With the number of players increasing one by one in the insurance market, observers say that the Internet insurance market is gaining ground. (Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Jul. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The Internet insurance market is heating up as Naver, Korea’s largest Internet portal operator, recently announced its plan to jump into the financial industry.
South Korea’s top internet portal operator Naver Corp., which has established a separate subsidiary that specializes in providing financial services, aims to provide various financial services, including loans and insurance, as well as simple payments.
With Naver’s entry into the financial business, the size of the Internet insurance market is expected to grow further.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Kakaopay Corp. also acquired a startup called InByU, which provides insurance service platform services, to set the stage for its entry into the insurance industry.
Carrot Property Insurance, an online insurance company owned by Hanwha General Insurance Co., also plans to secure about 100 workers to start operations at the end of the year.
Kyobo Lifeplanet Life Insurance, which launched in 2013 as Korea’s first Internet-only life insurance company, is also increasing partnerships with Toss and other simple payment operators.
With the number of players increasing one by one in the insurance market, observers say that the Internet insurance market is gaining ground.
In particular, there are expectations that IT operators such as Naver and Kakao will quickly tap into the Internet insurance market by using their established userbases as a foothold.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
