The Financial Supervisory Service said on the 20th that it refunded 1.36 billion won in improperly surcharged auto insurance premiums to 2,289 victims of auto insurance fraud last year. The average refund per person was about 600,000 won.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that over the past five years, it has returned an average of 1.21 billion won in surcharged premiums each year to 2,540 victims of auto insurance fraud. The FSS, the Korea Insurance Development Institute, and non-life insurers jointly operate a relief program that returns surcharged premiums improperly borne by victims of auto insurance fraud. Since the program began in June 2009, a total of 11.2 billion won has been refunded to about 24,000 people to date.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will grant to the Korea INclusive Finance Agency (KINFA) any unclaimed surcharges left for more than 10 years to manage long-outstanding unrefunded surcharges more systematically. After each insurer informs the victims of insurance fraud about the details, they will sequentially grant the funds to KINFA starting next month.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that although non-life insurers guide affected consumers on the damage and the refund process for surcharged premiums, there are cases where the refund does not proceed due to reasons such as changes in consumer contact information or refusal to receive calls.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said, "We will continue efforts to ensure that relief for insurance fraud victims is fully carried out, including promptly refunding surcharged premiums to victims of auto insurance fraud."