Amid the ongoing war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, the Hormuz Strait has effectively been blocked, resulting in domestic marine insurance exposure reaching approximately 1.7 trillion won. The escalating conflict in the Middle East has caused insurance rates to surge by five to ten times, prompting financial authorities to conduct a risk assessment of the insurance sector. As of September 9, data provided by the Financial Supervisory Service indicated that the total amount of marine insurance held by ten domestic insurers and two reinsurers combined amounts to 1.6863 trillion won.

The marine insurance holdings are comprised of 979.6 billion won in ship insurance and 706.7 billion won in cargo insurance. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance holds the largest portion, with a total of 427.2 billion won, followed by KB Insurance and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance. The blockade's implications affect war insurance premiums for vessels in the region, which have dramatically increased from a typical rate of 0.25% to between 1% and 3%. After a war begins, insurance companies can retract existing contracts within 72 hours, imposing higher premium rates based on the risks associated with the conflict, which significantly impacts shipowners and shippers' financial burdens.

Although the marine insurance market constitutes a relatively small portion of the overall insurance industry, long-lasting warfare and delays in settlements between insurers and overseas reinsurers could lead to liquidity issues for these insurers. Financial authorities are closely monitoring the situation, aware that widespread insurance payouts from the current crisis may exacerbate these liquidity challenges for domestic insurers, raising concerns over their financial stability in the face of ongoing geopolitical unrest.