JAPANESE INSURERS EXPECT YEN5BN PAYOUT ON IWATE-MIYAGI QUAKE

Japanese non-life insurers are likely to pay out about Yen5bn to cover damages as a result of last month’s Iwate-Miyagi earthquake, according to the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ). It noted that the payout would be slightly less than the ¥6bn that the 18 insurers in the country offering quake cover had to pay out in 2003 as a result of the Tokachi-Oki quake. The National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, known as Zenkyoren, estimated that payouts would total some Yen5.3bn. After foreign insurers are included in the mix, Nikkei reported that total payments as a result of the quake for buildings, contents and motor would exceed Yen10bn.