[Edaily Reporter Kim Se-yeon ] Samsung’s insurance affiliates— Samsung Life Insurance(032830)and #SamsungFire&MarineInsurance—both posted their best-ever first-half results. The combined net income of the two companies easily surpassed 3 trillion won, putting them on par with major financial holding companies. In particular, strong investment gains driven by a buoyant stock market were the key drivers of these strong results.

According to the financial industry on the 14th, Samsung Life Insurance and SamsungFire&MarineInsurance posted net profits of 1.8935 trillion won and 1.3723 trillion won, respectively, for the first half of this year. The combined net profit of the two companies totaled 3.2658 trillion won, marking an all-time high for the first half of the year.

This scale is comparable to that of major domestic financial holding companies. Although they fell short of KB Financial Group and ShinhanFinancialGroup Co.,Ltd.—which ranked first and second in net income for the first half of this year—they surpassed HanaFinancialGroupInc.’s 2.4029 trillion won by 862.9 billion won. In effect, Samsung’s two insurance affiliates—which do not have a bank as their core subsidiary—generated net income exceeding that of a single major financial holding company.

The investment division was the key driver of this performance. Samsung Life Insurance’s net income for the first half of the year surged 35.8% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, investment gains totaled 1.858 trillion won, an 82.0% increase from the first half of last year. Factors such as increased profits from securities driven by a strong stock market contributed to the improvement in investment gains.

At SamsungFire&MarineInsurance, the investment division also contributed to the strong performance. The company’s investment income for the first half of the year was 788 billion won, a 22.0% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth in investment income—generated by the insurer’s management of premiums received from customers across various assets such as bonds and stocks—supported the overall increase in net profit.

However, the two companies saw mixed results in their core insurance businesses. Samsung Life Insurance’s first-half insurance service profit stood at 533 billion won, a 35.9% decrease compared to the same period last year. In contrast to the steep growth in the investment segment, profits generated from insurance operations declined significantly.

In contrast, SamsungFire&MarineInsurance continued its growth trend even in its core insurance business. SamsungFire&MarineInsurance’s insurance operating profit for the first half of the year was 1.115 trillion won, a 10.9% increase compared to the same period last year. The improvement in insurance operating profit, coupled with increased investment income, supported the company’s overall earnings growth.

Ultimately, both Samsung Life Insurance and SamsungFire&MarineInsurance posted record-high net profits, but there were differences in the details. While Samsung Life Insurance offset the decline in insurance profit and loss with rapid growth in its investment segment, SamsungFire&MarineInsurance achieved its best-ever performance through simultaneous growth in both its insurance and investment segments.
SamsungFire&MarineInsurance stated, “The competitiveness of our core business has been strengthened through improved profitability in long-term and general insurance, as well as a recovery in auto insurance earnings.”