Kakao Pay's insurance arm revamps health product to fill coverage gaps

Kakao Pay General Insurance has revised its health insurance product to analyze policyholders' existing coverage, identify gaps, and recommend only the additional protection they actually need, the company said Monday.

Under the update, customers enrolling in the health insurance product can use a "find my coverage gaps" feature to have their existing policies assessed. The tool queries insurance enrollment data from Korea Credit Information Services to evaluate protection levels across categories — including cancer, brain and heart disease, and everyday conditions such as influenza — then recommends specific coverage items and benefit amounts where shortfalls are found.

The feature goes beyond simply checking whether a particular coverage item is held. It shows the current level of protection and how much more a customer should prepare, calculating the recommended benefit amount based not only on treatment costs but also on basic living expenses expected to arise during a treatment period.

Coverage items already adequately covered by other policies are not recommended again. Rather than nudging customers to cancel or switch existing plans, the product is designed to add only what is missing — focusing on areas where overlapping coverage is permissible, such as fixed-benefit items.

The entire process — from checking enrollment history and receiving a diagnosis, to reviewing results, designing a plan and signing up — takes place on mobile. Customers can select and purchase the coverage they need without a separate phone consultation.

The overhaul reflects findings from consumer research. In a survey of 1,885 adults conducted in July, Kakao Pay Insurance found that "comparing and choosing products and coverage items" was the most commonly cited difficulty when purchasing health insurance, named by 56 percent of respondents (multiple answers allowed). "Judging the scope of coverage" came second at 44 percent, followed by "deciding on benefit amounts" at 40 percent. A separate survey of 1,050 people conducted in February found that 50 percent wanted a service that would query their insurance enrollment history and recommend coverage they were lacking.

The revised product is open to customers aged 19 to 49. Policy terms run from age 60 up to a maximum of 100, selectable in 10-year increments. It provides five core coverage categories — cancer, brain disease, heart disease, everyday illness and emergency room visits — and an optional "treatment cost plus" add-on package covering surgical and diagnostic expenses for illness and injury.

"What matters in insurance is not how many policies you hold, but whether you have the right coverage for your needs," a Kakao Pay Insurance official said. "Through this revision, we have improved the health insurance enrollment experience so that customers can first check what they already have, understand what is missing, and then fill only the gaps they need to fill."

Kakao Pay Insurance launched its first mobile-optimized health insurance product in June last year, expanding its portfolio from short-term, small-sum products such as travel and handset insurance into long-term coverage. The company posted a net loss of 17.5 billion won ($12.6 million) in the first half of this year, down 7.3 billion won from the same period last year.