MITSUI SUMITOMO INSURANCE RETURNS TO THIRD SECTOR

Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance today returned to third-sector insurance in Japan, subsequent to the lifting of the indefinite suspension imposed on it by the Japanese Financial Services Agency last June. The insurer said that it would first resume with sales of income protection insurance, medical insurance and group accident & illness cover. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance said that it would not be resuming the sales of whole-of-life policies before April at the earliest. The insurer said that it would be re-evaluating its insurance products to make them easier to understand, and would require sales agents selling its policies to obtain in-house qualifications. The insurer is also offering a leaner range, cutting at least three of the third-sector policies it sold prior to suspension, and considering the elimination of two others.