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| MS Quarterly News (1st Quarter, 2005) |
| We, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. ("MSI"), are pleased to issue a quarterly newsletter with a summary of the topics during the first quarter ended June 30th, 2005, as set below. |
preliminary for the first quarter of fiscal 2005, from April to June 2005
long term medical insurance included in Personal Accident and consequently Total
Total premium revenues grew at a year-on-year 6.2%, resulting from the increase in every line.In value terms, the increase is Y20.3 bn, very close to Y24.3 bn earned for Q1, fiscal 2004.
The Automobile line constantly increased its sales, including about 50,000 written policies of a newly launched "Most Modorich."In the Fire line, "Home Pika-ich," our originally developed insurance for individuals, increased 50% from a year ago in respect of premiums written, in addition to steady sales to corporate accounts.While the Personal Accident line fared well in medical and overseas travel insurances, the Miscellaneous line met good demands of privacy protection liability insurance from corporate clientele.And newly acquired accounts contributed to the increased premiums in the Cargo and Transit and Transit lines. |
| Lines of insurance |
Premiums (sales basis)
(in million yen) |
Growth rate
(%)* |
| Voluntary Automobile |
152,896 |
2.9 |
| CALI** |
41,062 |
12.2 |
| Fire |
50,506 |
12.7 |
| Personal Accident |
29,298 |
10.1 |
| Miscellaneous |
48,987 |
4.2 |
| Cargo and Transit |
16,170 |
5.5 |
| Hull |
7,490 |
5.9 |
| Total |
346,408 |
6.2 |
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*The "growth rate" represents an incremental rate in comparison to the same period in fiscal 2004.
**CALI: Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance |
Selected News Releases (April - June 2005) |
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| announcement date in parenthesis |
| (1) |
Management Plan |
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MSI formulated long-term vision "Challenge 10" and new mid-term management plan for fiscal '05 to '06 (Apr 12) |
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With setting the final target year on fiscal 2010, the MSI group formulated a long-term vision, "Challenge 10," and a new mid-term management plan for fiscal 2005 to 2006 as its part. This mid-term plan, named "Challenge 10, Stage 1," is positioned as action plan for the first phase towards realizing the vision in fiscal 2010, and will be implemented at group level across all business units.
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| (2) |
New Products and Services |
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MSI started export credit insurance in Japan (Apr 18) |
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MSI obtained the authorities' approval to offer export credit insurance in cooperation with Euler Hermes Credit Insurance and its Japan Branch within Japan.MSI intends to extend this insurance, combining with credit risk management services, to Japanese globally active firms in collaboration with Euler Hermes.
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401(k) transfer service started for retirees and mid-career job changers (April 25) |
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In April 2005, MSI began this service for retirees and job changers from those firms of each which employs over 1,000 people and has adopted a defined contribution pension or 401(k) plan. In response to the increasing 401(k) transfer procedures for retirees and mid-career job changers accompanied with diversifying employment practices, it is the industry-first service that is extended through the agency network to help such workers transfer their pension assets under administration of the companies they have left.
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"MitSuKo 2005," an advertorial magazine for women, issued (Apr 26) |
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MSI released "MitSuKo 2005," an annual booklet handling various investment instruments mainly for women. The new issue features interviews with women such as a geisha lady from the traditional quarter of Mukojima in Tokyo and a manageress of a first-class hotel. They talk about the manners of their jobs as high career ladies and conclude the interviews with some manners associated with money for the female readers who are going to endeavor to make investment for themselves.
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"Safe Driving Video" available for free rental to train recruits (May 9) |
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In order to prevent the recruits from a car accident at those corporate clients which use cars in routine works, MSI produced "Safe Driving Video" and started the free rental service of the video to those companies in May 2005. As more firms have experienced not a few accidents of company-owned cars driven during work in recent years, car accident prevention has come to be an urgent theme at more companies. Driving education of employees has proved most effective when given in the course of recruitment guidance, and for such a purpose, this service facilitates borrowing clients' saving time to prepare for a traffic safety program to their recruits.
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Compulsory motorcycle liability insurance available through MSI agent's website (May 19) |
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May 2005, MSI started the industry-first online sale of compulsory liability insurance. An application form can be filled by accessing a website of a MSI agent with premium payment by the applicant's credit card, open 24 hours and 365 days a year.
In respect of motorcycle, mandatory regular inspection is not required in Japan, and this is one of reasons why some drivers miss renewal of their compulsory liability insurance. Considering the Internet has become a very common device among households, MSI constructed a net program for applicants to freely access from anywhere at any time they like to. This service helps compulsory liability insurance diversify its application desks and simplify the procedures, and will thereby contribute to its permeation.
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New automobile insurance, "MOST First Class," launched (Jun 17) |
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"MOST First Class," a high grade modification of the "MOST" car insurance will be released in August. This type has some original features that are not provided in other types. For example, to the basic coverage of the conventional MOST, it adds not only a supplementary rider that covers other liability but also offers a special service in case of emergency. A dedicated help desk has been created for this purpose, and it extends a seamless care throughout from accident to claim handling. Other than this, two more MOST modifications will be on sale; "MOST Light Plan," which covers to a limited extent, and "MOST Long," an installment type of long-term insurance with no surrender.
Together with these modifications in addition to the basic MOST and MOST Modorich, our car insurance lineup will be fully ready to offer a broad spectrum of choice to an insured.
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IRR commencing "stakeholder risk map" drawing consultation service (June 20) |
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Inter-Risk Research Institute & Consulting Inc. ("IRR"), MSI's risk management service unit, has developed a consultation service program in cooperation with Hakuhodo Inc., a major Japanese ad agency. This program draws a "stakeholder risk map" of a corporate customer, reflecting opinions about the firm from not only its employees but other multiple stakeholder categories of customers, business partners and shareholders. This service will be fully available in July, targeting those firms which have started establishing risk management program. It enables a firm to examine, from outsiders' viewpoints, how appropriately it manages risks and to measure the scale of impacts the various stakeholders may have on its corporate brand equity.
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Risk Management Magazine "Corporate Risk Info" issued by IRR (Jun 21) |
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IRR has founded "Corporate Risk Info," a magazine on general corporate risk management. Companies are facing further growing and more complicated risks associated with more frequent natural disasters and advancing economic globalization. Amid this environment, firms tend to more willingly adopt a management technique called "entire risk management," which goes beyond covering risks with general insurance. Corporate Risk Info intends to provide quality information, mostly to the target of globalized big corporations.
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"Typhoon Guard," anti-typhoon derivatives instrument on sale (Jun 27) |
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'äMSI launched a new weather derivatives product, "Typhoon Guard," to be used to hedge typhoon risk. The new derivatives instrument offers more convenience and more reasonable settlement to customers by improvement to fit their needs. For example, unlike the conventional typhoon derivatives whose contract is settled based on the number of typhoons that have passed through a certain designated circle area in respect of eye, Typhoon Guard has introduced the industry-first "multi-circle formula" which allows a corporate customer to designate multiple areas and enables it to receive settlement proportionately to the degree to which it has been affected after the period.
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| (3) |
Life Insurance, Alliances and Overseas Operations |
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MSI's acquisition of Mingtai Fire & Marine of Taiwan agreed (Apr 22) |
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MSI and First Financial Holding Co., Ltd. of Taiwan agreed that MSI would acquire a 100% stake in Mingtai Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd., the second largest non-life insurer there. This acquisition will push up MSI to rank top among the foreign non-life insurers in the Asian region.
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MS CitiInsurace continues business with MetLife in place of Citigroup (May 6) |
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MetLife, Inc. ("MetLife"), CitiInsurance International Holdings Inc. ("Citi") and MSI came to a basic agreement that Mitsui Sumitomo CitiInsurance Life Insurance Co., Ltd., the individual annuity joint venture between MSI and CitiInsurance, will continue its business under MSI and MetLife in place of Citi subject to completion of the transfer of Citi's life insurance and personal annuity units to MetLife and the authorities' approval.
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MSI formed a business alliance with Ingosstrakh Insurance of Russia (May 12) |
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MSI entered into business collaboration with Ingosstrakh Insurance Company Ltd., Russia's largest insurance company in the corporate market. The alliance will facilitate MSI's extending quality services to Japanese companies operating in Russia.
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MSI opens representative offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia (Jun 23) |
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MSI opened representative offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia on July 1st. It is because Russia's insurance market is expanding in line with the growing national economy, and more direct investments are anticipated from Japan, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, MSI is the first Japanese insurer that has opened a representative office. MSI is also only one Japanese non-life insurer in Vienna and Prague, and this action is one more step ahead towards upgrading its office network in the Central and Eastern Europe region.
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Environmental and Social Contribution Activities |
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MSI Surugadai Building acknowledged currently highest grade in urban greenery assessment (Apr 28) |
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The Urban Green Space Development Foundation recognized that the MSI Surugadai Building contributes highly to society, testing with its Social and Environmental Green Evaluation System ("SEGES"), and granted "Excellent Stage 3" grade to MSI, the highest ever given grade at the moment. SEGES assesses greenery preservation and creation activities managed by foundations and civil organizations, and this time granted "Excellent Stage 3" grade to four sites.
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MSI held first lecture to launch Citizens' Environmental Course (May 27) |
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The first lecture of the Citizens' Environmental Course, which deals environmental issues and community contribution initiatives, was given on June 10. Open to public audience, hopefully residents in the neighborhood of the MSI Surugadai Building and people interested in urban greenery activities, the first lecture discussed importance of urban green space and effect of rooftop and wall gardening on the theme of "cooling and cultivating urban spaces" in plain a wording for public audience to understand. |
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Women's Judo |
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The 28 All Japan Woman Selection Weight Judo Championships (at Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium in Kanagawa-pref., Japan, Apr 10 )
The MSI club sent 7 athletes to the games, and Ueno sisters, Masae Ueno (70kg-class) and Yoshie Ueno (63kg-class) won the titles, respectively.On that day, Masae Ueno and Yuki Yokosawa (52-kg class) were selected as national delegates to the world championship games based on their results, including those of that day's matches.
Asian Judo Championships 2005 (Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 14 - 15)
Yoshie Ueno (63kg-class) and Yuki Yokosawa (52-kg class) took part from Japan, wining the gold and bronze medals, respectively.
EJU Junior 'A' Tournament (Lyon, France May 14-15)
Chiaki Shimizu (70kg-class), who joined MSI this April, participated in the tournament as a Japanese delegate and celebrated her international debut with the silver medal.
The 55th All Japan Corporate Team Judo Championships(at Hyogo Budokan in Hyogo-pref., Japan, May 28)
MSI sent a team made of Emi Yamagishi (48kg-class), Yuki Yokosawa (52kg-class), Rie Iwafuji (57kg-class), Hitomi Tokuhisa (63kg-class), Yoshie Ueno (63kg-class), Hitomi Kaiyama (70kg-class), Masae Ueno (70kg-class) and Chiaki Shimizu (70kg-class).MSI won the title, which is its third one after the last winning in 2002.
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Women's Marathon and Track |
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The 53rd Hyogo Relay Carnival(at Univer Memorial Stadium, Hyogo-pref., Japan, Apr 24)
Miki Ohira and Shiori Ishiyama participated in the 10,000 meter race. Ohira finished eighth, shortening her best record by over 10 seconds.
The 39th Oda Memorial Field and Track Events (Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima-pref., Japan, Apr 29)
Miki Ohira, Ayumi Hashimoto, Chiaki Iwamoto and Shiori Ishihama ran the 5,000 meters. Ohira and Iwamoto finished seventh and tenth, respectively.
The 21st Shizuoka International Field and Track Events (Kusanagi Stadium, Shimane-pref., Japan May 3)
Reiko Tosa joined in the 10,000 meters. This was the first time for her to run a track race since two years ago, but she bettered her personal record by eight seconds, finishing fourth.
The 47th Eastern Japan Corporate Team Field and Track Championships (Kasamatsu Sport Park Stadium, Ibaraki-pref., Japan, May 14-15)
Miki Ohira and Reiko Tosa participated in the 10,000 meters, and led the race throughout the race. Ohira won the gold medal, and Tosa bronze one. Among nine runners who joint the women's 5,000 meters from the MSI club, Miki Oyama finished fourth with her personal record. To the women's 1,500 meters, MSI sent 6 runners. Among them, Chiaki Iwamoto won the bronze medal while Yoko Shibui finished fifth who ran 1,500 for the first time since her high school days. |
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