Heat illness claims under South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province climate insurance program more than doubled this year, with the province paying 220.8 million won ($153,000) on 1,472 diagnosis claims, according to recently released figures.
That compares with 65.5 million won on 655 claims in the program’s 2025 cumulative total, the province said. It raised the heat illness diagnosis benefit to 150,000 won this year from 100,000 won.
Total payouts under the 2026 program reached 752.2 million won on 25,941 claims as of Oct. 21. Outpatient visits by climate-vulnerable groups were the most common claim, at 24,200 claims totaling 484 million won, followed by heat illness diagnosis benefits. Other payouts included 165 emergency room visit claims (16.5 million won), four climate disaster death benefits (12 million won) and 13 heat illness hospitalization claims (1.3 million won).
Park Dae-geun, head of the province’s environmental health and safety division, said residents who suffered in this summer’s heat wave received substantial support through the program, Seoul Economic Daily reported.
The Korea JoongAng Daily reported a larger rise. It said payouts for heat illness diagnoses and daily hospitalization benefits totaled 208.64 million won across 2,856 claims between April 11 and Oct. 15. That was about 4.2 times the 50.26 million won across 1,264 claims in the previous coverage period, April 11, 2025, to April 10, 2026. The two sets of figures differ, and the sources reviewed do not explain why.
The JoongAng Daily also reported that Gyeonggi introduced a 3 million won death benefit this year for people who die from heat- or cold-related illnesses or climate-related disasters. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency estimates 36 people died from heat-related illnesses nationwide this summer, including three in Gyeonggi. All three are believed to have qualified.
Gyeonggi runs the program as a group policy and pays the full premiums, with residents enrolled automatically. Eligible residents submit supporting documents, and the insurer pays after reviewing claims. Claims can be filed up to three years after an incident, so benefits for illnesses within the coverage period may be paid later.
“We are receiving about 150 to 200 inquiries and claims a day,” an official at the insurer underwriting the program said, JoongAng Daily reported.
Private insurers are also adding cover. Tongyang Life Insurance launched a small-scale product in August covering heat- and cold-related illnesses. KB Insurance introduced weather-related damage insurance for traditional markets through merchants’ associations. NongHyup Property & Casualty Insurance offers additional coverage for livestock losses caused by extreme heat. Jeju Island launched a program July 28 that gives eligible public construction day laborers partial compensation for income lost when work is suspended after a heat wave warning.
Critics point to payouts concentrated on transportation costs for medical visits, which the program pays at 20,000 won per visit, up to five times per resident, the JoongAng Daily reported. It said these expenses made up 92% of claims paid this year.
The program covers about 14.4 million residents, including registered foreign residents, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported earlier. Claims are generally processed within three business days after the insurer receives all documents, according to the Korea Herald.
The Korea Times reported in July that Jeju’s initiative uses parametric insurance, with payouts triggered once predefined conditions are met. A non-life insurance official told the paper such programs help insurers gather data to improve underwriting. In August, the Korea Times reported that 48 people had received heat-related illness payouts totaling 59 million won through NongHyup Life Insurance’s farmer safety insurance program as of the end of July.
