Heungkuk Life wins 6-month exclusive rights with prostate cancer side-effect prevention rider

Heungkuk Life Insurance announced Tuesday that it has secured a six-month exclusive-use license from the Korea Life Insurance Association for a new rider covering a biodegradable spacer procedure designed to reduce side effects during prostate cancer radiation treatment.

The rider covers the biodegradable spacer procedure once a year to help prevent side effects that can arise during prostate cancer radiation treatment. It expands coverage beyond the diagnosis- and treatment-focused scope of conventional cancer insurance to include prevention of treatment-related side effects.

The procedure involves injecting a biodegradable material between the prostate and the adjacent rectum to create a buffer space. This reduces the radiation dose reaching the rectum, helping prevent side effects such as rectal damage. The injected material naturally breaks down in the body after a set period.

Heungkuk Life incorporated the benefit as part of its major prostate cancer treatment rider to strengthen overall coverage throughout the cancer treatment process. The insurer expects the product to ease the financial burden on customers while also helping prevent treatment-related side effects.

The company developed the rider in-house with an eye on the growing number of prostate cancer patients and their quality of life after treatment. Existing insurance products cover direct cancer treatment or side effects that have already occurred; the new rider earned recognition for its distinctiveness and originality by extending coverage to the prevention of side effects that may arise during treatment.

"Securing this exclusive-use license is a recognition of the originality, advancement and customer utility of coverage that takes the entire cancer treatment process into account," a Heungkuk Life official said. "We will continue to introduce products that reflect the treatment environment and customers' coverage needs."

Meanwhile, Heungkuk Life secured a three-month exclusive-use license in April for a rider that pays a monthly living allowance for life upon a metastatic cancer diagnosis, underscoring the insurer's consistent push to develop niche cancer coverage.