Financial and insurance inclusion is often framed as a social good, but for insurers it is also a driver of customer trust, retention and risk management. Mr Shinichi Kishi of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company outlines how the Japanese insurer’s “Easy Access to Insurance for Everyone” programme is putting that principle into practice.
Financial and insurance inclusion refers to ensuring that people can access the financial and insurance services they need and benefit from them regardless of age, disability, language, sexual orientation or gender identity, economic circumstances, living conditions, or digital access.
Promoting access to such services is also a vital theme within the SDGs. Yet inclusion is not only “socially good”; it is also commercially meaningful. For financial institutions and insurers, inclusion strengthens the customer base and enhances business sustainability through the accumulation of long-term trust.
Why inclusion matters
Financial and insurance inclusion supports a sustainable business model in several ways. First, it improves customer experience and customer satisfaction. Second, better accessibility often leads to meaningful operational improvements.
Third, by reducing conduct risk and reputational risk, it helps reinforce trust and the long-term sustainability of insurers.
Fourth, by strengthening KYC and customer due diligence processes, and improving the accuracy of customer understanding, it can also help deter and prevent financial crime.
Meiji Yasuda’s approach to inclusion
Guided by the concept of “Easy Access to Insurance for Everyone,” Meiji Yasuda is working across all touchpoints to ensure that customers can find the information they need, understand it, and complete procedures with confidence regardless of age, disability, language, or digital literacy. These touchpoints include its website, branch offices, call centres, and more.
Insurance is a vital part of the social infrastructure, yet it is highly specialised and prone to information asymmetry. When barriers exist in communication or information delivery, customers may feel anxiety or stress when applying for coverage, servicing policies after enrolment, or making claims. This may potentially lead to exclusion. For this reason, Meiji Yasuda has placed accessibility and inclusion at the centre of its efforts and has improved in-person and remote experiences as one integrated customer journey.
Below, I highlight several signature initiatives launched in 2025.
Improving digital accessibility
To enhance digital accessibility, Meiji Yasuda introduced the web-accessibility tool “FACIL’iti” on its official website in 2025 to improve the discoverability of information. Insurance content is often lengthy and includes many important notes and disclosures.
If on-screen presentation or usability does not match users’ needs, older customers, people with low vision, people with colour-vision deficiency, and those who are less confident with reading or digital devices may abandon the process before reaching the information they need. FACIL’iti improves readability and the ease of navigation by allowing users to adjust text size, contrast, line spacing, highlighting, and text-to-speech functions.
The aim is to avoid a situation where only digitally proficient customers benefit, and to create a starting point that is fair and accessible to everyone.
Strengthening in-person support
Financial and insurance inclusion cannot be achieved through principles and tools alone. In many cases, human support at customer touchpoints is essential such as understanding individual circumstances, providing clear explanations and assisting with procedures.
In 2021, Meiji Yasuda launched home-visit services in which “Administrative Service Concierges” with specialised administrative and service expertise visit customers and provide in-person support. With more than 2,000 concierges accompanying sales staff on joint visits, Meiji Yasuda has built a framework to handle procedures that require specific knowledge and consideration.
To further strengthen face-to-face support, Meiji Yasuda installed cartilage-conduction earphones, devices that transmit sound through the ear cartilage, at customer service counters nationwide in 2025. They are used in conversations with customers who find it difficult to hear due to ageing or hearing loss.
In insurance consultations, accurate understanding of important information is essential, and hearing difficulties can lead to misunderstandings or missed details. These earphones deliver speech more clearly without tightly blocking the ear and help reduce sound leakage, which creates a more comfortable environment for consultation.
They also reduce the reliance on accompanying persons and support customers in understanding the information, feeling confident in their decisions, and deciding it for themselves.
Inclusion benefits all customers, not only specific groups
Financial and insurance inclusion is sometimes seen as “extra measures” for a small group of customers facing difficulties. In practice, it is a way of operationalising customer centricity, and the improvements it drives can benefit the entire customer base. Inclusion is not only for the so-called financially vulnerable; it creates better experiences for all segments.
At their core, Meiji Yasuda’s initiatives are efforts to make communication with customers easier and more reliable. They should therefore be viewed not as a cost for a particular group, but as investments that improve outcomes for all customers.
Becoming the front-runner in insurance inclusion
In recognition of these initiatives across Asia, Meiji Yasuda’s “Easy Access to Insurance for Everyone” won the “Insurance Inclusion Initiative of the Year” at the Insurance Asia Awards 2026. Meiji Yasuda views the customer journey from online research and consultation to purchase, post-sale policy servicing, and claims as a continuous process.
It is advancing cross-channel improvements so that customers are not hindered by barriers at any single point. The company also places emphasis on execution in the field; ensuring that support options are properly introduced and operated, and that customers can choose the method that best suits their needs rather than having a one-size-fit-all approach imposed on them.
Meiji Yasuda will continue to create an environment in which anyone can access the protection they need with confidence and make informed choices. A
Mr Shinichi Kishi is Fellow, Sustainability at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company.