Business · Companies · 16 hrs ago
How actuaries use data to design South Korea’s growing pet insurance market
South Korea’s pet insurance market is growing as owners look for help with rising veterinary costs.
Last year, insurers collected 128.7 billion won in pet insurance premiums, 61.1% more than the year before.
Kakao Pay Insurance entered the market in March and recorded 10,000 policies within four months.
Designing these policies is difficult because there is less data about animals than about people, and costs vary by breed and age.
Actuaries combine reference rates with veterinary bills and use expert views and research to fill gaps in the data.
They use these figures to estimate risks and set premiums, coverage limits and the share of costs owners pay themselves.
The proposed rates and policy terms undergo checks by internal teams and other specialists before a product can be sold.
South Korea’s pet insurance market is growing, and actuaries use claims data and other sources to set coverage and premiums.
The market’s gross written premiums reached 128.7 billion won last year, up 61.1% from the previous year.
KakaoPay Insurance recorded 10,000 cumulative pet insurance contracts within four months of launching its first product in March.
Actuary Lee Se-hwa says limited data and differences in medical costs by breed and age make pet insurance risk calculations difficult.
Insurers use reference risk rates, veterinary hospital receipts and expert or academic input, then validate the calculations before launching products.
- Who
- Actuaries, including Lee Se-hwa of KakaoPay Insurance, develop pet insurance products.
- What
- They use data and other sources to calculate risks and design coverage and premiums.
- When
- Maeil Business published the article on November 8, 2026; KakaoPay Insurance launched its first pet insurance product in March this year.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Growing pet medical costs have increased demand for insurance, while limited data makes risks difficult to estimate.
Pet owners
Insurers
Coverage limits
Pet owners
Pet owners may want to protect their animals regardless of cost.
Insurers
Insurers need limits to keep products sustainable; higher limits can raise premiums and increase cancellations.
Pet insurance gross written premiums reached 128.7 billion won, a 61.1% increase from the previous year.
KakaoPay Insurance launched its first pet insurance product.
KakaoPay Insurance reached 10,000 cumulative pet insurance contracts.
Maeil Business published its article about actuaries developing pet insurance.
- Market premiums
- 128.7 billion won in 2025
- Annual premium growth
- 61.1%
- KakaoPay Insurance launch
- March 2026
- KakaoPay Insurance contracts
- 10,000 within four months of launch
- Older-pet risk
- Medical cost risk for a 10-year-old pet is about twice that for a 1-year-old pet
What people are saying
If there is not enough data, it is difficult to break down risk rates, and it is also difficult to judge whether the values we have created match reality.
We do not use the reference risk rate as it is; we use it as a basis and add data from veterinary hospital receipts that we purchase.
If you raise the limit, premiums go up and cancellations after enrollment also increase.