'Insurance industry must serve as social safety net and pillar of productive finance'

The 31st Herald Insurance Awards ceremony, honoring insurers and insurance professionals who have led the development of South Korea's insurance industry, was held Monday morning at the Namsan Hall of Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. The awards, which began in 1996 as the first "Naekyung Insurance Awards," have been organized by The Herald Business for 31 consecutive years and stand as the most prestigious insurance-industry awards in the country.

Financial Services Commission Standing Commissioner An Chang-guk said in his congratulatory address that "the insurance industry is currently facing a challenging environment at home and abroad — slowing growth, mounting pressure on profitability, demographic shifts driven by the transition to a super-aged society, and rapid technological change led by AI." He said the ceremony had shown "just how many diverse efforts our insurance industry is making to overcome the difficulties it faces and chart a sustainable future." An added that the government "will actively pursue regulatory reforms and provide full support so that the insurance industry can develop soundly as a social safety net responsible for the health and retirement of the people, and as a strong pillar of productive finance."

Financial Supervisory Service Deputy Governor Park Ji-sun urged those honored at the ceremony to "take the lead in delivering consumer protection that the public can feel in their daily lives," and expressed hope that "everyone gathered here today will pool their wisdom to find solutions for growth and create a new opportunity for the insurance industry to leap forward again."

Jung Sung-hee, vice president of the Korea Insurance Research Institute and chair of the judging panel, said the keyword for this year's Herald Insurance Awards could be summed up in a single word: "trust." She said the winning companies had "placed the protection of consumer rights at the top of their management priorities and worked hard to reduce customer inconvenience at every stage — from enrollment to claims — by leveraging AI." She added that "by far the biggest topics in the insurance industry this year were consumer rights protection and AI transformation," and expressed hope that "mutual-benefit insurance products that embrace society's most vulnerable will continue to grow."

This year's judging was conducted by a seven-member panel of experts, who reviewed each company's merit submissions before finalizing the winners through deliberation in a plenary session. Samsung Life Insurance received the Financial Services Commission Chairman's Award — the top grand prize — while Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance received the Financial Supervisory Service Governor's Award. Both companies were recognized for placing consumer protection at the forefront of their management values and for advancing their consumer rights frameworks through AI transformation.

Other category winners included Kyobo Life and Hanwha Life Insurance for the Product Innovation Award; Mirae Asset Life Insurance for the Global Product Award; Shinhan Life for the Senior Care Award; NH Nonghyup Life, DB Insurance and KB Insurance for the AI Insurance Transformation Award; Samsung Fire and Hanwha General Insurance for the Consumer Protection Award; NH Nonghyup Property & Casualty Insurance and MetLife Korea for the Inclusive Finance Award; KB Life and iM Life for the Customer Asset Management Award; and Toss Insurance for the GA Award.

Cho Shin-hyung, Samsung Life Insurance's consumer protection division head, accepted the award on behalf of the company and said, "We are deeply grateful to receive such a prestigious award with such history and tradition," adding that Samsung Life would "spread a positive influence across the industry so that the entire life insurance sector can excel."

Jung Gyu-wan, planning and management division head at Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, said "the essence of insurance is a commitment to customers — to give them peace of mind when they face risk," and that the company would take the award as a reminder "to keep our commitment to customers even better, and work even harder."