BNP Paribas Cardif presents results of a survey of 21,000 people in 21 countries

“CREDITOR INSURANCE, A SAFETY NET TO SUPPORT PEOPLE
PURSUING THEIR PERSONAL PROJECTS”

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance announced that BNP Paribas Cardif released the latest result of an international survey “Protect & Project oneself” which examined consumer satisfaction with insurance coverage and changes in their perception of loan and creditor insurance.

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance is the life insurance subsidiary of BNP Paribas Cardif in Korea, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas, and a world leader in creditor insurance.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos, a global marketing research company, on 21,000 people in 21 countries on three continents (Europe, Latin America, and Asia). The survey, which addresses global consumers’ perceptions of protection insurance, especially for the creditor insurance, is now in its fourth time since the survey began in 2008.

A growing need for protection in the face of multiples crises

Results of the 2024 survey show that people are slightly less concerned about unforeseen life events than in 2021. However, the degree of concerns remains above levels measured in 2019. Although the world is gradually recovering from the pandemic, other crises remain, and inflation worries have replaced fears related to Covid since 2022. At the same time, at the global level, 79% of respondents in the survey say they are particularly concerned about international conflicts, 76% about climate change, 75% by the drop in purchasing power, 69% by the unemployment. Particularly,unemployment is the top concern in Latin America and Asia (86% and 71% of respondents, respectively).

With regards to unforeseen life events, loss of income remains a major source of concern for three-quarters of the global population, analyzing that it is derived from the macroeconomic situation of inflation. In particular, about half of global respondents said they would not be able to maintain their standard of living in case of unexpected life events such as death, a job loss, or time off work for health reasons.As more time passes since the health crisis, worries about health have diminished, but still remain higher than in 2019. Concerns regarding depression rose worldwide, cited by 62% of those interviewed.

Lastly, while the percentage of people who feel they are sufficiently protected against unforeseen events continues to rise – reaching nearly two-thirds of the population in the 2024 survey (+2pts vs. 2021 ; +6pts vs. 2019) – only 14 % of respondents say they feel “very well protected”, suggesting that the current level of protection insurance coverage is insufficient. At the same time, expectations in terms of protection continue to climb in all three regions, particularly for issues related to mental health (+5pts vs. 2021) and death (+3pts vs. 2021).

Meanwhile, a majority (6 out of 10 South Koreans) think that they would not be able to maintain their standards of living or that of their family in case of different unexpected life events, such as death, a job loss, or time off work for health reasons. In this context, the social benefits are not considered powerful enough to bridge this gap. Also, South Koreans have a more pessimistic perception regarding the existing protections compared to other Asian countries, showing only 7% of respondents saying that they feel “very well protected”. The main risks against which South Koreans would like to be better protected are financial loss and job loss, indicating that the need for protection insurance coverage has become even greater amid the post-pandemic multiple crises.

Creditor insurance supports return to plans for personal projects

In 2024, personal projects and the need to finance them have once again become a priority, and the number of people who plan to resort to credit has increased across all geographies. The percentage of the population ready to resort to credit for a real estate acquisition has returned to pre-Covid levels (69%, +9pts vs. 2021), as has the number of people with plans to buy a car (55%, +9pts vs. 2021). The main purpose of loans cited by South Korean respondents is “Purchasing a property (55%, +7pts compared to 2021)”, with the proportion of household loans related to real estate still the highest.

In this context, ‘Creditor insurance’ is viewed as a useful solution by global respondents to help them move forward with their life plans. Respondents believe that these insurance products encourage them to pursue their projects while looking to the future with serenity. When asked “Have you ever heard of creditor insurance, which covers the repayment of a loan in the event of an unexpected life event or accident?”, 66% of global respondents said “they have heard of it”. Creditor insurance in particular is seen as a solution that lets people retain ownership of property (82% agree).

Korean respondents’ awareness and subscription rate for creditor insurance is still low, but it has continued to improve. The number of Korean respondents who answered the question “Have you ever heard of creditor insurance, which covers the repayment of a loan in the event of an unexpected life event or accident?” increased to 41% (2019), 46% (2021), and 48% (2024), while the proportion of respondents who said they had purchased creditor insurance increased to 9%, 11%, and 12%, respectively. For the benefits of creditor insurance, Korean respondents say that this product lets peoplemaintain their standard of living (80%),protect their family (80%), preserve what they own (79%), ensure security when they take out a loan (77%) and reassure and provide them with peace of mind (76%).

Jonathan Oh, the President and CEO of BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance said, “It is a time when global consumers, who are facing multiple crises such as inflation, are once again pursuing their personal projects and realize their goals after Covid-19 despite the difficulties of managing household finances. The unmet needs in coverage for mortgage loan, which accounts for the largest share of the household economy, is still unfamiliar to us, but many advanced countries such as France, Germany, and Japan are filling those gap through creditor insurance. It is encouraging to see that the awareness and subscription rate of creditor insurance in Korea are continuously increasing”.

BNP Paribas Cardif Life Insurance, which has been leading the way in building a healthy loan ecosystem by providing creditor life insurance, provides an integrated ‘Credit Care Program’ to support for credit management. Under the program, ‘Credit Care Guide’ offers useful information for credit management and ‘Credit Care Academy’ provides credit management economic education for the financially vulnerable, such as middle school students and seniors.