South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday that the insurance industry and senior welfare groups will spend 10.5 billion won on fall-injury treatment aid and free dementia liability insurance for older people who live alone or struggle financially.
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said he attended a signing ceremony earlier in the day with Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong for a memorandum of understanding among the insurance industry, the Korea Foundation for Vulnerable Seniors and the Korea Support Center for Seniors Living Alone. Lee announced the agreement in a post on X.
Of the total, 9.6 billion won will come from a fund the insurance industry set up for social contributions, Lee said.
About 570,000 people who use the government’s customized elder care service will receive help paying for treatment of injuries from falls, along with referrals to health management and care services, he said. About 80,000 older people with dementia will receive liability insurance at no cost, he said.
“For seniors who live alone or are struggling financially, a single small fall can upend their daily lives,” Lee wrote. He said the burden of treatment costs, difficulty managing health and gaps in care can turn “a small risk into a crisis for their entire lives.”
“Protection must never reach those who need it most last,” he said, adding that welfare workers on the ground will reach people financial institutions have struggled to serve, while insurance coverage will fill risks that welfare programs alone could not bear.
Details of the program will be drawn up in the October-December quarter, Lee said. It will run for two years, from the first quarter of 2027 through 2028.
The Financial Services Commission will “actively support” the project so the insurance industry’s efforts take root in communities, he said.
