What are the K-ICS ratios of Samsung Life, Samsung Fire & Marine, DB Insurance and Kyobo Life?

The second-quarter ratios were 208.2 percent for Samsung Life, 282.8 percent for Samsung Fire & Marine, 204.4 percent for DB Insurance and 200.8 percent for Kyobo Life. The ratio measures an insurer’s ability to cover its liabilities and risks.

What capital rule will Korean insurers face from 2027, and what target must they meet?

From next year, insurers will have to maintain higher levels of basic capital, including retained earnings, relative to the broader capital required to cover risks. They must bring their basic-capital K-ICS ratios to at least 50 percent of required capital by 2035.

How could DB Insurance’s Fortegra acquisition affect its capital position?

DB Insurance’s roughly 2.3 trillion won acquisition of U.S. insurer Fortegra adds capital demands as the company expands overseas. A larger international business may create new growth sources, but its solvency ratio could come under pressure if its capital base does not keep pace.

Capital soundness looms over major insurers' CEO reappointment decisions

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Summary

The terms of Samsung Life Insurance CEO Hong Won-hak, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance CEO Lee Mun-hwa, DB Insurance CEO Jeong Jong-pyo and Kyobo Life Insurance co-CEO Cho Dae-kyu are due to expire in March, with capital strength emerging as a key factor in their reappointment decisions. New rules requiring insurers to hold stronger financial cushions are set to take effect in 2027. Although all four insurers reported higher first-half net profit, their K-ICS ratios fell at three companies and rose at Samsung Fire & Marine. Their ability to sustain earnings from core insurance operations and meet tighter capital requirements will also be scrutinized.

Key Facts

The four insurers’ consolidated net profits in the first half were 1.97 trillion won at Samsung Life, 1.37 trillion won at Samsung Fire & Marine, 979.6 billion won at DB Insurance and 704.8 billion won at Kyobo Life.
In the second quarter, the K-ICS ratio was 282.8 percent at Samsung Fire & Marine, 208.2 percent at Samsung Life, 204.4 percent at DB Insurance and 200.8 percent at Kyobo Life.
Insurers must raise their basic-capital K-ICS ratios to at least 50 percent of required capital by 2035.
Samsung Life’s first-half insurance-business profit fell 35.9 percent year on year to 533 billion won, while Kyobo Life’s fell 10.3 percent to 227.5 billion won.
DB Insurance’s overseas expansion includes its roughly 2.3 trillion won acquisition of U.S. insurer Fortegra, which can put pressure on its solvency ratio if its capital base does not keep pace.

By Park Han-sol

Published Oct 21, 2026 3:15 pm KST
Updated Oct 21, 2026 3:25 pm KST

From left, Samsung Life Insurance CEO Hong Won-hak, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance CEO Lee Mun-hwa, DB Insurance CEO Jeong Jong-pyo and Kyobo Life Insurance co-CEO Cho Dae-kyu / Courtesy of each company

With the terms of major insurers’ CEOs set to expire early next year, the companies’ capital strength is emerging as a key factor in their chances of reappointment, particularly as new rules requiring insurers to hold stronger financial cushion against losses are set to take effect in 2027, industry officials said Wednesday.

All four companies reported higher consolidated net profit in the first half of this year. Samsung Life posted 1.97 trillion won, followed by Samsung Fire & Marine with 1.37 trillion won, DB Insurance with 979.6 billion won and Kyobo Life with 704.8 billion won.

But their capital positions showed a more mixed picture. The Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) ratio, which measures an insurer’s financial ability to cover its liabilities and risks, rose at Samsung Fire & Marine in the second quarter to 282.8 percent, but fell at the other three — Samsung Life at 208.2 percent, DB Insurance at 204.4 percent and Kyobo Life at 200.8 percent.

The quality of that capital is also becoming more important. Starting next year, insurers will face a new regulation requiring them to maintain higher levels of basic capital — such as retained earnings, which can absorb losses more directly — relative to the amount of broader capital deemed necessary to cover their risks. Accordingly, firms must raise their basic-capital K-ICS ratios to at least 50 percent of required capital by 2035.

The companies’ ability to generate profits from their core insurance businesses will also come under scrutiny. At Samsung Life, investment gains helped lift overall earnings, but profit from its insurance business fell 35.9 percent from a year earlier to 533 billion won in the first half.

Kyobo Life faces a similar challenge. Its consolidated net profit increased with help from stronger results at its affiliates, but profit from its core insurance business fell 10.3 percent to 227.5 billion won.

DB Insurance, meanwhile, must account for the capital demands of its overseas expansion, including its roughly 2.3 trillion won acquisition of U.S. insurer Fortegra. A larger international business can create new sources of growth, but it also puts pressure on its solvency ratio if its capital base does not keep pace.

For the four CEOs, the challenge is therefore not simply to deliver higher profits, but to show that those earnings are sustainable, that their core insurance businesses remain competitive and that their companies can maintain strong capital positions as regulatory requirements tighten. Observers say those will be important considerations as their reappointment decisions approach.

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