Samsung Life Insurance is a South Korean Multinational Insurance Company bases in Seoul, South Korea. It was formed in 1957. It is the subsidiary of the Samsung group (Forbes, 2021). the major insurance divisions of the company are life, health and accidental insurance. It provides retirement products such as annuities and pensions. Other services include asset management and financial products. The company’s sister company Samsung Fire and Marine, offer non-life insurance, such as property insurance. It provides services in over six countries, including India, Japan, The UK, and the US. The company is registered in Korean Exchange. Samsung Life sells both individual and group life insurance through a vast branch network. Porter’s five forces model is a valuable tool to identify threats and opportunities faced by Samsung Life Insurance in the insurance sector in the United States.
Competitive Rivalry in the Market
The insurance market in South Korea is highly concentrated. The market is dominated few companies. Insurance is a good business with decent profit margins. Samsung life is considered the top three health insurance providers in the country by the market share, including Hanwha Life Insurance and kyobo Life Insurance. According to the Korean Insurance Research Institute, Samsung market share was 24.1% in the life insurance sector and 23.9% in the non-life insurance sector (KIRI, 2020). At the same time, Hanwha and Kyobo market share was 12% and 10% in the life insurance category (KIRI, 2020). It is more than combined of all of its rival companies. The company doesn’t face any serious competition in the market. The industry is concentrated, and it enjoys the benefit of it.
Threat of Substitutes
The products offered in the industry are pretty much identical to the last few decades. Technology is the driving force behind the latest revolution all over the industries. Industry can use technology to innovating insurance products and services for growth, increasing effectiveness in fraud detection and pricing, and reducing administrative costs (Mckinsey, 2016). Fintech and insurtech are the future of the financial industry. Industry front runners are using technology to innovate better products for the customer. Samsung is the oldest insurer in the country. It is leading the digital transformation. It is working on converting its office-based staff into mobile units for inspection by using Samsung Gear VR. This type of research project provides them with an edge over other companies. The threat is low in the industry.
The Threat of New Entrants
The new entrants must come with new innovative products to disrupt the industry front runners.The higher initial cost and high sunk investment make it difficult for a startup to compete with established insurance companies. Startups working with companies to develop technologically advanced tools to create better products can affect the overall market hierarchy. These startups are drawing the attention of people from all around the world. Insurtech startups have attracted around $17 Billion in investment in the last decade (Deloitte, 2019). These products can streamline the insurance process, and companies can use data to better calculate the risk factors and policy rates. The startups can affect the overall business profit. The threat of new entrants is at a moderate level.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The buyers of financial products are individuals, business companies, and government institutes. The individual buyers are individual end-users of the product, whereas companies are retailers or wholesalers (Hill & Jones, 2012). The individual buyer cannot exert any power against financial institutes, but nowadays service sector has evolved. Customer can easily switch to other product. The cost of switching isn’t that much; it provides a customer edge. At the same time, business companies and government institutes can claim better deals. Companies have more bargaining power because they provide more extensive clientele and opt for their services in bulk. Samsung life insurance rules the market due to being an early starter. The overall bargaining power of buyers is moderate. It is mainly to tough competition in the market.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power depends on the product or services the buyer is providing and how important is that service. There are two main types of suppliers in the insurance industry; brokerage firm and lending institutes. The brokerage firms are responsible for the distribution of product and retail services. The lending institutes provide funds in case of payment. Suppliers can exert power if the market has fewer suppliers and it has clients under him. When consumers are aware of their importance to the business, they can exercise high bargaining power (Dess et al., 2006). The suppliers with the best marketing network and dealership can bargain. Suppliers typically exert high bargaining power when offering the exclusive product or specialized services or control the source of the material provided. Lending institutes hold higher power because they lend the loan. Overall the bargaining power is moderate against the insurance industry.
References
Deloitte. (2019). Accelerating insurance innovation in the age of InsurTech. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/financial-services/us-accelerating-insurance-innovation.pdf
Dess, G. G., Lumpkin, G. T. and Eisher, A. B (2006). Strategic Management. Text and cases. International edition. London: McGraw-Hill.
Forbes. (2021). Samsung Life Insurance. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/samsung-life-insurance/?sh=647ccc0638a9
Hill, C. W., & Jones, G. R. (2012). Essentials of strategic management. Cengage Learning.
KIRI. (2020). Korean Insurance Industry 2020. Available at: http://www.kiri.or.kr/eng/pdf/Korean%20Insurance%20Industry%202020.pdf
Mckinsey. (2016). Blockchain in insurance – opportunity or threat? Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Financial%20Services/Our%20Insights/Blockchain%20in%20insurance%20opportunity%20or%20threat/Blockchain-in-insurance-opportunity-or-threat.ashx