Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance said Monday it was granted a six-month exclusive license to offer long-term disability insurance in South Korea, making the firm the first to provide such a policy with a coverage period of more than three years.

Long-term disability insurance allows workers to receive a portion of their salary if they are unable to work for a period deemed to be long by the insurance company, compared to short-term disability policies that usually require a waiting or elimination period of less than six months. 

The policy offered by Samsung is an employer-sponsored insurance, which will require employers of potential beneficiaries to invest for 12 months. It is then designed to provide monthly benefits to employees until retirement, which is considered a rare term for disability insurance in Korea.

In order to qualify for long-term disability benefits, the employee must be classified by the government into a disability grade of one through three.

Samsung’s policy also allows clients to design their policies based on their needs and conditions, regarding terms related to time and cost. Automated invoicing is provided as well, once the beneficiary receives the employers’ approval.

“Long-term disability insurance is a widely used policy among major firms in the US and Europe,” an official at the firm said.

“Through the launch of the policy, we hope that it could contribute to establishing safe grounds concerning long-term income losses for workers,” the official added.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)