South Korea’s financial regulator is preparing changes to motorcycle insurance pricing for delivery riders, including a 20% to 30% reduction in self-injury premiums and expanded access to part-time cover for younger workers. The measures are expected to influence how insurers approach pricing and product design for platform-based motor risks.
According to Chosun’s report, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will promote a “rationalisation of the motorcycle insurance rate system” for commercial-use motorcycles, including delivery bikes. The initiative focuses on riders who rely on deliveries for income as well as younger riders entering platform work.
Because of premium levels, many delivery riders purchase only the minimum legally required cover rather than self-injury or comprehensive insurance. Across the market, around 9,000 commercial-use motorcycles are currently insured under self-injury cover, based on supervisory data. As of the end of October, the average annual premium per commercial transport motorcycle, such as a delivery bike, was 1,031,000 won, compared with an average household motorcycle insurance premium of 179,000 won. Riders’ groups and labour organisations have cited the differential between commercial and household rates as a continuing burden for those using motorcycles for work.
The FSS plans to use statistics from the Korea Insurance Development Institute (KIDI) as the basis for recalibrating self-injury rating structures. Major insurers are examining a 20% to 30% cut in self-injury premiums for commercial motorcycles, which would translate into an average reduction of about 280,000 won per policy at current pricing levels.
The regulator also intends to broaden eligibility for part-time motorcycle insurance. At present, many products are available only to riders aged 24 and older. Under the proposal, riders from age 21 would be able to purchase part-time policies, which are often used by platform workers who log on for limited hours or on irregular schedules. Some insurers have restricted riders aged 21 to under 24 from enrolling in part-time products, citing loss ratio management and treating this group as higher risk. The FSS has indicated that, in some cases, such restrictions have been applied without detailed, rider-level risk assessment.
In addition, regulators are preparing rules that would allow riders to carry forward their discount grades when they replace a motorcycle and enter into a new contract. Market feedback has highlighted cases in which riders with no accident history faced higher premiums after switching motorcycles because previous driving records were not fully recognized by new policies. An FSS official said: “We will reflect these institutional improvements by revising the rate books of each insurance company and the reference rate books of the Insurance Development Institute within the first quarter of next year and push for immediate application upon revision.”
The planned changes are taking shape alongside broader labour market trends, including growth in multiple jobholding and platform-based work, where motorcycles are commonly used. The number of workers with second jobs increased from 419,000 in 2017 to 624,600 in 2024, the highest level on record. As of September 2025, the average number of people holding side jobs stood at 608,000, based on microdata released Nov. 11 by Statistics Korea. With side-job participation typically rising toward the end of the year, the figure is expected to reach a new peak in 2025.
A Samsung Electronics survey in August 2024 of 5,048 Generation Z employees in Korea, the US, Britain, France, and Germany found that 79% of Korean respondents were considering taking a second job, the second-highest share after the US. Respondents frequently pointed to platform-based roles such as food delivery, courier work, and designated driving as feasible options for additional income.
According to a November 2024 report from the Korea Employment Information Service, Korea had 883,000 platform workers in 2023. Compared with 2022, the proportion of people using platforms as a side job rose from 21.1% to 21.8%, while the share of intermittent participants increased from 21.2% to 22.6%. Of those surveyed, 36.1% cited the need for more income as the main reason they began platform work. Workers holding both primary and secondary jobs are structurally more likely to work night shifts and extended hours, factors closely watched in exposure and claims modelling.
Loss experience and safety conditions in the delivery sector remain central considerations for insurers and regulators. On Aug. 28, the Rider Union, part of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union under the KCTU, held a “Delivery Workers’ Workplace Injury Testimony Rally” in front of the presidential office in Yongsan to call for safety measures for delivery riders.
At the event, the union released results from an online survey of 595 delivery workers conducted between Aug. 21 and 25. According to the findings, 82% of respondents said they had experienced an accident while delivering. In addition, 96.6% reported frequently encountering dangerous situations they linked to platform-imposed “missions,” including time or volume targets.
For insurers, the combination of growing participation in gig and platform work, reported accident exposure, and the proposed adjustments to self-injury premiums and part-time cover points to continued refinement in pricing, segmentation, underwriting guidelines, and product structures in the commercial motorcycle and gig-worker insurance market in Korea.
