3 Japanese insurers eye doubling overseas sales after merger

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TOKYO, March 7 Kyodo -
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc. and two other Japanese nonlife
insurers are aiming to double their combined overseas sales and will try to
avoid layoffs after a planned integration in April 2010, top executives of the
three companies said in recent interviews with Kyodo News.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group President Toshiaki Egashira said the three
companies, which also include Aioi Insurance Co. and Nissay Dowa General
Insurance Co., will have overseas bases in a total of 38 countries by merging
their operations.
''We will aim to earn 500 billion yen in net premium revenues from overseas
operations,'' Egashira said.
In January, the three firms announced the plan for a three-way integration,
which will create Japan's largest and the world's fifth-largest nonlife
insurance group.
Under the agreement, Mitsui Sumitomo, the second-largest nonlife insurer in
Japan, will create a new holding company that will bring under its wing the
fourth-ranked Aioi and sixth-ranked Nissay Dowa, which will first merge into a
single entity.
Egashira expressed hopes of close cooperation with Toyota Motor Corp., which is
expected to become the top stakeholder in the new holding company. He said the
integrated companies will actively seek to explore markets centering on Asia
and target not just Japanese corporate clients but also tap markets for
insurance policies for individuals.
Nissay Dowa President Ichiro Tateyama said he does not anticipate job cuts
after the integration of the three businesses.
''We will not carry out restructuring,'' Tateyama said. ''There may be an
excess of personnel (after the merger), but we will assign them to be in charge
of quality enhancement of operations, damage surveys and sales,'' he added.
Tateyama also said the company has not been able to sufficiently tap into the
clients of Nippon Life Insurance Co. in selling nonlife products. Nippon Life
is Nissay Dowa's top shareholder. Currently, Nissay Dowa has policy contracts
with only about 8 percent of Nippon Life's individual clients.
While the merger will dilute capital ties with Japan's top life insurer,
Tateyama said he hopes to maintain a close relationship by transferring the
additional personnel to support sales at Nippon Life.
Meanwhile, on the organizational framework of the integrated companies, Aioi
President Tadashi Kodama said he hopes to see operations divided to target
specific markets such as individuals and corporate clients and each market
handled by different subsidiaries.
==Kyodo
2009-03-07 22:58:41