ZURICH JAPAN FINDS 286,000 CASES OF MOTOR OVERCHARGING

The Japanese arm of Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services has discovered 286,000 cases where motor insurance buyers were charged too much between September 2003 and November 2006. However, the sums were said to be relatively trivial, usually amounting to ¥50 or less. Zurich Japan said that it would return the excess charge with interest. The company said that the overcharges were the result of a computer rounding error. It said that it would now investigate charges over the past 10 years. Zurich noted that it had undercharged in 390,000 cases, but said that it did not intend to ask consumers to make up the difference. The company said that the rounding error had been corrected last December and that it filed a report with the Financial Services Agency in January.