South Korea-based non-life insurance firm Hyundai Marine & Life is planning to roll out a new insurance product, designed to provide cover victims of social problems.
Planned for launch in March 2014, the new insurance policy will recompense victims of South Korean society’s four social problems such as bullying in school, low-quality or ‘adulterated’ food products, domestic violence and rape.
The insurer, which has set up a panel comprising different parties such as women’s organizations and advocate groups to advise on the policy, said that the new ‘four evils’ policy will be sold to institutions, not individuals.
If the claim against the social evil case is successful, the money will be invested for counseling as well as for medication of the victim.
It is expected that the monthly premium for the policy would be nearly KRW10,000 ($9) to KRW20,000 ($19). A payout limit of KRW1m ($930) for psychological damage claims is also being considered.
Hyundai Marine & Life spokesperson Byung-ju Lee was quoted by CNN as saying, "We are not focusing on profit as we develop this new policy, but rather the social aspect of providing help to those who have been unable to receive [it] until now."
A study points out that bullying is one of the main reasons for South Korea’s high youth suicide rate. Over 77,000 students of all ages said they had been bullied, with nearly 10% of those saying they had considered committing suicide, as per a survey conducted by the Education Ministry in 2013.
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Image: Hyundai Marine & Life plans to debut ‘four evils’ insurance. Photo courtesy of cooldesign/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net.