FSA WILL BAR INSURERS FROM STRESSING PRICE IN ADVERTISING

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is to forbid insurers from emphasising price advantage in their advertising, if expected guidelines are brought into effect, reports Nikkei . The move by the regulator is seen as pre-emptive, since most insurers in Japan do not currently use price comparisons in their advertising. The new rules would require insurers that compared prices in their advertisements also to list the clauses that affect premium levels, such as age restrictions and terms of cover. Insurers would also be required to state that customers might want to consider the terms of cover before selecting a product on the basis of price. The current guidelines prohibit “potentially misleading information in comparative ads” but do not give specific guidelines.