In the future, patients with minor injuries from car accidents will find it more difficult to receive long-term treatment insurance benefits.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 26th that the improvements to the auto insurance system were included in their plan. According to the government's proposal, future treatment costs that had previously been paid without auto insurance stipulations will now only be available to seriously injured patients (injury grades 1-11). The government is also pushing for legislation covering all compensation items, including loss of income due to treatment costs.
If patients with minor injuries (injury grades 12-14), such as sprains, wish to undergo long-term treatment exceeding eight weeks, they must submit medical records to the insurance company. If the insurance company determines that long-term treatment is unnecessary, it may notify the patient of its plan to suspend payment guarantees. Additionally, the act of receiving future treatment costs while being compensated by other insurance, such as health insurance, will also be prohibited.
The government has not only targeted insurance payments but also the calculation of insurance premiums. Young drivers listed under their parents' auto insurance will now have their accident-free records acknowledged. Drivers using a spouse's vehicle will also be recognized for up to three years of accident-free record, regardless of the type of restricted driver endorsement.
The government projected that unnecessary insurance payouts would decrease through this improvement plan, leading to a reduction of approximately 3% in individual auto insurance premiums. Kim So-young, vice chair of the Financial Supervisory Service, noted, “We will strengthen the supervision of insurance companies regarding unjust denial of insurance payouts or the reasonableness of premium adjustments, so that the improvement of the system can directly benefit insurance contract holders.”