Friendly Economy: 10.3 Trillion Won in Unclaimed Insurance Money—How to Find It

[Anchor]

It is time for our Wednesday segment, Friendly Economy, with reporter Han Jiyeon. Han, are you saying there might be insurance money under my name that I am not even aware of?

[Reporter]

Last year alone, 800,000 cases of unclaimed insurance money, totaling 3.247 trillion won, were returned to consumers. However, there is still 10.3 trillion won in unclaimed insurance money remaining.

To explain what "unclaimed insurance money" is, it is essentially money that has been confirmed for payment but has not yet been claimed. This happens for a few reasons. Sometimes, people are simply unaware that they are eligible for a payout. For example, there are insurance policies that automatically pay out at certain milestones, such as funds for a child's education or health checkups, and people often overlook these because they do not know they exist. In other cases, people know the money is there but are unsure about how much interest it earns or simply put off claiming it because it feels like a hassle.

There are three main types of unclaimed insurance money. First, "interim insurance money" is money paid out during the contract period, such as the education or health checkup funds mentioned earlier. "Maturity insurance money" refers to cases where the policy has reached its maturity date, but the money was not claimed and was automatically converted into another product. Finally, "dormant insurance money" is money that has been transferred to the insurance company or the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency because the policyholder did not claim it even after the three-year statute of limitations passed following the event that triggered the payment.

The total amount of this accumulated unclaimed insurance money has exceeded 10 trillion won this year. While interest may be provided for unclaimed insurance money depending on the terms of the individual product, the applicable interest rate drops significantly after the policy matures. Furthermore, for dormant insurance money where the three-year statute of limitations has expired, there is no interest at all, so it is advantageous to claim it as soon as possible.

[Anchor]

How can I check if I have any of this money?

[Reporter]

You can visit a website called "Contour My Insurance" (Nae Insurance Chajajum) to look up insurance contracts under your name. You can check for and claim any unclaimed insurance money right there on the spot.

I visited the "Contour My Insurance" website myself. Once you go through the information consent and identity verification process, you can view all your life and non-life insurance contract details at a glance. It was also possible to immediately check for and easily claim any unclaimed insurance money. I checked my own status and found one unclaimed insurance case.

I recommend that anyone who has old insurance policies, or whose family members might, search for "Contour My Insurance" and check their status. Also, if a parent or family member has passed away and you are unsure what insurance policies they held, you can apply for the "Inheritance Financial Transaction Inquiry Service" at a bank or the Financial Supervisory Service to check the insurance contract details left behind by the deceased.

One more thing: starting this month, you will receive notifications even if you do not take action. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will verify the latest addresses and provide individual notifications via mail, mobile electronic notices, or phone calls. In particular, for the elderly who may not be familiar with online or mobile inquiries, there are plans to conduct offline education in collaboration with consumer organizations to visit them directly and teach them how to check for these funds.

[Anchor]

Finally, let us talk about the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax (Jongbuse).

[Reporter]

Last year, the top 10 percent of taxpayers shouldered 87 percent of the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax. Looking at individual taxpayers, those aged 60 and older paid more than half of the total tax.

The gap is very clear when you look at the numbers. The top 10 percent paid 4.2 trillion won, while the remaining 90 percent paid only about 600 billion won combined. This is because the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax has a progressive tax rate structure, meaning the tax burden increases significantly for high-net-worth individuals.

When looking at individual taxpayers separately, the proportion of the elderly was even higher. Out of approximately 548,000 individual Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax payers last year, about 285,000 were aged 60 or older, accounting for 52 percent. The tax amount they paid was 753 billion won, which is over 57 percent of the total individual Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax.

There is also a difference in the average tax amount per person. While the overall average is 2.41 million won, those aged 60 and older paid 2.64 million won, which is 230,000 won more. It is analyzed that because the assets of the retired generation are concentrated in real estate, the burden of the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax naturally falls heavily on the elderly.

Interestingly, there were more than 360 minors under the age of 20 who paid the Comprehensive Real Estate Holding Tax. The total tax they paid was 700 million won, averaging about 1.93 million won per person.

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