JAPANESE AUTHORITIES IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON 10 LIFE INSURERS

Japan’s Financial Services Agency has confirmed a decision to impose business improvement orders on 10 life insurers, including two foreign ones. The move had been trailed in local reports earlier in the week. According to the regulator the cited insurers’ had insufficient controls to prevent them from failing to pay benefits to policyholders. It said the 10 insurers failed to pay Yen79.1bn in benefits owed to policyholders in 993,375 cases between the 2001 and 2005 fiscal years. The insurers are required to submit their improvement plans by August 1. The eight Japanese companies are Nippon Life Insurance Company, Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, Daido Life Insurance Company, Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company, Mitsui Life Insurance Company and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company. The two foreign insurers are American Family Life Assurance Company and American International Group.