It is expected that the paradigm of the Korean financial industry will be restructured from the current financial specialty system to the universal banking system due to the introduction of Bancassurance in September, 2003. In particular, the activation of Bancassurance is expected to influence greatly on the Korean insurance industry such as changes in insurance marketing channels, restructuring of insurance industry, expansion of universal banking and globalization of insurance business.
In this respect, this study is designed to analyze the effects of the introduction of Bancassurance on the Korean non-life insurance industry and hence, establish strategic plans that non-life insurers can utilize.
The introduction of Bancassurance will result in the following situations
firstly, emerging of the bank-based financial group, getting worse of small and medium non-life insurers' financial soundness and weakening of competitiveness of currently existing non-life insurers due to the increase of risks resulting from the interest change of saving-oriented insurance products, secondly, encroaching of existing bank-based financial institutes on insurance markets, thirdly, reorganizing of traditional insurance marketing channels. Accordingly, it is expected that the introduction of Bancassurance will be a threatening factor rather than favorable factor to the Korean non-life insurance industry.
Therefore, Korean non-life insurers should try to find out the ways of continuing growth and making profits in order to survive by utilizing accumulated knowledge and skills as professional insurance institutes, harmonizing the product mix with non-life insurers' common products and special products, and constructing various insurance marketing channels.