P2P 보험의 보험성 고찰

Abstract

Peer-to-peer insurance means the contract in which a group of policyholders (insured) collects, organizes, and operates their own funds. In the West, starting with Friendsurance in Germany around 2010, various P2P insurances (insurance broker model, insurance company model, platform model) have appeared, such as Lemonade in the United States. In Korea, only P2P insurance products led by insurance companies were designated and sold as regulatory sandbox businesses. Among P2P insurance products, the platform provider's model calculates the price (fee or insurance premium) based on risk by members themselves or through agents. However, the law of large numbers does not apply even if underwriting is done to the same extent as traditional insurance products. In addition, many products promise to pay the premium after the insurance accident occurs rather than when the premium is paid before the insurance accident. Before an insurance accident occurs, they use the escrow method, deposit money, or store virtual currency in a digital wallet. However, considering that the strict underwriting procedure and the rule of large number do not apply to small and short-term insurance, we cannot tell that P2P insurances are not insurances based on the pricing method. On the other hand, since the fee payment method varies from product to product, it is not possible to make a uniform conclusion whether the platform provider's P2P insurance is under the criterion for insurance. Not every platform provider's P2P insurance product contract is an insurance contract. But most of them have the key elements of insurance such as transfer and dispersion of risk. So most of them are insurance contracts. In that case, there is a need to apply the Insurance Business Act because there is a need to form and manage a fund for risk transfer and dispersion. In addition to the need for prudential regulation, the need to apply rules on rates and sales to protect risk group members is recognized. Therefore, applying the Insurance Business Act to this financial product is possible. It is expected that consumer pressure to introduce the platform provider model P2P insurance will increase soon, though the platform provider model P2P insurance has not yet penetrated the Korean financial market. P2P loan products with a similar structure are being activated, and there is a need for consumers who are in the blind spot of coverage under the traditional insurance system. Just as important as the policy decision on whether to introduce the financial product is that the nature of this contract should be precisely identified. Suppose we decide to introduce this product as a policy. In that case, we believe that legislation on the payment method of insurance premiums should be preceded, such as allowing premium payment through escrow and electronic wallet methods. If the product is introduced into the domestic financial market without resolving these preconditions, there is a high possibility of high rates, incomplete sales, moral hazard problems and insurance fraud problems due to excessive double insurance contracts.