No hospitalization or surgery in past 10 years required for enrollment

Premiums on main contract and riders discounted up to 10% based on health rating

[Provided by ABL Life]
[Provided by ABL Life]

ABL Life, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, on Friday launched a simplified health insurance product that allows people with pre-existing conditions to enroll as long as they have not been hospitalized or undergone surgery in the past 10 years. The product, formally named "(Non-participating) Woori WON (3.10.5) Simplified Health Insurance (No Surrender Value Type)," targets people with medical histories who have struggled to qualify for standard underwritten plans by reducing the number of required disclosures to three items.

Applicants must disclose three things: whether, within the past three months, they have been advised to undergo hospitalization, surgery or additional testing, received a confirmed disease diagnosis, or been told a disease is suspected; whether they have been hospitalized or undergone surgery — including cesarean section — due to illness or injury within the past 10 years; and whether they have been diagnosed with, hospitalized for, or undergone surgery related to any of seven major conditions — cancer, angina, myocardial infarction, stroke, liver cirrhosis, heart valve disease or chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis — within the past five years. Anyone who answers no to all three is eligible to enroll.

The product also includes a premium discount mechanism for healthier customers. Through a health rating-based discount service, policyholders can receive up to 10 percent off premiums on both the main contract and optional riders, depending on their health rating.

Health ratings are available through the mobile app "LOG." The app assigns a rating from 1 to 9 based on a range of indicators — including body mass index, blood pressure, urine protein, hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, liver function, cholesterol, number of medical visits and smoking status — drawing on the user's gender, age, health condition and medical usage data. A rating closer to 1 indicates better health, and the discount can grow as a customer's health record improves.

The plan strengthens coverage for major diseases while keeping premiums manageable. Diagnosis riders for general cancer, small-amount cancer, cerebrovascular disease and ischemic heart disease can be taken out with coverage through age 80, reducing the payment burden. At age 80, policyholders can choose whether to extend coverage for life.

The product is open to customers between the ages of 30 and 80, and the coverage period can be structured to last for life.

"This product was designed to lower the enrollment barrier for customers who have had difficulty obtaining insurance due to their medical history, while at the same time offering premium discounts based on health ratings for healthier customers," said Kim Sun-jae, head of ABL Life's product division. "We will continue to do our best to develop practical products that reflect the diverse needs of our customers."

Meanwhile, insurers are intensifying their push into the market for people with pre-existing conditions. Combined gross premiums from such products at 10 major life and non-life insurers reached 13.21 trillion won ($9.8 billion) in the first half of this year, with the market expanding more than 50 percent over the past two years — enough to rival the size of the real-loss insurance market. However, the number of new contracts peaked at 6.16 million in 2024 and has since declined, prompting insurers to compete by refining their disclosure criteria and lowering enrollment thresholds.


won@heraldcorp.com