[Edaily Reporter PARK JONG-HWA ] Hanwha General Insurance Co.,Ltd.’s cumulative net income for the first three quarters of this year increased by nearly 6% compared to last year. In particular, underwriting income from its core insurance business drove the improvement in earnings.

Hanwha General Insurance announced on the 11th that its cumulative net income for the first three quarters of this year reached 311.4 billion won, a 5.8% increase compared to the same period last year (294.2 billion won). Looking solely at third-quarter net income, it surged 34.1% from 71.6 billion won to 96.1 billion won this year. Revenue for the first three quarters also rose 19.6%, from 4.9218 trillion won to 5.8869 trillion won.

This improvement in performance was driven by net insurance income from the company’s core business. Hanwha General Insurance Co.,Ltd.’s third-quarter net insurance income, which stood at 44.5 billion won a year ago, nearly tripled to 132.1 billion won this year. This was due to an overall improvement in the loss ratio, coupled with a reduction in the difference between expected and actual claims payments for long-term insurance policies. CSM (Contract Service Margin—unrealized profit calculated by converting future insurance profits into present value), an indicator of future growth, also rose 8.0% from the previous quarter (284.1 billion won) to 306.6 billion won, driven by increased sales of high-value, profitable products.

However, investment gains and losses in the third quarter fell 38.3% to 96.2 billion won from 156.0 billion won a year ago. This is attributed to a combination of a sluggish stock market and a decline in asset valuations due to rising interest rates during the third quarter.

A Hanwha Life Insurance official stated, “We expect profitability to continue improving as we strengthen our sales portfolio centered on high-value products such as women’s insurance,” adding, “Toward the end of this year and into next year, we will continue to improve operating expense efficiency and actively expand the inflow of high-quality policies to further focus on improving profitability.”