Last year’s non-life insurers’ real-life insurance deficit amounted to 2.4 trillion won… Due to excessive treatment such as manual therapy and cataract

It was found that last year’s non-life insurer’s real-loss medical insurance (real-loss insurance) amounted to 2,3608 billion won. Last year, the amount of hospital use decreased significantly due to the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), but it is interpreted by the effects of excessive treatment such as manual treatment and cataract.

According to the non-life insurance industry on the 16th, the amount of damages (insurance expenditure) incurred by all non-life insurers in 2020 was 10 trillion 101.7 billion won.

Non-life insurers’ losses after incurred losses minus risk insurance premiums amounted to KRW 2.36 trillion. Risk insurance premium refers to funds that can be used purely for insurance payments after deducting business operation expenses such as labor costs from the total insurance premiums received from insured subscribers.

The ratio of incurred losses to risk insurance premiums was 130.5%, exceeding 130% for the second consecutive year following the highest level in 2019 (134.6%). The loss ratio based on the total insurance premium including the share of business operation expenses is usually 21-22% lower than the risk loss ratio. Taking this into account, the loss ratio for real-life insurance is in the range of 108-109%.

Insurance benefits for some diseases suspected of over-treatment have risen abnormally. The insurance premium paid for cataracts alone reached 40.1 billion won, an increase of about 365.4% from 2017 (88.1 billion won). During the same period, insurance payments for skin diseases increased by 127% to 128.8 billion won. Musculoskeletal disorders, which account for 41.2% of insurance payments, increased by 50.5% from 3 years ago, mainly for manual therapy.

An official in the insurance industry said, “As the increase in non-insurance premiums such as cataracts led to an increase in real-loss insurance premiums, some insurers stopped selling real-life insurance due to excessive medical care.” It is expected to reach 3 trillion won,” he said.

Another official said, “Indiscriminate medical shopping and poor management of unpaid medical expenses are considered to be the main reasons for the increase in the loss ratio of real-life insurance.” You need a level of management,” he said.