[Provided by AIA Life Insurance]
[Provided by AIA Life Insurance]

AIA Life Insurance announced Tuesday that its newly developed rider — covering very mild dementia confirmed by a positive amyloid PET scan — has been granted a six-month exclusive use right by the Korea Life Insurance Association.

The exclusive use right system bars other insurers from launching or selling similar products for a set period, based on a comprehensive assessment of a new product's originality, advancement, utility and consumer benefit. The rider was recognized for its innovation and differentiation as the industry's first to extend coverage to the very mild dementia stage, classified as CDR 0.5.

The rider covers cases in which a policyholder receives both a very mild dementia diagnosis and a positive result on an amyloid beta positron emission tomography scan. AIA Life designed the product to combine existing clinical diagnostic criteria with pathological criteria, enabling more objective identification of high-risk individuals. The number of dementia patients in South Korea stood at 970,000 last year, with a prevalence rate of 9.17 percent. That figure is expected to surpass 1 million this year and exceed 2 million by 2044, reflecting growing demand for dementia-related insurance.

As anti-amyloid therapies become more widespread, the focus of dementia treatment has shifted toward early diagnosis and intervention. AIA Life has expanded its coverage to include the very mild dementia stage — where treatment intervention matters most — departing from conventional dementia insurance products that typically begin coverage at the mild dementia stage, or CDR 1. The expansion allows customers to reduce the financial burden of early-stage medical costs, including diagnostic tests, treatment and cognitive rehabilitation, and to begin treatment in a timely manner.

The rider is attached to AIA Life's dedicated dementia product, a renewable, no-surrender-value dementia insurance plan. The product covers diagnosis benefits across the full spectrum of dementia severity — from very mild to mild, moderate and severe — as well as medication costs, nursing care funds, living and caregiving expenses, and coverage related to innovative drug treatments.

"This rider was developed to fill the coverage gap in existing dementia insurance and help customers receive the treatment they need without missing a critical window," said Yoo Sin-ok, head of AIA Life's customer division. "We will continue to introduce differentiated products that reflect changes in the medical environment and the evolving needs of our customers."


psj@heraldcorp.com