Introduction
I would like to open this message by expressing my heartfelt sympathies to those who have passed away from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and extend my condolences to their family members. I would also like to extend my sincerest sympathies to all those who have been affected by COVID-19. Concurrently, I’d like to express my profound admiration and respect, along with my deepest gratitude, to the medical professionals who have been working selflessly and tirelessly on the medical front lines to examine and treat COVID-19 patients, and to all those who have been working throughout this pandemic to support the social infrastructure essential to our daily lives.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has also caused significant disruption to economic activity and other areas of life. It is in times like these that I strongly take to heart our social mission as a life insurance company, which is based on the spirit of “co-existence, co-prosperity and mutualism.” Nippon Life has implemented various support measures for customers nationwide, including special handling procedures such as granting extensions of premium payment deadlines and providing exemptions of interest payable on new policy loans.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been advancing various initiatives while continuing to put the strongest emphasis on our Customer-Oriented Operational Management Policy as before. Specifically, we aim to effectively address increasingly diverse customer needs, in addition to implementing various support measures related to COVID-19. To this end, we started providing new products and services in the current fiscal year, such as dementia coverage insurance and a diabetes prevention program.
Furthermore, as the Chairperson of the Life Insurance Association of Japan (LIAJ), I led rigorous efforts by the entire life insurance industry to implement customer-first business operations beginning in July 2019. Specific measures included conducting questionnaire surveys about the systems and activities of member companies, compiling key observations and other insights from the surveys, and providing feedback to each company. Through these measures, we strove to raise the sophistication of customer-first business operations throughout the industry. Additionally, in the bancassurance channel, we sought to enhance follow-up services and confirmation of suitability by financial institutions. For this, we provided information on best practices to financial institutions and revised the relevant guidelines. Moreover, we worked to establish a training system for foreign currency-denominated insurance. We instituted a foreign currency-denominated insurance sales certification test, along with striving to standardize training for insurance agents pertaining to foreign currency-denominated insurance.
In the environment surrounding the life insurance industry, we find ourselves amidst changes such as the progression of a declining and aging population, a constant ultra-low interest rate, and the rapid development of digitalization and advanced IT. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic could transform customers’ patterns of behavior and their needs. In anticipation of changes in customers’ awareness, advances in technology, and shifts in society, we will need to transform ourselves in order to remain a company that can address those changes effectively. By staying on top of these changes with flexibility and speed, we will strive to continue to deliver security to our customers.
Under the state of emergency declaration issued in Japan from April to May 2020, sales representatives refrained from visiting customers. They confirmed customers’ living circumstances and other conditions, and provided information on various special handling procedures and other matters via telephone and email. As far as customers’ responses to these measures are concerned, while customers found that these remote services were convenient, we have confirmed that customers continue to strongly hold the view that they would prefer to consult on, and confirm, details and important matters concerning their policies in force, the coverage they will need in the future and other key information with sales representatives in person as before. We found that a single customer can have dual preferences for both remote and face-to-face services depending on the situation. I believe that this insight will be a key priority to consider when we explore how we should provide policyholder services in the future.
Even in a society being reshaped by advances in digitalization,I believe that the strength of face-to-face services, i.e., our human strengths, will only become more and more valuable if we are able to put together a custom-made mix of face-to-face and remote services based on the individual preferences of every customer. For its part, Nippon Life will provide highly valuable consulting services for customers by accelerating the fusion of face-to-face and digital services.
