농작물·풍수해 보험…반만 내세요, 나머진 정부가 냅니다

Various insurance products that cover common accidents while maintaining daily life, such as flood and typhoon insurance, are largely supported by the government and local governments, with insurance premiums ranging from 50% to 100%. According to the Insurance Development Institute, representative public support insurance products for disaster prevention include typhoon, heavy rain, and flood insurance (windstorm insurance), agricultural disaster insurance, and animal disaster insurance (livestock insurance).

The windstorm insurance is offered by seven companies including Merits, Hanwha, Samsung, Hyundai, KB, CEB, and NH Life & NH Cooperative, the agricultural disaster insurance by NH Cooperative, and the animal disaster insurance by NH Cooperative, Merits, Hanwha, KB, and CEB. These products receive government and local government support for more than 50% of insurance premiums.

Ordinary citizens only need to pay a portion of the insurance premium to receive insurance benefits. Windstorm insurance for residential properties offers full coverage for low-income households living in disaster-prone areas without any out-of-pocket expenses. Citizens can inquire with local government disaster safety departments or administrative welfare centers.

The insurance claims for the three types of insurance (windstorm, agricultural disaster, and animal disaster) totaled 1.701 trillion won in the past year. In recent years, the proportion of injury cases due to high temperatures has increased. The proportion of agricultural disaster insurance increased from 8.2% in 2022 to 10.2% in 2024, while animal disaster insurance increased from 66.9% in 2023 to 80.3% in 2024.

The "citizen safety insurance" that compensates for various accidents in daily life is currently offered by 228 local governments nationwide as the "Our Neighborhood Free Insurance." Citizens living in each local government automatically receive coverage without separate enrollment, with each local government selecting and enrolling in a suitable risk-bearing contract (special agreement) for themselves.

The citizen safety insurance claims amount was 351 billion won in 2023, 446 billion won in 2024, and 344 billion won in 2025. The main causes of accidents are burns diagnosis/treatment (31.7%), animal-related accidents (23.5%), public transportation accidents (10.2%), fractures (6.6%), farming machinery accidents (6.3%), and fires/destroyed explosions/deaths (4.6%).

Additionally, various accidents such as bicycle accidents (1.7%), school zone vehicle accidents (1.5%), and various other accidents (0.3%) have received insurance compensation. The Insurance Development Institute stated that citizen safety insurance has different coverage items depending on the living area, and when multiple governments participate in enrollment simultaneously, overlapping benefits can be provided.

They also recommended checking whether residence in the local government is enrolled for protection against heatstroke, which is becoming more likely due to the recent heatwave. Insurance claims can be filed within three years of an accident.