<Anchor> This
is a friendly economic time.
Reporter Han Ji-yeon is here.
Do you think car insurance premiums will go down this year?
<Reporter>
Yes, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance decided to cut auto insurance premiums by 1.2%.
The timing will be applied from the contract for the commencement of liability on April 11th.
The insurance premium per subscriber is about 800,000 won, and if it is lowered by 1.2%, the premium burden is expected to decrease by about 9,000 won on average.
As Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, No. 1 in the non-life insurance industry, cut premiums, it is expected that other non-life insurance companies will join in as well.
The four major non-life insurance companies, including Hyundai Marine & Marine Insurance, DB Non-life Insurance, and KB Insurance, have a market share of about 85%. I see it.
<Anchor>
So, this is not right now, but those who renew or sign up for insurance after April can get it at a lower price, right?
(Yeah, that was decided yesterday.) Did it get decided yesterday?
But why are you making this adjustment?
<Reporter>
This is because of public opinion and pressure from the government.
This can be summarized as follows. First of all, as the number of vehicle operations and accidents decreased at the same time last year due to Corona, the auto insurance loss ratio improved.
Insurance loss ratio refers to the ratio of insurance payments to premium income.
The loss ratios of the four major companies last year fell from 79.6% to 81.5%, compared to the previous 90%.
Public opinion demanding a reduction in insurance premiums has increased, saying, "This is an unprecedented performance" and "It's a performance pay feast."
It is also analyzed that the government's pressure to keep up with the inflation rate soaring this year has been a decisive factor.
On the other hand, there are concerns in the industry that auto insurance has made a profit only twice in the past 10 years, and if the accumulated deficit reaches 9 trillion won, if insurance premiums are lowered due to the corona virus, the loss may increase in the future. As a result, it may be difficult for small and medium-sized insurers to lower their premiums.
<Anchor>
It could be.
But these days, I hear only about things going up, but to be honest, car insurance is actually compulsory if you have a car.
I'm glad to hear that insurance premiums like this are going down.
Let me tell you another story.
But what if the prices of overseas luxury goods continue to rise?
<Reporter>
Yes, many luxury prices have risen this year, and after that, the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton also raised its first price.
It is the first time in five months since October of last year. In the case of premium bags, while raising up to 26% in Korea, it rose 1.69 million won overnight to reach 9 million won.
Louis Vuitton raised prices five times last year, but as consumption in retaliation increased due to the corona virus, luxury group LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, earned 87 trillion won last year.
Not just Louis Vuitton.
Chanel, Hermès, and Rolex, who raised their prices four times last year, raised their prices last month.
Prada, which raised prices six times last year, also raised prices twice this year alone.
Last year, the Korean luxury market grew 5% compared to the previous year, reaching 16 trillion won, and it is sold at a very high price, so the higher the price, the higher the profit.
In addition, it is pointed out that the marketing of department stores, which have achieved record highs because of luxury goods, also encourages price increases.
<Anchor>
Let's take a look at the stock market one last time today.
Yesterday it went up a bit, but the stock market.
<Reporter>
Yes, the KOSPI closed at 2,728.68, up nearly 2% from the previous trading day.
The KOSDAQ index, which had been declining for four days in a row, also rose by 4.55%.
Investor sentiment has revived as some of the geopolitical tensions have eased after Russian President Putin said he did not want war in a meeting with German Chancellor.
In addition, expectations that China's inflation rate will slow down and economic stimulus will expand also acted as a positive factor.
By industry, all industries except textiles and apparel rose.
The New York Stock Exchange, which rebounded for the first time in four days yesterday due to easing of tensions in Ukraine, showed a weakness today, but ended the day with a smaller decline as the January FOMC minutes were released overnight.
The Dow and Nasdaq fell 0.16% and 0.11%, respectively, while the S&P 500 rose 0.09%.