To find money you can reclaim from a life insurance policy, you must first distinguish the nature of the payment. This is because the 'surrender refund' received when terminating an insurance contract and 'hidden insurance payments' that have gone unclaimed despite a payout event are different things. If you have a contract whose maturity has passed or whose agreed payment date has arrived, the starting point is to check whether there are unclaimed insurance payments before considering cancellation.

Three Types of Hidden Insurance Payments: Intermediate, Maturity, and Dormant

Hidden insurance payments include intermediate insurance payments, maturity insurance payments, and dormant insurance payments.

• Intermediate insurance payments: arise when the payment conditions specified in the contract are met
• Maturity insurance payments: money payable because the insurance period has ended
• Dormant insurance payments: insurance payments left unclaimed even after the relevant statute of limitations has expired

However, not all life insurance policyholders are entitled to a fixed refund, so you must directly check your contract terms and payout conditions.

Search via 'Find My Insurance'… Surrender Refunds Require a Separate Route

Hidden insurance payments can be searched through 'Find My Insurance,' operated by the Life Insurance Association and the Non-Life Insurance Association. After identity verification, you can check your life and non-life insurance enrollment records and hidden insurance payment details all at once, and use the simple claims service for your hidden insurance payments. The service is available 24 hours a day.

Checking the surrender refund—how much you would receive if you terminated the contract now—must be done separately from hidden insurance payment searches, via the website or call center of your insurance company.

Beware of the Misconception That 'Interest Keeps Accruing'

You should also be careful about assuming that interest will keep accruing on unclaimed insurance payments. Whether interest is paid on intermediate and maturity insurance payments, and the applicable rate, vary depending on the time of contract, the period elapsed after maturity, and the product's terms and conditions. In contrast, no interest accrues on dormant insurance payments.

The route for checking dormant insurance payments differs depending on who holds them. Dormant insurance payments held by insurance companies can be checked with the relevant company or through Find My Insurance, while those contributed to the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency can be checked through that institution's inquiry and refund channels.

Beware of Copycat Websites… Confirm Final Payment Amounts with the Paying Institution

When seeking refunds, you should also examine the website address and the purpose of personal data use. The Financial Services Commission states that the official Find My Insurance service does not use entered personal information for marketing purposes such as sales or promotion. It is necessary to distinguish it from copycat websites that promote refund searches while steering users toward insurance sales consultations.

After confirming the insurance company and payment type in the search results, it is safest to verify the actual payment amount and required documents with the relevant paying institution.

[This article was written based on official guidance materials, with some assistance from AI during the writing process. The information provided is for reference only, and refunds, insurance payments, and payment eligibility for individual contracts may vary depending on product terms and the paying institution's verification results. This publication bears no legal or financial responsibility for the use of this information.]