A growing number of South Koreans canceled their insurance policies last year due to financial woes amid a protracted economic slowdown, data showed Thursday.
The cancellations cost insurance policyholders 3.89 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in the first nine months of last year, according to the data released by opposition lawmaker Park Yong-jin.
(Yonhap)
Park's office said it received the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, South Korea's financial watchdog.
Insurance firms refund some portion of the premiums insurance policyholders have paid when they cancel their contracts.
The amount of financial loss over cancellations of insurance policies came to 4.85 trillion won in 2015, up 16 percent from 4.19 trillion won in 2014.
Experts said people cancel their insurance policies to secure cash when the economy is not good. (Yonhap)