ID :
187353
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 04:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/187353
The shortlink copeid
Regulator to tighten stress tests of insurers
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday that it will tighten inspections into local insurance companies in an effort to protect their financial health from potential economic risks.
"A delayed recovery in the local property market as well as other internal and external market-disturbing risks, including the eurozone fiscal crisis, are likely to weigh down on insurers' financial soundness down the road," the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement.
Through intensified stress tests and management assessments, the FSS will supervise insurers with weak capital bases to improve their financial conditions, the regulator said.
The FSS added that as of the end of March, the financial health of local life and non-life insurers remained stable.
The average risk-based capital rate, a gauge of insurers' ability to pay insurance benefits, came to 288.7 percent as of end-March, up from 279.8 percent a year earlier, according to the FSS.
The rate, which divides net assets by retained capital reserved for damage payments, reached 280 percent for life insurers and 311.6 percent for non-life insurers as of the end of March, it said.
The overall advance is mainly due to stock market advances and the economic recovery during fiscal 2010, which resulted in investment gains for insurers, the regulator added.
"A delayed recovery in the local property market as well as other internal and external market-disturbing risks, including the eurozone fiscal crisis, are likely to weigh down on insurers' financial soundness down the road," the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement.
Through intensified stress tests and management assessments, the FSS will supervise insurers with weak capital bases to improve their financial conditions, the regulator said.
The FSS added that as of the end of March, the financial health of local life and non-life insurers remained stable.
The average risk-based capital rate, a gauge of insurers' ability to pay insurance benefits, came to 288.7 percent as of end-March, up from 279.8 percent a year earlier, according to the FSS.
The rate, which divides net assets by retained capital reserved for damage payments, reached 280 percent for life insurers and 311.6 percent for non-life insurers as of the end of March, it said.
The overall advance is mainly due to stock market advances and the economic recovery during fiscal 2010, which resulted in investment gains for insurers, the regulator added.
