South Korean insurance firms’ income from their overseas operations swung to a combined net loss in the first half of this year, due mainly to an increase in insurance payouts, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.

The net losses of 23 overseas units and offices of six non-life insurers stood at $500,000 in the January-June period, a turnaround from a net profit of $40.2 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The FSS said the weaker bottom line came as the companies saw their loss ratio surge to 73.8 percent over the cited period, compared with 50.5 percent a year ago, as they covered natural disasters in India and the Philippines and a fire in China.

They posted a net loss of $7.8 million in insurance operating profit for the six-month period, also a reverse from a net profit of $34 million a year earlier.

The total assets of the insurers’ overseas operations reached $2.96 billion at the end of June, up 53.6 percent on-year from $1.93 billion. (Yonhap)