South Korea's Insurance Firms See Improved Capital Adequacy Ratio in Q4

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- The capital adequacy ratio of insurance companies in South Korea increased in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, data showed Wednesday. The average capital adequacy ratio of domestic insurance firms came to 212.3 percent as of end-December, up from 210.8 percent three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The ratio refers to the amount of available capital compared with required funds under the Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS). The rise in the October-December period was attributed to a rise in both available capital and required capital following increased earnings and gains in stock holdings. Available capital under K-ICS rose 9.3 trillion won (US$6.31 billion) on-quarter in the fourth quarter, while required capital increased 3.5 trillion won over the cited period, according to the financial watchdog. The average capital adequacy ratio of life insurers stood at 205.8 percent as of end-December, up 4.4 percentage points from three months earlier, while that of nonlife insurance companies fell 2.2 percentage points to 221.9 percent over the cited period.