Report: Hospitalization Comes First after Car Accident

According to a report, seven out of ten who got car accident compensation from insurance companies were hospitalized right after the accidents occurred.

Some point out that the ratio of hospitalization in Korea, where 90% of car accident victims are slightly injured, is too high compared to Japan, in which the ratio of hospitalization is less than 10%.

According to a report released by the General Insurance Association obtained by Dong-A on November 9, among 1,027,056 who took advantage of auto insurance coverage for medical fees from April 2005 to March 2006, 726,869 people, or 70.8%, were hospitalized before they received medical expenses.

Although 95.8% of all auto accident victims in Korea were categorized as grade 8, meaning slightly hurt, the hospitalization ratio for car accident injury has exceeded 70% since 2001.

On the other hand, Japan’s hospitalization ratio due to car accident has decreased since the 2001-2002 record of 10.2%. Japan’s hospitalization ratio between April 2005 and March 2006 fell to 7.9%, one ninth of Korea’s hospitalization ratio (70.8%).

An official from the General Insurance Association of Korea said, “Many Korean people think that they can benefit from insurance companies if they are hospitalized when car accidents are incurred. So we need to launch new measures to deter fake patients like Japan’s system, which limits a number of days for hospitalization.”

It is apparently clear that the number of fake patients involved in car accidents is too high, according to the comparison result of the hospitalization ratio between those covered by insurance companies and those who covered by the National Health Insurance Cooperation (NHIC).

According to the Association’s report, among patients who were treated for neck bone and muscle injuries, only 1.8 percent covered by NHIC were hospitalized, while 75 percent covered by auto insurance compensation were hospitalized.

Some mention suspicions that hospitals allow fake patients in order to generate income for themselves as well. During the period April 2005 to March 2006, 51.9 percent were hospitalized among car accident victims who visited general hospitals, while 74.3% were hospitalized among car accident victims who visited local hospitals.

legman@donga.com