A scene from employees of Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. at the launching 

the life insurer’s new insurance product named, “True Difference.” 

Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co., the well-known planner for post-retirement life, launched its new variable installment life insurance product “True Difference” in January 2013.

Senior Vice Chairman Choi Hyun-man, since his arrival at Mirae Asset Life Insurance in June 2012, wondered why the savings-type life insurance policies are so low in terms of number of subscribers. He ordered the company to try to change the sales commission system practiced by the company if it costs monetary damage to customers, which he thought was the right thing to do. 

As a result, Mirae Asset Life introduced a life insurance policy made from the point of view of the customers to take care of various problems that occur when an insurance policy is terminated before its maturity by changing the calculation methods of fees. In other words, the company came up with a way of dividing the payment of fees in the same monthly installment over a seven-year period, the maximum period of the life insurance policy, instead of the lump-sum payment at the time of signing the policy, which increased the installment payment. The new life insurance policy represented a “true difference.”

This life insurance product has the payment of the fees or commissions in equal installments during the life of the insurance product with the holder getting back 92.2 percent of his money from 20.3 percent when the policy is suspended after six months. The new repayment method is projected based on the assumption that the policyholder is 40 years of age with a monthly insurance premium payment of 500,000 won and a 12-year maturity. When a global bond-type II is chosen, the projected earnings from investment would be 3.5 percent.

Senior Vice Chairman Choi Hyun-man of 

Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. 

who led the development of the 

revolutionary new life insurance product.

Such reform in the life insurance industry in Korea has been attributed to Senior Vice Chairman Choi without whose challenging spirit and promotional power it could not have been possible. He has been compared to a catfish in a tank of mudfish, which keeps them alive in the tank while it continues trying to catch them, and the mudfish are always on the move not to get caught, which keeps them alive and fresh in the tank.

The senior vice chairman’s ability to communicate also has been a big force to back up various reforms in the company since his arrival. In particular, the reformed life insurance product has very close relations with the financial consultants’ allowances, the officers and staff at the head office had to visit every branch in the country to explain it.

The reactions for the FCs were very good after listening to how the new product works to the extent that they called it a “revival” for all of the people who work for Mirae Asset Life Insurance.

The True Difference drew a lot of attention from media when it was first launched. Senior Vice Chairman Choi said in a speech on June 18, 2013, at the 49th International Insurance Society seminar in Seoul, “We have been trying to suspend the marketing programs that are out of focus and to keep the rate of life insurance holders up by persuading the financial consultants to get their commissions divided into the same amount as they are paid with the insurance premiums during the terms of insurance policies, which has been getting compliments from the top executives of the life insurance firms gathered at the seminar.”

The True Difference life insurance policy daringly reformed the expense charges in the life insurance industry and boosted the public trust in the insurance industry, providing the starting point to rewrite the history of the insurance industry in Korea as proven by the fact that the life insurance product won the Most Excellent Financial Product Award in the 2013 Excellent New Financial Product Award operated by the Financial Services Commission.

The new life insurance product’s sales amounted to around 12,500 policies worth 240 billion won.