As the potential for growth in the domestic healthcare market increases, insurance companies are steadily knocking on the doors of the healthcare market. Despite ongoing conflicts with the medical community and various regulations and entry barriers, there are hopes that a path can be found if opportunities to utilize medical data arise.
According to the insurance industry on the 26th, Mirae Asset Life Insurance recently introduced digital healthcare services utilizing artificial intelligence. The company provides ▲AI health solutions ▲health records ▲health plus through its application 'M-LIFE.' For the first time as an insurance company, it has made these services accessible to everyone, regardless of their insurance subscription.
Hanwha General Insurance offers the 'Lady Healthcare Service' to customers of the 'Hanwha Signature Women's Health Insurance 2.0'. In collaboration with Cha Hospital, this product is introduced as a package collateral for women's diseases, providing healthcare services related to pregnancy and childbirth for female customers, including ▲regular health information provision ▲support for infertility treatment ▲psychological counseling.
AIA Life Insurance has been a leading player in providing healthcare services from early on. The health management coaching app 'AIA Vitality,' launched in 2018, is considered a representative health and wellness platform among domestic life insurance companies. So far, the accumulated number of users has reached about 2 million.
Some insurance companies are responding by establishing healthcare subsidiaries. Kyobo Life Insurance established its subsidiary, Kyobo Dasom Care, with a capital investment of 5.2 billion won last October. KB General Insurance also has KB Healthcare as a subsidiary. It acquired the non-face-to-face medical consultation platform 'OlaCare' and is currently operating KB O’CARE. Shinhan Life also has Shinhan Cube On as a healthcare subsidiary.
The reason insurance companies are entering the healthcare business is to improve revenue and secure new growth engines. With the aging society, increasing medical expenditure, and rising prevalence of chronic diseases, insurance companies aim to prevent diseases through proactive health management and minimize post-loss guarantees.
The potential of the domestic healthcare market is also seen as significant. According to a report titled 'The Big Transition of the Healthcare Industry Triggered by AI' published by Samsung KPMG last year, Korea's AI healthcare industry is expected to grow from $377 million (approximately 539.4 billion won) in 2023 to $6.672 billion (approximately 9.5469 trillion won) by 2030. This represents an average annual growth of 50.8%, exceeding the global average of 41.8% during the same period.
However, the healthcare businesses of domestic insurance companies are falling short of expectations due to various regulations, lack of effectiveness, and difficulties in securing revenue. Strict regulations on medical practices under the Medical Law and restrictions on the use of public medical data have raised concerns about limitations in enhancing healthcare services and expanding the market. If regulatory easing and changes in the market environment do not accompany these efforts, securing revenue from the insurance companies' healthcare businesses is expected to be challenging.
An industry insider noted, "Regulations have been gradually loosening over a long period, but the situation is still slow, and as a result, revenue models are not well established either," adding, "In addition to the difficulties in utilizing medical data, the medical community is now in a position where it has to share one pie with the insurance industry, which has further slowed progress."
However, he said, "The insurance industry sees this year’s upcoming implementation of the My Data medical initiative as an opportunity," adding, "Realistically, it might be delayed a bit, but if implemented, insurance companies are preparing to offer tailored services utilizing the data."