DB Insurance is a non-life insurer that earns underwriting profit from the premiums it collects on auto, long-term and general insurance, and investment profit by putting accumulated premiums to work in bonds and equities, with a CSM balance—its reservoir of future profit—of roughly ₩12 trillion, among the highest in the industry. In May 2026 it fully acquired the U.S. specialty and surety insurer Fortegra for about ₩2.3 trillion, becoming the first Korean non-life insurer to enter the U.S. market directly, and around the same time its first-quarter preliminary results showed net profit falling sharply on one-off losses and lower investment income, prompting a pullback in the share price. The stand-out point lately is that its appeal on profitability and valuation—a 16.4% ROE, a 5.7% dividend and a 0.81x P/B—together with an August value-up re-filing that could act as a catalyst, should be weighed against the caution that if long-term insurance loss ratios exceed expectations quarterly earnings can swing widely and the burden of integrating the acquired subsidiary may show up early.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- For financial companies, debt and interest costs are large by the nature of the business, so the debt ratio and interest coverage cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
- Revenue rose 1.5% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 94.8% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 16.4% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 40.8%.
- The forward P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Kim Nam-ho 9.19% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 25.94%
With the controlling bloc holding 26%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- DB Insurance is a non-life insurer selling auto, long-term and general insurance.
- The bulk of its revenue comes from long-term protection-type products such as accident, health and driver insurance, with auto insurance and general lines such as fire and liability added on.
- A non-life insurer makes money in two streams: “underwriting profit,” which is what remains after paying out claims from the premiums collected from policyholders, and “investment profit,” earned by putting accumulated premiums to work in bonds, equities and the like.
- The company's long-term reservoir of profit is its CSM (contractual service margin—a store of future profit to be recognized in installments over time); DB's CSM balance is roughly ₩12 trillion, among the highest in the industry, and the new-business CSM it builds from newly sold contracts is also at the top of the non-life field.
- In May 2026 it fully acquired (100%) the Florida-based specialty and surety insurer Fortegra for about ₩2.3 trillion, becoming the first Korean non-life insurer to enter the U.S. market directly.
- The latest close is ₩146,500 and the market capitalization is ₩9.6 trillion.
- The price sits above its 20-day line (₩143,865) and below its 60-day line (₩154,288).
- With the short- and medium-term trends diverging, the direction should be read separately.
- The RSI (an auxiliary gauge that scores the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0–100 scale) is 51.1, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is +2.8%, the three-month change is -8.6%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -28.7%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 37 (1–99; a recency-weighted conversion of return versus the index over the past year, with higher meaning stronger than the market).
- That places it around the top 63% of all listed names by strength.
- Over the past three months it has lagged the index by 29.7%.
- Chart reading is best done together with volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
- Valuation metrics are on the low side.
- The P/E (how many times one year of profit the price represents) is 5.37x and the P/B (how many times net asset value the price represents) is 0.88x, trading below book.
- Profitability is solid: ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) of 16.4% is higher than large peers, and the dividend yield of 5.7% (₩7,600 per share, a payout of about 26%) is attractive.
- Interpretation calls for care, though.
- The debt ratio shows up very high, but an insurer's structure records the policy liabilities it will later return to policyholders as large accounting “liabilities,” so it is hard to call it risky by an ordinary manufacturer's standard.
- Also, last year's (2025) net profit of ₩1.79 trillion was somewhat elevated by accounting-assumption effects, so the 4.9x P/E based on it looks lower than the real underlying strength—an optical effect.
- Re-read on this year's earnings, the effective P/E rises above that.
- Revenue growth is in a slowing phase.
- Annual revenue ran ₩4.2 trillion in 2023 → ₩5.76 trillion in 2024 → ₩5.84 trillion in 2025 (+1.5% year over year), with the increment narrowing, and net profit edged down from ₩1.85 trillion in 2024 to ₩1.79 trillion in 2025 (-3.4%).
- In the first quarter of 2026 net profit plunged 44.5% year over year to ₩239.6 billion, because larger-than-expected one-off losses piled up in long-term insurance (brain/heart diagnosis benefits, respiratory and indemnity lines), the accounting assumption for the expected-versus-actual gap normalized conservatively, and investment income fell versus the prior year.
- Even so, the new-business CSM—the reservoir of future profit—added another figure in the ₩600 billion range in the first quarter, so underwriting competitiveness held.
- This year's full-year profit is likely to come in below the unusually high prior year, but it is reasonable to see a trajectory that recovers from the first-quarter trough as the one-off losses subside.
- Added to that, the results of Fortegra, the U.S. business folded in during May, are consolidated in from the second half.
- On a forward basis reflecting this year's earnings, the share price is still on the low side relative to profit.
- Two events have shaped the recent trend.
- First, on May 30, 2026 the company completed its acquisition of the U.S. specialty insurer Fortegra (100% stake, about ₩2.3 trillion), securing an overseas growth axis.
- Second, the first-quarter preliminary results disclosed on May 15 showed net profit falling sharply on large one-off losses and lower investment income, prompting a pullback in the share price.
- Following the Fortegra acquisition, the company plans to re-file its consolidated-basis payout ratio and a concrete corporate value-up plan during August 2026, and that announcement is the next milestone for dividends and shareholder returns.
- Beyond this, a corporate-bond issuance and a large-enterprise-group status disclosure followed.
- The points to watch are clear.
- Strengths are (1) high profitability and underwriting competitiveness represented by a 16.4% ROE and a CSM in the ₩12 trillion range, (2) a solid 5.7% dividend, (3) a 0.81x P/B below net assets and a valuation that is low even against this year's earnings, and (4) an overseas growth axis opened by the Fortegra acquisition.
- Cautions are (1) that when long-term insurance loss ratios exceed expectations, as in the first quarter, quarterly earnings volatility is large, (2) that revenue growth is slowing as the domestic non-life market matures, and (3) that the capital and cost burden from the Fortegra acquisition price and integration may show up early.
- In sum, this is a name supported by dividends and profitability where the August value-up re-filing could act as a catalyst, with the keys being the stabilization of long-term insurance loss ratios and an early contribution from the acquired subsidiary.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
Compared against three listed domestic non-life insurers—a direct peer set of similar business mix (long-term, auto and general insurance) and scale.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance | 13.76x | 1.31x | 9.49% |
| Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance | 3.01x | 0.60x | 19.77% |
| Hanwha General Insurance | 2.19x | 0.24x | 11.20% |
The non-life industry trades at generally low P/Es, but DB Insurance sits in an attractive spot even within it. It trades at a valuation well below the industry's largest player, Samsung Fire & Marine (P/E 13.7x, ROE 9.5%), while its ROE is higher at 16.4% and its dividend yield (5.7%) is also ahead. Last year's net profit was elevated by accounting-assumption effects, so the trailing P/E of 4.9x looks lower than reality—an optical effect—but even on a forward basis reflecting this year's earnings the share price is on the low side relative to profit, and together with a P/B below net assets and a dividend in the 5% range, the assessment is undervalued. That said, the first-quarter loss-ratio volatility and the early burden of the acquisition are factors that cap the premium.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩146,500 and the market capitalization is ₩9.6 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩143,865) and below its 60-day moving average (₩154,288). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 51.1, a neutral level. The one-month change is +2.8%, the three-month change is -8.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -28.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 37 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 37% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 29.7%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -29.69% / 6M -28.52% / 12M -49.26%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E is 5.37x. The P/B is 0.88x.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 16.4%, above the sector average (11.0%). The operating margin is 40.8%. The debt ratio is 680.3%, but for financial firms deposits and insurance liabilities count as debt, so it cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.8B | $3.8B | $3.9B | +1.45% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.6B | -1.69% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B | -3.43% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | $2.8B | $3.8B | $3.9B |
| Operating profit | — | — | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.6B |
| Net profit | — | — | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B |
| Revenue CAGR | 2-yr avg 18.27% | ||||
Revenue rose 1.5% year over year (2023 ₩4.2 trillion → 2024 ₩5.8 trillion → 2025 ₩5.8 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit fell 1.7% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 3 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 18.3%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 18.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 94.8% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- The dividend yield, at 5.2%, is on the high side.
- ROE of 16.4% points to solid profitability.
Points to watch
- Revenue rose 1.5% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-30UpdateCompleted acquisition of the U.S. specialty and surety insurer Fortegra (100% stake) for about ₩2.3 trillion (about US$1.65 billion). The first acquisition of a U.S. insurer by a Korean non-life insurer.Secures a medium-term growth axis. Consolidated into results from the second half, and tied to the consolidated-basis value-up and dividend re-filing planned for August. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 preliminary results disclosure. Net profit of ₩239.6 billion, down 44.5% year over year. Driven by large one-off losses in long-term insurance and lower investment income.A short-term earnings plunge prompted a share-price pullback. However, with the CSM and new-business base maintained, this is more one-off and normalization in character than structural impairment. Source
- 2026-05-21FilingReport on large holdings and filing of a change in shares held by the largest shareholder and related parties. A routine governance- and stake-related filing.In the nature of confirming governance stability, with limited short-term impact. Source
- 2026-06-02FilingFinalized issuance terms in the securities registration for a corporate bond. A bond issuance for capital and liquidity management.Funding to meet outlays such as the Fortegra acquisition, in terms of securing financial flexibility. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E (price / EPS) | 4.91 | 133,900 / 27,298 = 4.91 | Confirmed | link |
| P/B (price / BPS) | 0.81 | 133,900 / 166,119 = 0.806 | Confirmed | link |
| Dividend yield (DPS / price) | 5.68% | 7,600 / 133,900 = 5.68% | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 estimated full-year net profit | approx. ₩1.2 trillion(self-estimate) | — | Unverified | — |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-09Earnings disclosure
- 2026-06-09Disclosure
- 2026-06-02Disclosure
- 2026-06-02Amended filing
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-27Disclosure
- 2026-05-22Amended filing
- 2026-05-21OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-21OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-15EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-11Corporate governance report (amended)
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.