Insurance Company Will Have To Pay, Court Rules

An insurance company that filed a court case against an insured client demanding a disability benefit claimed that the statute of limitation had passed, lost the case and ended up having to pay the whole amount of insurance to the client.

Kyobo Life Insurance filed a case against its insured client Song (40) claiming that “Song’s request for disability benefits is closed by the statute of limitations, and therefore the company has no legal duty to pay him the insurance.” However, on December 25 the Seoul District Court announced that, “the complainant’s claim for extinctive prescription is not valid.” The court also ruled that, “the complainant pay Song 46 million won in one payment, and also issue an additional 10 million won annually until the year 2018.”

Song subscribed to life insurance in 1997 and later injured his spine in October 1998. He claimed his disability benefit in April 1999 with a diagnosis from the hospital. However, due to complications and a dispute with the insurance company, Song was reexamined and eventually was declared to have a third level disability. The insurance company then refused to pay the insurance benefit claiming that, “because two years had passed since the accident and the statute of limitations has expired, the company cannot pay the disablement benefit.”

Jin-Young Hwang buddy@donga.com