Private health insurance (실비): what it pays, with three everyday cases

Shilbi (실비보험, officially 실손의료보험) is private insurance that pays you back part of a medical bill after National Health Insurance (NHIS, 국민건강보험) has paid its share. It does not replace NHIS, and you keep paying NHIS. Most Koreans hold one. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) sets the product, and the current version, the 5th generation, went on sale on 6 May 2026. If you bought earlier, your own policy's terms apply.

Three everyday cases

• A cold at the clinic. The bill is 15,000 won and NHIS pays most of it; your share is about 4,500 won. Shilbi pays nothing here, because the first 10,000 won of a clinic visit stays with you (20,000 won at a large hospital).
• A night in hospital after a fall. Your share of the covered bill is 600,000 won. Shilbi pays back 80%, so 480,000 won comes back to you.
• An MRI the doctor orders outside NHIS (비급여), 500,000 won. For a non-serious condition shilbi pays back half, 250,000 won, up to 10 million won a year. For a serious illness it pays back 70%. Manual therapy (도수치료), shockwave therapy and non-covered injections are no longer covered.

Can a foreigner buy it?
Yes, but each insurer decides. They ask for a valid foreigner registration card (외국인등록증) and look at your visa, the time left on it, your job and your income. Long-term visas (F-5, F-6, a steady work visa) are usually accepted; short-stay visas are often refused. If your employer's group plan already covers you, a second policy does not pay you twice: the insurers split the bill. You can pause your own policy while you are in a group plan and restart it within a month of leaving, with no new review.

How to claim
You still have to claim, but without paper. In the 실손24 app (silson24.or.kr) you pick the visit, choose your insurer and tap send; the app fetches the receipt from the hospital for you. About half of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies were connected by September 2026. At the others, ask for the paper receipt and claim through your insurer's app.

It depends on your visa, your insurer and whether work already covers you.

Next step: ask HR whether you are in a group plan before you buy anything. And keep paying NHIS: see our post on opting out.

Sources: FSC, 5th-generation 실손 launch, 6 May 2026; FSC, group and personal policies, 27 December 2022; FSC and Ministry of Health, 실손24 plan, 30 September 2026; Shinhan Financial Group, insurance for foreigners, 16 June 2026. Checked 26 October 2026.