미국 앨라배마 현대차 공장 가보니 "품질에 사활 걸고 있는데 고국은… "

At a 2006 year-end party, Kang Mi-soon, a 39-year-old schoolteacher, met a friend who was an insurance agent, and the friend asked Ms. Kang to “remodel” her insurance. Ms. Kang has five policies, including auto insurance and life annuities, but none cover medical expenses in case of bronchial disease, common among school teachers exposed to children.
After the talk, Ms. Kang upgraded her policy to cover the illness. Ms. Kang is not alone. Many Korean insurance customers are modifying their insurance according to specific needs and changing lifestyles.
“About 20 to 30 percent of customers are trying to have their policies remodeled,” said Hong Ui-hwan, manager at Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance. “People need to have their policies revised when they face a big change in life, like marriage, children or a career switch.”
The coverage popular in the 1990s included personal accident insurance, cancer insurance and other medical policies with limited coverage and shorter coverage periods compared to what is now available.
And many old policies only cover for 10 or 20 years, or, for example, expire when policyholders turn 60. But age clauses aren’t practical in Korea’s increasingly aging population ― and a personal accident policy, which pays a large sum for death or unexpected accidents, offers a meager amount for those who die of disease.
“The danger of death from disease is far bigger than the danger of death caused by unexpected accidents,” said Kim Gyeong-seok, head of Kyobo Life Insurance Co.'s financial planning center.
“You also need to extend coverage until you are at least 80 years old.”
According to the National Statistical Office, death from unexpected causes accounted for 7.7 percent of all deaths, while death from disease accounted for 92.3 percent.
What should policyholders consider before having their policies remodeled? Experts advised them to lift their maximum coverage first.
“A lot of insurance policies cover death caused by certain causes and certain diseases,” said Cho Jae-young, manager at Samsung Life Insurance’s financial planning center. “But you should first prioritize increasing your coverage in case of death caused by general diseases.”
If your policy covers medical expenses in case of disease, what's most important is to extend the coverage period as long as possible, since most serious disease starts affecting health when the patient is old. A common mistake of those who sign up for too many insurance policies, especially damage and medical insurance, is that much of their coverage overlaps.
To prevent that and save money, policyholders need to carefully compare policies, experts say.

생산 담당 미국인 임원 #"과거 일했던 포드자동차 #강성 노조 탓에 문 닫아"

by Kim Chang-gyu