A key platform for comparing and recommending pet insurance in South Korea has become nonfunctional, as most insurers have withdrawn their participation. With no products currently available, the platform has effectively halted its operations, according to a Korean news outlet.
The disruption comes after the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) issued a directive in April to shorten pet insurance renewal cycles from three years to one. The move was intended to limit overtreatment and reduce insurers’ financial losses.
In response, insurance companies began revising their pet insurance products in early May. However, these new offerings have not yet been uploaded to the comparison platform due to a lack of coordination and technical readiness.
As a result, the platform—once a key resource for pet owners—has been rendered temporarily useless.
Currently, pet insurance comparison services on platforms like Naver Pay and Kakao Pay list products from insurers including Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, and KB Insurance. Among them, only KB Insurance appears on both platforms. Meritz, notably, is not listed at all.
The main causes of the delay include the need to recalculate platform fees based on revised premiums and to retest IT systems to ensure the accurate display of new products.
Critics argue that insurers have been slow to respond to the FSS directive, showing a lack of urgency around pet insurance services. Many see this as a sign that pet insurance remains a low priority for insurers, with little regard for consumer convenience.
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