LIFE REVENUES IN JAPAN SET TO FALL

Japan’s 38 life assurers are set to record a fall in premium income for 2006/07, according to local news reports. The total value of contracts was believed to be about ¥1,030tn ($10.87bn), down some 4% year on year. For whole-year 2007, the figure is thought likely to drop to around ¥990bn. The total value of life contracts in force peaked in fiscal 1996, at ¥1,495tn. The steady fall has been caused by declining interest rates, a falling population, and, more recently, a distrust in the generic brand after revelations of mispayments by a number of life assurers. Many sales and marketing officers at the assurers concerned have been temporarily reassigned to investigate the levels of non-payments, exacerbating the decline in sales.