Kyobo Life Insurance

What Kyobo Life Insurance does

Kyobo Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (교보생명보험주식회사) is one of South Korea's three largest life insurers, founded in 1958 and headquartered in Seoul. The company distributes individual life, health/cancer, annuity, savings, and children's insurance products alongside retirement pensions, mutual funds, trust products, policy-backed loans, credit loans, and housing-collateral loans. It serves primarily Korean retail customers across life stages through a multi-channel distribution system that combines insurance professionals (Financial Planners), Customer PLAZA branches, dedicated call centers by product line, and digital direct channels via mobile app and website (2.98 million app users).

The company's revenue model rests on recurring insurance premiums, investment income on an asset portfolio of approximately 92 trillion KRW (~$69B USD), policy loan interest, and distribution/management fees. Underwriting scale and investment management proficiency have driven 2025 consolidated net profit of 752.3 billion KRW, up 12.4% year-on-year. Kyobo holds AAA insurance payment ability ratings domestically and Fitch A+ and Moody's A1 internationally, the highest combination held consecutively for 14 and 11 years respectively among Korean peers.

Kyobo is executing a structural transformation into a financial holding company, anchored by the acquisition of a majority stake in SBI Savings Bank (~$596M, target close Oct 2026) to create a group with target total assets of 160 trillion KRW and ~4.6 million digital users. It is also bidding for KDB Life Insurance. On the technology side, Kyobo has deployed an AI Retirement Pension Robo-Advisor, a Digital Coverage Analysis service used by 700,000+ customers, and pioneered Korea's first blockchain-based tokenized government bond settlement in partnership with Ripple Custody, while pursuing RWA and digital-asset distribution through WAVIST and Libeara partnerships. Key risk factors include accelerating policy surrenders (4.9 trillion KRW in Q1 2026, +16.3% YoY) and execution risk on the multi-deal M&A and financial holding company transition.

Name

Kyobo Life Insurance

Legal name

교보생명보험주식회사 (Kyobo Life Insurance Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://kyobo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Kyobo Life Insurance is one of South Korea's three largest life insurers, offering life, health, annuity, pension, fund, and loan products to individual Korean consumers through agents, branches, call centers, and digital channels. Founded in 1958, it manages approximately 92 trillion KRW in assets and is transitioning into a financial holding company via the SBI Savings Bank acquisition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Insurance

NAICS

Direct Life Insurance Carriers (524113), Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311)

akta.pro primary industry

Whole Life Insurance (FSAIABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Level Term Life Insurance (FSAIAAAA), Whole Life / UL Policy Riders & Add-ons (e.g., Waiver of Premium, Accidental Death, Child Term, LTC/Chronic Illness) (FSAIABAK)

Keywords

• Life insurance products
• Retirement pension plans
• Health insurance coverage
• Annuity savings products
• Insurance policy loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premium Revenue: Kyobo Life Insurance generates primary revenue through insurance premiums collected from policyholders. The company offers various life insurance products including whole life, term life, health/cancer insurance, annuity/savings insurance, and children's insurance. Premium payment options include monthly, annual, and flexible payment plans.
2. Investment Income: The company generates significant investment income from its investment portfolio. For 2025, investment income reached 670 billion won, contributing to consolidated net profit of 752.3 billion won (12.4% increase from 669.3 billion won in 2024).
3. Insurance Contract Loans: Policy loans offered to policyholders using their insurance cash value as collateral. Loan amounts range from 50% to 85% of surrender value, with interest rates from 3.5% to 10.5% annually.
4. Pension Services: Corporate and individual retirement pension (퇴직연금) services including IRP management, fund management, and annuity products with various tax benefit options.
5. Fund and Trust Products: Distribution of investment funds and trust products with various risk profiles and investment strategies, generating management fees and distribution commissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kyobo Life Insurance is one of South Korea's largest life insurers, providing whole life and term life insurance, health and cancer coverage, annuity/savings products, retirement pension (IRP) plans, and investment fund/trust products. Beyond traditional insurance, it operates policy loan, credit loan, and housing collateral loan businesses, plus the Kyobo New Healthcare Service for wellness checkups. Distribution relies on a tied financial planner (FP) agent force, Customer PLAZA branches, a mobile app, and corporate sales teams serving both individual and corporate customers.

Product overview

Kyobo Life Insurance operates as a comprehensive financial services provider offering a broad portfolio of insurance, pension, loan, and investment products. The core insurance portfolio includes whole life, health/cancer, annuity/savings, and children's insurance products across both traditional and direct (다이렉트) channels. The retirement pension business centers on IRP accounts with an AI-powered Robo-Advisor platform for personalized portfolio management. Lending services encompass policy loans, credit loans, and housing collateral loans. Investment offerings include mutual funds and trust products. Add-on services feature the Kyobo New Healthcare Service system with specialized care types. The company also pursues digital transformation through blockchain partnerships (Ripple Custody for tokenized bond settlement) and digital asset initiatives via its Kyobo Lifeplanet subsidiary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 교보라이프플래닛 (Kyobo Lifeplanet): South Korea's first fully digital life insurer, a subsidiary of Kyobo Life Insurance offering digital insurance services.

Products and services

• Kyobo All Protection Whole Life Insurance (Non-Dividend)

Quantifiable outcome

• Average insurance claim processing time of 1.9 hours for hospitalization/outpatient/surgery claims and claims under 300,000 KRW
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• KDB Life Insurance (Target Acquisition)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Kyobo Life Insurance was selected as one of five eligible candidates by Korea Development Bank for the acquisition of KDB Life Insurance. Main bidding is scheduled for July to August with selection of preferred bidder in the second half of the year. Kyobo Life is also competing for the acquisition of preliminary non-life insurance (MG Insurance's bridge company).
• Ripple CustodyflagshipTechnology or Integration · 15 April 2026Kyobo Life Insurance partnered with Ripple Custody to launch Korea's first blockchain-based tokenized government bond settlement platform for a major insurer. The partnership reduces the traditional T+2 settlement cycle to near real-time execution using tokenized Korean government bonds, while also exploring stablecoin payments via Ripple's RLUSD for 24/7 transaction capability.
• IP Strategy Holdings (WAVIST Platform)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Kyobo Life Insurance collaborated with IP Strategy Holdings and SBI Digital Markets to convert Korean entertainment intellectual property (K-culture) into onchain investment assets through the WAVIST platform on the Story blockchain. The partnership completed its first round of asset sales totaling $3.22 million and is structuring a new $15 million RWA fund to expand tokenized asset offerings.
• SBI Savings BankflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2026Kyobo Life Insurance received approval from the Financial Services Commission to acquire a majority stake (50%+) in SBI Savings Bank for approximately 900 billion KRW. This acquisition aims to establish a financial holding company structure with combined total assets of 160 trillion KRW and nearly 4.6 million digital users (combining Kyobo Life's 2.98 million app users with SBI Savings Bank's 1.62 million Cider Bank users).
• Crypto.comcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2026Crypto.com signed an MoU with Kyobo Lifeplanet (교보라이프플래닛생명), Kyobo Life's digital life insurance subsidiary, to explore expanding access to digital assets in South Korea. The partnership focuses on referral programs, point-exchange mechanisms allowing Kyobo Lifeplanet customers to convert loyalty points into digital assets, and development of new digital financial products.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Samsung Life Insurance: Samsung Life is one of Korea's 'Big 3' life insurers alongside Kyobo, operating whole-life, health, and annuity products with similar bancassurance and FP distribution channels and a comparable scale of in-force business.
• Hanwha Life Insurance: Hanwha Life rounds out Korea's 'Big 3' life insurers, selling term, whole-life, health and retirement-pension products through financial planners and bancassurance, directly overlapping with Kyobo's product and channel mix.
• KB Insurance: KB Insurance combines life and non-life offerings with strong bancassurance distribution through KB Financial Group, comparable to Kyobo's whole-life/loan/pension portfolio but with an explicitly bank-led GTM.
• Heungkuk Life Insurance: Heungkuk Life is a mid-tier Korean life insurer offering whole-life, health and retirement-pension products through financial planners and bancassurance, competing in the same retail segment as Kyobo.
• Mirae Asset Life Insurance: Mirae Asset Life offers variable and protection-focused life insurance and retirement pensions in Korea, leveraging an asset-management parent that mirrors Kyobo's hybrid insurance plus investment-product model.
• ABL Life Insurance: ABL Life is a Korea-based life insurer offering protection, health, and annuity products sold through financial planners and bancassurance, competing head-to-head with Kyobo in the retail life market.
• AIA Korea: AIA Korea is the local arm of pan-Asian insurer AIA, distributing protection and retirement products through financial planners and bancassurance and competing for the same premium pool as Kyobo's life/health offerings.
• MetLife Korea: MetLife Korea is the Korean subsidiary of global insurer MetLife, providing individual life, health, and retirement products to retail and corporate clients with a distribution model that overlaps Kyobo's FP and digital channels.
• Prudential Life Insurance of Korea: Prudential Life of Korea is the Korean affiliate of Prudential plc, offering life and retirement-pension products sold through agents and digital channels, directly competing with Kyobo in the retail and group-pension markets.
• DB Life Insurance: DB Life is a Korea-focused life insurer offering whole-life, health, and annuity products through financial planners and bancassurance, serving the same retail and retirement-pension segments as Kyobo.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/%ED%8F%89%EC%83%9D%EB%93%A0%EB%93%A0%EA%B5%90%EB%B3%B4%EC%83%9D%EB%AA%85
• Facebookfacebook.com/kyobolife
• Xx.com/kyobotwit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kyobo-life-insurance

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kyobo Life Insurance