Oct. 15, 2018
Sony Assurance Inc., a wholly owned non-life insurance subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings Inc., began selling Internet-only fire insurance (below, "new net fire insurance") on October 15, 2018. (Insurance coverage begins on or after November 11, 2018.)
Sony Assurance's new net fire insurance is designed for individuals and covers homes and household effects in the event of fire and natural disasters such as typhoons, heavy rains, earthquakes and others. The insurance also covers liability for a broad range of accidents that can occur as part of everyday life. Being an internet-only product, the company realized inexpensive insurance premiums through administrative costs. In addition, the insurance premiums can further be saved by selecting compensation based on customers' needs.
Sony Assurance extends compensation to include earthquakes through an add-on earthquake rider―the first direct insurance company in Japan* to provide this coverage. Although the earthquake insurance amount is institutionally up to 50% of the fire insurance amount, by purchasing the add-on earthquake rider along with Sony Assurance's new net fire insurance, customers can increase the compensation amount for earthquakes to 100% (the same amount as for the fire insurance).
Furthermore, in addition to accepting applications and providing estimates 24 hours a day over the internet, Sony Assurance increases customer convenience further by enabling all procedures―up to concluding a policy―to be handled at one time over the internet. This is the first such instance in Japan* for fire insurance.
To ensure sustainable growth and establish a long-term, stable business foundation, Sony Assurance is expanding its business into categories other than automobile insurance. This Internet-only fire insurance is one example.
Going forward, Sony Assurance will continue working to meet customers' expectations through continued initiatives to provide products and services that offer value.
*According to a study by Sony Assurance (as of October 1, 2018)
Note: This is an English-language summary of a Japanese announcement made by Sony Assurance on October 15, 2018. The summary was prepared by Sony Financial Holdings solely for convenience of non-Japanese readers.