Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Non-life insurers set sights on global specialty market as new growth engine
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By Park Han-sol
Major Korean non-life insurers are stepping up their push into the global specialty insurance market for new growth opportunities as the domestic market matures, with KB Insurance becoming the latest to pursue a foothold at Lloyd’s of London, industry officials said Sunday.
KB Insurance CEO Koo Bon-wook is expected to visit Lloyd’s next month, following board approval in March for the company to pursue an entry into the market. The visit will reportedly give Koo a chance to assess potential entry routes and business opportunities firsthand. The company is set to finalize its plans in the first half of next year.
Lloyd’s is the world’s leading specialty insurance marketplace, bringing together syndicates, underwriters and brokers to take on risks that are too complex or high-value for conventional insurers to handle. Its market spans everything from aviation, cyber and professional indemnity to high-value assets such as fine art and jewelry, as well as risks arising from natural disasters, terrorism and war.
For KB Insurance, the push overseas comes as growth in Korea’s non-life insurance market slows and is driving major players to diversify their portfolios and find new sources of earnings.
Koo has also called for a broader shift in the company’s business mix, saying in his New Year’s address that it would pursue “a bold shift in our business portfolio to overcome the growth limits of traditional insurance businesses while building a stable earnings base.”
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has already demonstrated the potential of such a strategy. The insurer first invested in Canopius, a specialty insurer operating through the Lloyd’s market, in 2019 and has steadily raised its stake since. It is now Canopius’ second-largest shareholder, with a roughly 40 percent stake.
As Canopius’ earnings have grown, so have Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s returns. The Korean insurer recorded 168.5 billion ($122 million) in profit from its stake in Canopius in the first half of this year, up 247.6 percent from a year earlier. The gains accounted for more than 12 percent of its 1.37 trillion won in total first-half net profit.
Meanwhile, DB Insurance has gone a step further, opting for a full-scale acquisition. In May, it completed its $1.65 billion purchase of U.S. specialty insurer The Fortegra Group, marking the first acquisition of a U.S. insurer by a Korean firm.
Fortegra reported $3.35 billion in gross written premiums and $160 million in net profit in 2025.