The number of legal tussles between local insurance firms and policyholders nearly doubled last year as they spared over insurance compensation, industry data showed Monday.
Local insurers and policy holders were involved in a total of 1,112 law suits last year, up from 647 cases a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Out of 953 nonlife insurance company-related cases, 880, or 92.3 percent, were filed by insurance firms against their clients, while life insurers were plaintiffs for 106 cases, or 66.7 percent, among 159 lawsuits.
Dongbu Insurance Co., the third-largest nonlife insurance firm in the country, was engaged in 163 legal cases last year, followed by No. 2 Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. with 143 cases and Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co. with 113.
Among life insurers, Hyundai Life Insurance Co. was party to 20 lawsuits, with Kyobo Life Insurance Co. involved in 12 cases.
Market watchers say that the sharp increase in insurer-client lawsuits came as insurance firms tend to be fastidious in calculating compensation or liability in order to reduce payments.
They argue that insurers have a higher possibility of winning a legal battle over individual policy holders, who have to accept bargained compensation in the end.
Financial authorities have ordered insurers to open public pending litigations on the homepages of their trade associations, such as the General Insurance Association of Korea or the Korea Life Insurance Association, starting from next month. (Yonhap)
