Insurers will be allowed to enter the "senior food (elderly-friendly food) manufacturing and distribution business" linked with their care subsidiaries. This follows the financial authorities accepting a request to ease regulations from life insurers that have entered the care business.
According to the financial authorities on the 27th, the Financial Services Commission recently issued an authoritative interpretation in response to an inquiry on whether care subsidiaries of insurers can manufacture, distribute, and sell senior food. Life insurers that recently entered the care institution business had submitted opinions to the authorities asking that manufacturing and sales of senior food be allowed within the scope of subsidiary operations.
Senior food is formulated to make digestion, absorption, and nutritional supplementation easier, taking into account the physical functions and eating abilities of older adults. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) concluded that distribution and sales of senior food are recognized as necessary operations for insurers' operation of senior welfare facilities. However, distribution and sales of senior food are limited to targets such as senior welfare facilities, and may be conducted only when there is no concern about undermining fair trade order.
Allowing distribution and sales of senior food is expected to further accelerate life insurers' entry into the care business. Recently, life insurers under financial holding companies have been moving in earnest into the care business. Currently, KB Life, Shinhan Life, and Hana Life are seeking to expand the market through dedicated care-business subsidiaries such as KB Gold Life Care, Shinhan Life Care, and Hana The Next Life Care. Samsung Life Insurance(032830) has been pushing to enter the business after establishing a 100% subsidiary, "Samsung Noble Life," in Aug. last year.
However, industry voices said prices at these life insurers' care facilities are set at two to four times those of general care facilities due to various regulations. One of those regulations was that life insurers could not directly distribute and sell senior food.