Feature Insurance Company... An Interview with Mr. Kunio Ishihara, Chairman of the Board, Tokio Marine Holdings and Tokio Marine & Nichido

Transcription

1 Published in Insurance and Finance Newsletter No. 10, August 2012 Feature Insurance Company An Interview with Mr. Kunio Ishihara, Chairman of the Board, Tokio Marine Holdings and Tokio Marine & Nichido by Katsuo Matsushita and Etti Baranoff Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (Tokio Marine & Nichido) is a member company of Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. (Tokio Marine), one of the largest Japanese insurance groups, with 3.4tn (equivalent to US$42.7bn) in insurance premiums in FY2011 (1 April March 2012). Tokio Marine & Nichido is a major non-life insurer, with 1.8tn (US$22.3bn) in net premiums written. In this Feature Insurance Company, Mr. Kunio Ishihara, Chairman of the Board of Tokio Marine Holdings and Tokio Marine & Nichido was interviewed by Mr. Katsuo Matsushita, The Geneva Association Liaison Officer for Japan and East Asia, based upon questions designed by Etti Baranoff, Research Director of Insurance and Finance and editor of this Newsletter. Mr. Kunio Ishihara is also one of the Vice Chairmen of The Geneva Association, and hosted the Association s 36 th General Assembly, held in May 2009 in Kyoto. The interview took place in Japan in June 2012 with the assistance of Mr. Hidetomo Igarashi, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Planning Dept., Tokio Marine & Nichido, and Mr. Masaaki Nagamura, Division Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Planning Dept., Tokio Marine & Nichido. Tokio Marine was established in Japan in 1879, and started overseas businesses the same year. After World War II ended, Tokio Marine resumed its overseas businesses, primarily to serve Japanese commercial customers who were expanding all over the world. The turning point came around 2000, when it started to expand its global operations. As of the end of March last year, Tokio Marine s global network covered 427 cities in 39 countries and regions, with more than 20,000 employees outside of Japan. Meanwhile, in the Japanese domestic market, it has established a firm position with full-line non-life insurance products. According to Swiss Re, 2 Japan s insurance market is ranked second after the U.S. by total premium volume. Following the deregulation in the late 1990s, Tokio Marine entered the life insurance business through Tokio Marine Life in Tokio Marine Holdings, a holding company for the group, was established in Basic strategy behind the global expansion Q. It seems that Tokio Marine has been accelerating its global expansion for several years. Could you share with us your basic ideas behind this trend? A. In FY2007, while only 8 per cent of insurance premiums of Tokio Marine accounted for international insurance business, the number went up to 17 per cent in FY2011. It is evident that the non-life market in Japan is matured and has been generating modest profits for the past years. However, the most important rationale behind Tokio Marine s global expansion is to enjoy geographical risk diversification. 2 World insurance in 2011, sigma 3/2012.

2 Our growth strategy takes into consideration both developed and emerging countries to enable steady growth while ensuring profitability. We aim to keep the right balance of our portfolio among Europe, the U.S. and emerging markets. Among the rapidly growing emerging markets, we are engaged in life and non-life businesses in China, Southeast Asia and Brazil. In addition, we started writing microinsurance in India as well as Takaful in Islamic countries. However, due to the market size and volatility, it may take some time before we can expect stable profitability in such regions. On the contrary, Europe and the U.S. have a market potential which is much more significant in size, although matured. With this in mind, Tokio Marine acquired Kiln Group Limited in the U.K. and Philadelphia Insurance Companies in the U.S. in These were followed by further acquisitions. I need to make an important argument. Market observers may predict that Japanese insurers will aggressively seek foreign acquisitions, taking advantage of the strong Japanese Yen, but it is not the case, at least in my view. The key determining factor in exercising an effective acquisition is to maintain consistency in business strategy and management style. We also give importance to what values each has in common, which can only be assessed through meetings in person. The conditions of the Japanese non-life insurance market Q. Tokio Marine still depends considerably on the domestic non-life market. Could you tell us more about the market and Tokio Marine s position? A. Since the market deregulation of the late 1990s, price-cutting competition intensified, which deteriorated market-wide profitability. Most notably, the profitability of auto insurance, which generates the largest premium income for the industry, has gradually worsened. This is partly due to the increasing number of elderly drivers who are more likely to be involved in car accidents, and the increasing repair cost of damaged vehicles. While the industry-wide combined ratio of all product lines in FY2000 was 97.1 per cent, the figure rose to per cent in FY2010. Under these circumstances, Tokio Marine & Nichido is trying to improve its profitability, for example by raising auto insurance rates. Under the mid-term plan, which started this April, the goal is set to improve the combined ratio from per cent in FY2011 to 95 per cent by 2014 (for private insurance product lines). Tokio Marine s product line and market penetration Q. What are the products sold by Tokio Marine? How is the market penetration? A. Tokio Marine & Nichido, the major non-life insurer in the group, provides customers in Japan with full-line products, of which auto insurance, including Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance (CALI), accounts for 61.6 per cent of net premiums written. In FY2011, Tokio Marine & Nichido had the largest market penetration, with 27.0 per cent of the non-life insurance market in Japan. Our scope of business covers both commercial and individual customers. As for distribution channels, 94 per cent of direct premium comes from 46,000 agents who are professional agents, car dealers, banks, to name a few. In 2009, Tokio Marine established E.design Insurance Co., Ltd., which specialises in internet-based auto insurance with affordable premium levels. Tokio Marine & Nichido has been developing creative products for some time. For example, last year the company started to sell one-day auto insurance, whose main target is non-car-owners who rent cars from their parents or friends for a day. This product is expected to reduce the number of accidents by uninsured motorists. In addition to non-life insurance products, Tokio Marine has been offering life insurance through Tokio Marine Life since Then in 2002, Tokio Marine & Nichido started selling Total Assist Super Insurance (called Cho-Hoken ) that combines non-life and life insurance to tailor coverage to meet customers needs. 2

3 Corporate social responsibility Q. How do you characterise your corporate social responsibility (CSR)? A. Tokio Marine has been providing safety and security to society and its internal development by relying upon the expertise, knowledge and experience it has accumulated over the years. We have formulated the Tokio Marine Group CSR Charter as a guiding principle for all employees to be part of CSR. Within the broad spectrum of subjects covered under CSR, climate change has always been a priority. I have been privileged to co-chair The Geneva Association s Climate Risk & Insurance (CR+I) Working Group with Mr Michael Butt of AXIS Capital. The Group crafted the Kyoto Statement of The Geneva Association on climate change back in As identified in the statement, risks of climate change to society are attracting greater attention as the economic impact of weather-related natural disasters intensifies. Tokio Marine has been developing and providing products and services with the aim of mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Tokio Marine Research Institute, for instance, has been working closely with the University of Tokyo and Nagoya University to study how global warming will affect the birth, track and intensity of tropical cyclones. Meanwhile, Tokio Marine & Nichido has been promoting its Green Gift project, which engages our policyholders in eco-friendly activities by having the company plant mangrove trees on behalf of the customers who accepted a web-based insurance policy form instead of printed version. The initiative contributed to the Tokio Marine Group s achievement of carbon neutrality in FY2011, as the CO 2 removal led by mangrove planting exceeded CO 2 emissions of the Group on a global basis. The mangrove planting in the Asian/Pacific countries has been a symbolic ecological activity run by the Group since The planted area stands at 7,543 hectares as of FY2011 year end. The East Japan earthquake that struck on 11 March 2011 was another occasion when we were reminded of our social responsibility. We continue to receive damage reports from customers and are committed to taking all possible measures to make prompt and appropriate claims payments up to the very last policy to fulfill our social duties as an insurance group. The highlights of the financial performance Q. Since we talked about the East Japan earthquake, in retrospect, how has Tokio Marine dealt with the challenges over the past five years from a financial perspective? Insurance premiums (unit: billion Yen) FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012E Non-life insurance premiums (Net premiums written) 2, , , , , ,490.0 Life insurance premiums Net income (unit: billion Yen) FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012E Full fiscal year A. We experienced three major challenges over the past five years: the financial crisis, the East Japan earthquake, and the Thai floods. The world economy was hit by a financial crisis which peaked in Evidently, Tokio Marine was not immune to the crisis as the table shows. There are two reasons why our financial performance was negatively impacted: one is the decline in premium income due to economic downturn; the other is poor investment performance amidst the market turbulence. The said market condition and the decline in stock markets are blamed for the large losses in FY Impairment losses on securities recorded in consolidated FY 2008 financial statements amounted to 162.2bn. Incurred losses (primary) on Residential Earthquake Insurance from the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami recorded 297.8bn (total Japanese domestic business) for FYs 2010 and 2011 combined. However, there was no impact on profit/loss as far as the said line of business is concerned, thanks to 3

4 the liability reserve, an industry-wide mandatory practice, which offset insured claims. As a side note, the event of 11 March became the largest insurance loss in the history of Japan. However, it proved the effectiveness of the government-backed Residential Earthquake Insurance Scheme, as no single market player ran into financial trouble in the aftermath. With respect to the devastating flooding in Thailand, our group-wide net incurred loss currently stands at approximately 130bn. Historically, Thailand has attracted considerable number of Japanese manufacturers, and that is why Japanese insurers have been hit hard by the event. How to enhance risk preparedness among corporate customers while upgrading our risk assessment methodologies has unquestionably become one of the priorities in our activity list. All in all, Tokio Marine has weathered extraordinary events and sustained financial stability and soundness. This reflects our solid risk-based management and capital strategy, which will be discussed later. Attributes of a Japanese insurer Q. What are the unique attributes of being a Japanese insurer? A. As I indicated earlier, Japan is prone to a variety of natural catastrophes, most notably earthquakes and typhoons. We have been trying to estimate better the potential loss arising out of these perils by taking advantage of the latest scientific findings to prepare for the next disaster. In addition to improving our internal risk management, our findings may serve the adaptation efforts of countries and regions exposed to similar natural hazards in the future. The Japanese citizens tend to be risk averse and conservative, which helps insurers run their business in a stable manner. In the wake of 11 March, risk awareness of the public has risen noticeably with heightened general expectations on security and safety. To meet these expectations, we will enlist all of our available resources in an effort to be a corporate group that is selected by customers for its high quality and continues to grow. On the other hand, Japan is said to be the world s fastest growing ageing society. Nevertheless, unlike typical emerging economies, we do not expect population growth in the foreseeable future. Under these circumstances, we are studying the potential impact of the ageing society on our business. Our front running experience may be of some use to other countries with similar trend. Corporate governance Q. How has the corporate structure and corporate governance evolved in the first decade of the millennium? What are the internal controls and philosophy in place? A. The Tokio Marine Holdings was established in 2002, followed by a merger between The Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. and The Nichido Fire and Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. to become Tokio Marine & Nichido at With the expansion of our global operations, the International Business Development Department was established in 2007 within Tokio Marine Holdings to effectively coordinate the management of the global operations. Since then, the expansion was accelerated through the acquisition of Philadelphia, Kiln, Delphi and others, including those in the emerging markets. In terms of governance, Tokio Marine carries out the supervision of its subsidiaries, including the monitoring of their business plans, by exercising its shareholder rights and rights based on management agreements. It also formulates fundamental policies for the promotion of compliance, risk management and internal auditing for the Group, and supervises its subsidiaries through building and operating structures based on these policies. Enterprise risk management Q. How has your enterprise risk management (ERM) system evolved? A. Tokio Marine has been refining its ERM schemes, originally implemented in 2000, in addition to the existing asset liability management (ALM) system which had been in place since the late 1990s. 4

5 According to our definition, our goal for ERM is to enhance sustainable corporate value by both maintaining financial soundness and improving profitability. We should create a virtuous cycle of capital, risk and profit. Looking at the formula, maximising ROR (Return on Risk), as long as capital adequacy is maintained, can lead to maximising ROE (Return on ) to meet investors needs by controlling capital and risks. Improving ERM schemes is a continuing process. The financial crisis, 11 March, and the Thai flood collectively urged us to continue our efforts to improve the scheme. Maintain financial soundness & Control Risk & Capital Improve profitability (capital efficiency) Sustainable Corporate Value Enhancement Policyholders Rating Agencies Supervisory Authorities Risk Capital Profits Analysts Investors Capital Adequacy ROR (Return on Risk) ROE Risk Volume Shareholders Net Profit Risk Volume = Net Profit Shareholders = Tokio Marine s accolades Q. In conclusion, which special accolades would you like to share with the readers about your company? A. It is my belief that Japan must take the leading role in supporting the global insurance market alongside Europe and the U.S. As I mentioned earlier, Japan is the second biggest market in terms of size, and the market stability is proven, which partly reflects the national character. Some may even expect Japan to play a more prominent role as an insurance capacity provider for the global market. Tokio Marine has been a leading insurer in Japan. Having a financially solid base in the mother market, it aims to be a global insurance group. With a continued focus on risk-based management and capital strategies that support our businesses, we will achieve a well-balanced operation, improve the profitability of the domestic non-life insurance business, ceaselessly grow the domestic life insurance business, and further develop the international insurance business. Through these activities, Tokio Marine intends to generate returns that will meet the expectation of our stakeholders, and sustain higher credit ratings based on our financial solidity. Authors: Katsuo Matsushita is Liaison Officer for Japan and East Asia, The Geneva Association and Etti Bararnoff, Research Director, Insurance and Finance, The Geneva Association. This article was published by The Geneva Association (The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics). Articles, documents and recent publications of the Association can be found on its website, at 5