Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport launches product through delivery services mutual aid association

An insurance discount policy will be introduced to promote safe driving among delivery workers. The photo is not directly related to the article's specific content. [Newsis]
An insurance discount policy will be introduced to promote safe driving among delivery workers. The photo is not directly related to the article's specific content. [Newsis]

South Korea is significantly expanding an insurance discount policy to encourage delivery workers to drive safely.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Delivery Services Mutual Aid Association announced Monday that they will raise the maximum discount rate under the traffic safety special policy rider from 5 percent to 11 percent, allowing delivery workers' voluntary safe-driving efforts to translate directly into lower premiums.

The move comes after mandatory enrollment in commercial-use insurance for delivery workers took effect June 3. The aim is to ease the premium burden on workers while creating a virtuous cycle in which safe-driving effort leads to tangible financial benefits.

Workers who complete a traffic safety education course — including on-road driving practice — or who install a digital tachograph (DTG) or a front license plate on their motorcycle will each receive a 5 percent discount on their premium for that item. Previously, the discount for fitting a front license plate stood at 1.5 percent, while completing the traffic safety course and installing a DTG each carried a 3 percent discount.

The discounts can be stacked, meaning workers can reduce their premiums by up to 11 percent through traffic safety-related benefits alone, the ministry said.

The expanded rates will apply to new enrollments or renewals of the association's "commercial-use monthly (30-day) mutual aid insurance" product on or after Monday. Existing policyholders can also receive the discount by signing up for the special rider. The product is available through the association's mobile app or website.

In addition, the association plans to launch a specialized driver injury support product before the end of the year, reflecting the nature of delivery work — where injuries from traffic accidents tend to be severe and income drops immediately.

Park Jae-soon, director general of the transport and logistics bureau at the ministry, said the discount range was expanded "so that delivery workers' voluntary attention and effort toward safe driving can translate into the benefit of reduced premiums, given that safe driving is the most important practice for protecting not only the workers themselves but all citizens." He added that the ministry would "continue to pursue policies that reduce the burden on delivery workers while raising safety standards."

Meanwhile, the number of delivery platform workers has exceeded 400,000 since 2021, and accidents involving delivery workers have increased year after year amid tight delivery deadlines and intense competition for jobs, heightening attention to road safety.


smh@heraldcorp.com