Insurance market sees profit in Q1

South Korean insurance companies recorded a 27.4 percent jump in first-quarter net profit from a year earlier, buoyed by a rise in investment-related earnings, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said recently.

The combined net income of 56 life and nonlife insurers stood at KRW1.51 trillion in the January-March period, compared with KRW1.2 trillion the previous year, according to the FSS.

The 25 life insurance firms logged a 29.8 percent jump in net profit at KRW940 billion over the three-month period, while 31 nonlife insurers' net expanded 23.8 percent on-year to KRW571.3 billion. Their combined premium income fell 9.5 percent to KRW43.3 trillion from KRW47.6 trillion over the cited period.

The regulator said the companies' increased investment returns contributed to the strong bottom line as life insurers earned KRW5.2 trillion from investment, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Nonlife insurance firms also posted a 15.5 on-year increase in investment returns over the same period, with KRW1.39 trillion.