Japan: Life insurance underwriting income remains resilient - Fitch

| 11 Oct 2021

Earnings from underwriting in the life insurance sector in Japan remain resilient due to the seasoned and stable in-force policies, noted Fitch Ratings in its "2021 Fitch on Japan" webinar last week.

In a commentary titled “Outlook on Japan Insurance”, which was released as part of the webinar, Dr Teruki Morinaga, director, Asia-Pacific Insurance, at Fitch Ratings, highlighted several other aspects of the Japanese insurance market:

  • Life: New businesses were weak on the whole due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but steadily recovering due partly to insurers’ efforts at DX (digital transformation) strategies.

  • Non-Life: Domestic results improved, but COVID-19 related losses suffered in US/London.

  • Life and Non-Life: Favourable financial markets continue to support investment results.

  • Life and Non-Life: Capital adequacy continues to improve, to cope with the new solvency regime from around 2025.