Samsung Fire posts W1.4tr in first-half net profit, up 10%

Samsung Fire announced Thursday that its consolidated net profit for the period in the first half of this year reached 1.37 trillion won ($971 million), up 10.1% from the same period last year. Profitability improved in both long-term and general insurance, while auto insurance swung to a profit in the second quarter after posting a loss in the first. A buoyant stock market also lifted investment income, driving earnings growth across both insurance underwriting and asset management.

Net profit attributable to controlling shareholders came to 1.37 trillion won, up 10.2%. Second-quarter net profit rose 15.7% to 739 billion won. For the first half, insurance profit totaled 1.11 trillion won and investment profit reached 788 billion won, up 10.9% and 22.0%, respectively.

Long-term insurance profit for the first half rose 5.6% to 880.4 billion won. The risk loss ratio improved from 98.8% in the first quarter to 97.0% in the second, and persistency rates for protection policies at the 25th and 37th months improved by 6 percentage points and 6.3 percentage points, respectively. The first-year loss ratio also fell from 66.0% in the second quarter of last year to 59.3%, reflecting better loss performance on policies sold over the past year — a result the company attributed to tighter underwriting standards.

The contractual service margin (CSM) balance stood at 14.59 trillion won at the end of June, up 427.1 billion won from the end of last year. New-contract CSM secured in the first half totaled 1.24 trillion won. The CSM multiple — which measures how much margin is built up relative to new-contract premiums — rose to 13.9 times from 12.8 times in the same period last year. However, monthly-equivalent new-contract premiums fell 19.5% to 14.9 billion won, underscoring a clear strategic shift toward profitability over volume.

Auto insurance returned to profit in the second quarter. First-half insurance revenue edged down to 2.74 trillion won, but the loss ratio improved from 85.2% in the first quarter to 82.0% in the second, pushing second-quarter insurance profit to 29.6 billion won. Samsung Fire said a decline in accident rates driven by reduced vehicle usage offset a rise in per-claim losses stemming from higher compensation costs.

General insurance grew both domestically and overseas. First-half insurance revenue rose 11.2% to 942.5 billion won, and insurance profit surged 75.6% to 187.5 billion won, as refined management of low-margin segments and fewer large-scale accidents improved the loss ratio. Overseas subsidiary earnings jumped 43.3%. Equity-method investment gains from Canopius — a specialty insurer in the Lloyd's of London market in which Samsung Fire holds a 40% stake as the second-largest shareholder — jumped 247.6% to 168.5 billion won.

On the asset management side, investment income based on managed assets rose 16.3% to 1.75 trillion won. However, as the managed asset base expanded 20.1% to 111.1 trillion won, the investment yield slipped to 3.50% from 3.64% last year.

The Korea Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) solvency ratio, a key financial health indicator, stood at 282.8% at the end of June, up 19.9 percentage points from 262.9% at the end of last year. Samsung Fire received a credit rating upgrade from S&P Global last month, moving from AA- to AA.

"We have maintained solid earnings on the back of profitability-focused management and differentiated risk management capabilities," said Koo Young-min, Samsung Fire's chief financial officer. "In the second half, we will continue to strengthen our core business fundamentals while pursuing AI- and data-driven innovation and securing future growth engines to enhance corporate and shareholder value."