Check if you have unclaimed national health insurance refunds

The National Health Insurance Service announced Tuesday it will run a two-month "focused refund payout period" starting in October to return unclaimed health insurance premium refunds to policyholders.

Refunds arise when a subscriber overpays or makes a duplicate payment, or when premiums are recalculated due to changes in a subscriber's eligibility status or income.

When a refund is generated, the NHIS notifies eligible subscribers through multiple channels, including mail, its website, mobile app and the government's Gukmin Biseo notification service.

Subscribers can check and apply for refunds through the NHIS website or mobile app, or by calling the customer center or visiting a nearby NHIS branch.

Those who sign up for the "advance account registration" service will have future refunds deposited automatically into their registered bank account without any additional application steps.

"We urge everyone to check whether they have any unclaimed refunds through the NHIS website or mobile app," an NHIS official said, adding that subscribers should exercise caution with suspicious messages. "National health insurance refund notifications never include a URL in text messages or emails, so any message or email from an unidentified sender that contains a link should be deleted immediately," the official said.