can check each local government's insurance enrollment information by year through the “Citizen Safety Insurance Lookup” on the Disaster Insurance 24 website. Detailed coverage information is posted on the websites of the relevant local governments, which are linked to the Disaster Insurance 24 site.

Information on Citizen Safety Insurance posted on the Disaster Insurance 24 website. Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)

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