All markets in advanced Asia reported non-life premium growth increases in 2019, according to Swiss Re Institute.
The torrential rain hitting the Kyushu region of Japan since 4 July is continuing to cause significant damage, including through flooding of the Kuma and Chikugo rivers, notes Mr Soichiro Makimoto, VP-senior analyst, Financial Institutions Group at Moody's Investors Service.
Japan's MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings will offer a service to analyse the risks climate change pose to companies.
Mr Shinichi Hirose, who was appointed chairman of the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ) on 30 June, has set out several specific initiatives which the industry body would undertake.
With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing professionals from travelling and performing on-site inspections at factories and warehouses, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance has decided to offer an online-based remote loss prevention service for corporate clients as a complementary support measure.
Dai-ichi Life will be the first major Japanese life insurance company to sell insurance policies completely online according to a report in Nikkei Asian Review.
Stock market volatility continues to pose the biggest challenge to the balance sheets of Japan's major non-life insurers, given the potential losses to the asset valuations that companies may face during global stock market routs, according to an AM Best report.
Given the current COVID-19-driven stock market volatility, high common stock leverage among each of Japan's major non-life insurers brings systematic equity price risk into greater consideration - according an AM Best report titled 'Japan Non-Life: Robust Capitalisation to Weather Stock Market Volatility'.
The COVID-19 pandemic could cause a 1% contraction in Japan's life insurance industry in 2020, according to data and analysts specialists GlobalData. In comparison, the life sector recorded 2% growth in 2019.
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance has decided to start selling insurance products online, starting in April 2021, reportedly the first time a major life insurer in Japan will do so.