The pre-renewal comparison is not about the premium figure. It is a procedure: set bodily injury, property damage and deductibles to the same conditions, then look up the disclosure screens with those conditions.
This post covers Korean car insurance rules, and the linked official sources are in Korean.
1. What to set to the same conditions before renewal
| Item | Mandatory/optional | Value to compare | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodily Injury Liability I | Mandatory | Limit fixed by law | [S1][S2][S3] |
| Bodily Injury Liability II | Optional (personal use). For commercial use, under Article 5(3) it may be 100 million won or more per person, or unlimited | Insured amount per victim (unlimited, etc.) | [S1][S3] |
| Property Damage Liability | Mandatory up to 20 million won; above that, the insured amount | Insured amount per accident | [S1][S3] |
| Own Vehicle Damage | Optional | Deductible rate, minimum and maximum; property-damage surcharge threshold amount | [S3] |
| Driver scope and age riders | Rider | Whether they match the actual drivers. If violated, only Bodily Injury I is paid; property damage is not paid | [S3] |
Placing premiums side by side is not a comparison if the coverages and riders differ. The General Insurance Association of Korea's disclosure also states that choosing riders other than the example conditions produces a different premium from the calculated one. (S4)
2. Bodily injury liability — mandatory and optional limits
| Item | Nature | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodily Injury Liability I | Mandatory under Article 5(1) of the Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act | Death: minimum 20 million won to maximum 150 million won. Injury: maximum 30 million won (by grade). Permanent disability: maximum 150 million won (by grade) | [S1][S2][S3][S8][S9] |
| Bodily Injury Liability II | Optional for personal use. For commercial use, under Article 5(3), 100 million won or more per person, or unlimited | The amount above Bodily Injury I. The insured amount is on the policy | [S1][S3] |
The per-grade figures are not spelled out here. For injuries see Enforcement Decree, Annex 1; for permanent disability see Enforcement Decree, Annex 2 (grade 1: 150 million won). The main text of the Enforcement Decree is here.
Not being insured brings an administrative fine and a ban on driving. For a non-commercial vehicle without bodily injury coverage, it is 10,000 won within 10 days, and so on. Written as of 2026-07-15. (S1)
3. Property damage liability — the mandatory 20 million won and the insured amount
The mandatory property damage coverage is within 20 million won per accident. (Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act Article 5(2), Enforcement Decree Article 3(3). S1)
The standard product description lists an insured amount up to 20 million won as mandatory and gives 100 million won per accident as an example insured amount. This post does not recommend 100 million won. The value to compare is the insured amount on the policy. (S3)
Property damage is not paid if the driver scope or age rider is violated. This differs from Bodily Injury Liability I. (S3)
4. Deductibles — the boxes to check under own vehicle damage
The figures below are the options in the standard description. This post does not say which is more advantageous.
| Deductible rate | Minimum | Maximum | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% of the loss | 50,000/100,000/150,000/200,000 won | 500,000 won | [S3] |
| 20% of the loss | 300,000 won | 1 million won | [S3] |
| 30% of the loss | 300,000 won | 1 million won | [S3] |
| 30% of the loss | 500,000 won | 2 million won | [S3] |
| Item | Value given in the standard description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total loss / loss at or above the insured amount | Regular own vehicle damage: no deductible; the coverage ends (lapses) | [S3] |
| Flood-damage-only rider | Deductible applies even to a total loss. Minimum and maximum limits do not apply. Available for Class 1 trucks and construction machinery | [S3] |
| Property-damage surcharge threshold amount | e.g. 500,000 won / 2 million won. One claim at or below the threshold keeps the grade; two claims at or below it, or one claim above it, raise the premium by one grade (standard description example) | [S3] |
The accident contribution charges are in an annex to the standard description.
| Item | Mandatory insurance | Optional insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Drunk driving | Bodily injury 10 million won / property damage 5 million won | Bodily injury 100 million won / property damage 50 million won |
| Unlicensed driving | Bodily injury 3 million won / property damage 1 million won | Bodily injury 100 million won / property damage 50 million won |
| Hit-and-run | Bodily injury 3 million won / property damage 1 million won | Bodily injury 100 million won / property damage 50 million won |
| Drugged driving | Mandatory column blank (-) in the standard description | Bodily injury 100 million won / property damage 50 million won |
Own vehicle damage does not pay for accidents that occur while drunk, unlicensed or under the influence of drugs. (S3)
The insured value for own vehicle damage is the Korea Insurance Development Institute's standard vehicle value at the time of the accident. It may be lower than the value written on the policy. (S3)
5. How to read the disclosures
This post does not recommend signing up. It only lists the lookup steps.
(1) General Insurance Association of Korea car insurance disclosure
Address: https://kpub.knia.or.kr/carInsuranceDisc/insurance/carInsurance.do
The channel tabs are face-to-face / TM / CM / PM. Choose vehicle type, age at enrollment, driver scope, and all coverages or excluding own vehicle damage, then search. (S4)
The legal basis is Article 124 of the Insurance Business Act and Article 7-46 of the Regulation on Supervision of Insurance Business. (S5)
The on-screen wording, as is: "The example premiums are for comparing the premium levels of each company and differ from the premium you actually pay, so please use them only for reference. For your exact premium, please consult each insurer's website, Insurance Damoa (https://e-insmarket.or.kr) or sales organizations such as agencies and solicitors." (S4)
(2) Insurance Damoa
Address: https://e-insmarket.or.kr
It is run by the Korea Life Insurance Association and the General Insurance Association of Korea. A Financial Services Commission press release of May 30, 2019 described premium comparison information and direct links to insurers' websites. (S6)
The menu is the personal car insurance lookup. After identity verification, set the vehicle, driver scope, age, coverages and riders, then view each company's premium. It may differ from the actual premium depending on enrollment conditions. Direct online enrollment takes you to the insurer's own site. (S7)
(3) Korea Insurance Development Institute discount and surcharge factors
Address: https://prem.kidi.or.kr (written as prem.kidi.or.kr in the press release)
The items shown compare the current contract with the previous one: grade, accidents, traffic violations, age, enrollment history and age-limit rider. Guidance from the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Insurance Development Institute, January 14, 2021. Routes: enter the address directly, or FINE (fine.fss.or.kr) → Car Insurance Portal (carinfo.knia.or.kr) → lookup system, or kidi.or.kr. (S10)
The association's discount and surcharge guidance: first-time grade 11Z (two-wheelers 11N), a one-grade discount for no accidents, and a surcharge by accident points after an accident. Application rate maximum 200%, minimum 30%. Each company sets it autonomously based on its own experience statistics. (S11)
Company application rates are not ranked here. See the table on the association's screen: https://kpub.knia.or.kr/carInsuranceDisc/discountExtra/discountInf.do
The research packet has no per-company figures, so none are copied here.
6. Renewal checklist
| # | Box to check | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whether Bodily Injury I is in place (mandatory) | Policy / Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act |
| 2 | Bodily Injury II insured amount | Policy. Look up the same amount on Insurance Damoa |
| 3 | Property damage insured amount (whether it is at least the mandatory 20 million won) | Policy |
| 4 | Whether own vehicle damage is included; deductible rate, minimum and maximum | Policy |
| 5 | Property-damage surcharge threshold amount | Policy |
| 6 | Driver scope and age riders | Policy. Whether they match the actual drivers |
| 7 | Look up the disclosure and Damoa with the same coverages and riders | [S4][S7] |
| 8 | Why the premium changed | prem.kidi.or.kr [S10] |
| 9 | Re-enrollment notice before expiry. Fine for lacking mandatory insurance | [S1][S3] |
Sources
- [S1] Easy-to-Find Everyday Law Information (easylaw.go.kr), Obligation to Insure. Written 2026-07-15. https://easylaw.go.kr/CSP/CnpClsMain.laf?ccfNo=4&cciNo=2&cnpClsNo=1&csmSeq=684&popMenu=ov
- [S2] Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act. https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?lsId=001746
- [S3] General Insurance Association of Korea, standard car insurance product description. https://carinfo.knia.or.kr/lmxsrv/law/lawFullContent.do?SEQ=4&SEQ_HISTORY=9
- [S4] General Insurance Association of Korea car insurance premium comparison disclosure. https://kpub.knia.or.kr/carInsuranceDisc/insurance/carInsurance.do
- [S5] General Insurance Association of Korea car product information (Insurance Business Act Article 124, Supervision Regulation Article 7-46). https://kpub.knia.or.kr/carInsuranceDisc/product/carProductInf.do
- [S6] Financial Services Commission, 2019-05-30, "Premium comparison services: the renewed Insurance Damoa and CarHistory". https://www.fsc.go.kr/po010103/73716
- [S7] Insurance Damoa. https://e-insmarket.or.kr
- [S8] Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act Enforcement Decree, Annex 1, injury limits. https://law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?flSeq=153227957
- [S9] Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act Enforcement Decree, Annex 2, permanent disability limits. https://law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?flSeq=153227989
- [S10] Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Insurance Development Institute, 2021-01-14, car insurance premium discount and surcharge lookup system. Reprinted in the Korea Insurance Research Institute's weekly trends. https://kiri.or.kr/PDF/%EC%A3%BC%EA%B0%84%EB%B3%B4%ED%97%98%EB%8F%99%ED%96%A5/20210118/trend20210118_1.pdf
- [S11] General Insurance Association of Korea, discount and surcharge application rate guidance. https://kpub.knia.or.kr/carInsuranceDisc/discountExtra/discountInf.do
- List of Enforcement Decree texts: https://law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=284827