Korean nonlife insurers saw their operating profit shrink for two straight fiscal years, largely due to hefty damage payouts from overseas businesses, the financial regulator said Tuesday.

The combined insurance operating profit of 16 local nonlife insurers reached 147.6 billion won ($128.2 million) in fiscal 2011, slightly down from 155.0 billion won a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The tallied insurance firms close their books on March 31.

Fire insurance saw their losses widen at 18.0 billion won on-year from 11.9 billion won, with that of marine insurance rising to 3.7 billion from 2.3 billion won, the FSS said.

The losses came as the nonlife insurers paid heavy insurance benefits worth 100.1 billion won to South Korean corporate policyholders who claimed losses from the massive floods in Thailand last year.

However, the insurance premium collected by the insurers surged 11.9 percent to a total of 5.5 trillion won in the April-March period, up from the 7.7-percent increase in fiscal 2010, reflecting the market has been on a steady growth path, the FSS said.

Brisk sales in miscellaneous products such as smartphone insurance jumped 39.2 percent in the cited period, adding to the overall rise of the total premium in other conventional sectors including fire and marine accidents, it added. 

(Yonhap News)