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Hyundai Marine Weathers Economic Downturn

By Kim Jae-won Staff Reporter "There will be no failure even if some trials are standing in our way." This was the life motto of Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, who passed away in March 2001. With this motto in mind, executives and employees of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance are seeking to become an industry leader in the post-crisis world. The insurance industry faces several big issues this year. Analysts predicted that growth potential would decrease as the loss ratio in auto insurance goes up in 2010. The government watchdog is also tightening regulations related to consumer protection. However, Hyundai vows to overcome such difficulties and keep consumers satisfied. Hyundai is proud of its quick service. The insurer has run its own customer center titled "Hi-VOC' since 2005. The center accepts complaints filed by customers as well as employees through its call center and Web site, as well as in person. The representatives from the center promise to respond to complaints within 24 hours. For serious and complicated issues, executives meet and comprise a

Samsung Fire Aims at Global Top 10 by 2020

By Cho Jin-seo Staff Reporter Not many volleyball fans were surprised when Samsung Fire & Marine took another champion's trophy in the V-League's regular season last Sunday. The club has been the dominant force in the Korean volleyball league for a long time, winning 21 trophies in various leagues and tournaments since its inception 15 years ago. Its parent company may be learning from the success of its volleyball team. The insurer has been the unarguable champion in its own league ― the non-life insurance market ― and now wants to lift its status into that of a major global player. The goal is to become one of top 10 major insurers in the world within the next 10 years. To achieve that, it has to study how to mix and match the strengths of local and overseas operations, and create a more efficient and sustainable global business platform. From that aspect, this year will be a crucial year. Several media, including China's Xinhua news agency, reported that the Korea's No.1 player is planning to tap the Chinese automobile insurance market as early as the first half of th

CEO Instills Spirit of Innovation

By Cho Jin-seo Staff Reporter Samsung Fire & Marine CEO Chi Dae-sub knows that globalization is not an option for his company. As the local automobile insurance market is believed to be saturated, Samsung's only choice for growth is to look outside. ``Thomas Freidman said that nowadays borders only exist in one's mind. Globalization is a prerequisite for survival. There is no future for a firm who is satisfied with the No.1 position in one country,'' he said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. A master in accounting, Chi started his career at Cheil Industries, which is known as the Westpoint of Samsung Group's financial experts. He also took an instrumental part in the phenomenal success of its sister company, Samsung Electronics. He joined the semiconductor division of the electronics giant in 1998 as CFO, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Over the next 10 years, he oversaw inflows of billions of dollars every month into the company's account from buyers all over the world, while the company became one of the largest, most profitable, and most globa

Soaring Loss Ratio Hurts Non-Life Insurers

By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Non-life insurers were relatively safe from the global financial crisis compared to life policy providers. They continued double digit growth in the 2009 fiscal year thanks to strong performances in long-term loss and general loss insurance. The outlook for this year is positive, with economy expected to enter recovery mode and the insurance industry tending to move in line with economic cycles. But there are a number of issues that the industry must deal with. The biggest concern of non-life groups here is how to deal with the soaring loss ratio in auto insurance. Auto policies represent some 30 percent of non-life insurance businesses. Such products had a hard time last year due to sluggish sales of new vehicles, a slowdown in car registration and cutthroat competition to cut premiums amid expansion of the online market. On top of that, the loss ratio added to their burden. The ratio of insurance money paid to subscribers compared with their insurance premium income is seen as the barometer for companies' profitability. The fig

Leveraging Consumer Insights Key to Success

This is the fourth in a 12-part series of “The Korea Times . the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Joint Project” designed to identify new realities in the post-crisis world and provide winning strategies for leading Korean firms in 11 key industries. In cooperation with BCG, The Korea Times will look into a wide variety of issues both in the global economy and major industries. .. ED. By Kevin Lee Partner and Managing Director, BCG Seoul Office The financial crisis has tarnished the image of financial services as a whole, but it has burnished the image of institutions that are perceived to be safe or even staid. In this respect, the insurance industry, while far from immune to the effects of the crisis, is in a relatively strong position. The hallmarks of insurance, security and stability, are top of many consumers minds. But translating these priorities into new demand and higher rates of retention requires a deep understanding of customer behavior. Understanding how attitudes toward insurance and how the crisis has changed people's view of the industry, is the first step i

A model introduces Samsung Electronics new ...

Shin Eun-chul, center, CEO and vice chairman of ...

Dongbu Pursues Customer Satisfaction, Ethical Management

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter Dongbu Insurance seeks to become a sustainable global enterprise in the 21st century by maximizing customer satisfaction, practicing ethnical management and creating an employee-friendly workplace, company CEO Kim Soon-hwan said. Kim also said the non-life insurer has adopted an internationally competitive management system and built strong overseas business networks, emerging as one of the world's most profitable companies. ``There are six key shared values in our corporate culture: customer-centered, field-oriented, professionalism, a challenging spirit, practice-oriented and reliability-based. We have been instituting these values that incorporate character and innovation in the insurance business to satisfy our customers and help our workers put them into action,'' the CEO said. Kim said Dongbu Insurance started as the nation's first auto insurance company, putting top priority on making its customers happy with the philosophy of ``people are served ahead of automobiles,'' adding that it will continue to develop new sales channels, intro

Dongbu to Offer All-in-One Financial Services

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter Dongbu Insurance is seeking to emerge as a globally competitive insurance provider, creating the best value for its customers, employees and shareholders. In the long run, the company aims to emerge as a comprehensive financial services provider, offering not only non-life insurance products and services but also wealth management, as regulatory barriers separating banking, securities and insurance are taken down. To secure a completive edge over its rivals, Dongbu will improve its profitability and strengthen its marketing and sales channels, while placing top priority on providing customers with comprehensive risk and asset management services. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the non-life insurer will make every effort to more effectively manage risk and generate a stable cash flow, as well as find new growth engines overseas as the domestic insurance market has entered an era of low growth. ``Our vision is to become an excellent insurance provider with a globally competitive edge and commitment to creating customer va

Innovation Leads LIG Insurance to Success

By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Though 2009 was a tough year for all financial businesses, some managed to fare well. LIG Insurance was one of the few winners, and it attributes its success to its continuous development of innovative products. Despite the economic downturn, LIG increased its market share by 0.3 percentage points to 13.4 percent in 2009 by boosting sales by 17 percent to 4 trillion won. This is the biggest growth in terms of sales and market share among the top players of the industry. LIG saw its market share rise in all categories of its business, including general insurances, long-term insurances and auto insurance. The robust performance came as a result of the insurer's efforts to develop new products and markets. For example, it first introduced legal expense insurance in mid October last year, which covers lawyer's fees and other litigation and administrative fees. This niche market had been neglected by the local insurance industry. LIG has expanded its customer base by selling auto insurance. The firm sees auto insurance policyholders as pote