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| November 22, 2001 |
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| Implementation
of Comprehensive Alliance |
Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Company
Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation |
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from the time when this press release was made (until
around 5:30a.m.
on Novenber 23, 2001, Tokyo time). |
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| Today, for the purpose of strengthening of insurance business as
Mitsui Sumitomo Group, Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Company (Mitsui
Life), Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (Sumitomo Life), Mitsui Sumitomo
Insurance Co., Ltd (MSI) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
have agreed to execute following comprehensive alliance, expanding
the currently undergoing alliance among the respective companies or
groups. |
| 1. Purpose of the Alliance |
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While globalization of economy and finance, and deregulation
extend and while the structural reform, which encompasses Japanese
economy at large, including corporate management, the consumer
behavior, etc., progresses, liberalization of products and premium
rates, and new entry from the other sector of industries and
from foreign capital similarly progress in the insurance industry,
and environments surrounding the competition became much severer
than before.
Under such environment, each company, Mitsui Life, Sumitomo
Life, MSI and SMBC, has been struggling for providing better
products and service to strengthen its competitiveness as
much as possible through existing alliance among each of Mitsui
group and the Sumitomo group respectively.
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[Examples of the currently undergoing alliance]
Joint Market Exploitation for non-life insurance
sector
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Mitsui Life - former Mitsui Marine and Fire Insurance
Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Life - former the Sumitomo Marine and Fire
Insurance Co., Ltd. |
Sales of Automobile Insurance* by life insurance
company's sales staffs
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Sumitomo Life - former Sumitomo Marine
* Automobile Insurance is sold in a form of co-insurance
with The Sumi-Sei General Insurance Co, Ltd. (100% subsidiary
of Sumitomo Life) |
Joint proposal of the welfare program service
for employees
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Mitsui Life - former Mitsui Marine - former The Sakura
Bank, Limited
Sumitomo Life - former the Sumitomo Bank |
Cashing service of policyholders' loan of life
insurance at SMC's ATM
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Mitsui Life and Sumitomo Life - SMBC |
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While in the 21st century the speed of changes of environments
surrounding us has accelerated even more and the competition
is expected to be intensified even further, Mitsui Life, Sumitomo
Life, MSI and SMBC share the recognition of the necessity to
strengthen insurance business as Mitsui Sumitomo group in order
to lead the insurance industry in Japan and to secure the competitiveness
in the global market through improvement in cost competitiveness
and providing products and service of the best quality.
Consequently, we decided to establish a comprehensive alliance
under the new framework of Mitsui Sumitomo group, expanding
the current cooperation among the companies.
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| 2. Details of the Alliance |
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Mitsui Life, Sumitomo Life, MSI and SMBC will
expand the scope of alliance as Mitsui Sumitomo group
companies and proceed with this alliance, details of which are
stated as below, cooperatively in addition to the respective
alliance currently undertaken among the companies, in order
to provide more attractive products and services through distribution
channels most suitable to our customers' needs. |
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(1) |
Collaboration of distribution channels among Mitsui
Sumitomo group
insurance companies
Mitsui Life, Sumitomo Life and MSI will strengthen collaboration
of distribution channels, which has been already attempted partially,
to reinforce the sales activities of
the most and overwhelming distribution channels network of Mitsui
Sumitomo group insurance companies (Mitsui Life sales staffs:
16,000, Sumitomo Life sales staffs: 48,000, Mitsui Sumitomo
Insurance agents: 91,000, as of March 2001)
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| 1) |
Sales of life insurance products of Mitsui Life and
Sumitomo Life through MSI's agents
Arrangements will be commenced in each company in order
to enable and promote sales of life insurance products
of Mitsui Life and Sumitomo Life through some of MSI's
agents.
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| 2) |
Strengthening of organization for marketing promotion
of non-life insurance
products in Mitsui Life and Sumitomo Life and life insurance
products in MSI
In order to promote further sales of non-life insurance
products by Mitsui Life and Sumitomo Life and sales of
life insurance products by MSI, each company will cooperatively
proceed with reinforcement of marketing promotion including
taking organizational measures. To be specific, Mitsui
Life and Sumitomo Life will reinforce the educational
and guiding support for sales of non-life insurance under
support of MSI including dispatching staffs. On the other
hand, MSI will reinforce its educational and guiding support
for sales of life insurance under support of Mitsui Life
and Sumitomo Life including dispatching staffs.
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(2) |
Joint-research and development of hybrid products of Life
and Non-life Insurance and financial products among Mitsui Life,
Sumitomo Life, MSI and SMBC
Mitsui Life, Sumitomo Life, MSI and SMBC will start joint-research
and development of hybrid products of Life and Non-life Insurance
and financial products unifying each insurance company's capability
of insurance products development and SMBC's financial function
and capability of products development. |
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(3) |
Reorganization of asset management business among Mitsui Life,
Sumitomo Life, MSI and SMBC
The four companies will study and discuss reorganization of
asset management business. |
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(4) |
Concentration of Mitsui Life's non-life subsidiary's business
to MSI
As Mitsui Life proceeds with "selection and concentration
of business" and focuses on life insurance retail business
as its core business, Mitsui life's non-life insurance subsidiary's
business will be concentrated to MSI. |
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(5) |
Expansion of scope of human resources exchange
To promote this comprehensive alliance, the four companies will
further expand the scope of exchange of the human resources
of each company.
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| 3. Promotion committee |
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As an organization to promote the alliance from now on, we
will establish a committee, which constitutes senior managing
directors, managing directors, or similar class officers of
Mitsui Life, Sumitomo Life, MSI and SMBC as members, in order
to assure the early execution of the foregoing alliance and
the expansion and reinforcement of the specific issues thereof. |
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