JAPAN’S ASSURERS SEE RESUMPTION OF DOWNWARD TREND

Japan’s nine leading assurers recorded total premiums of ¥17.35tn ($142bn) in the financial year 2006/07, down 4% year on year. Life policies continued a long-term downward trend, while medical care cover sales proved sluggish. The strong performance of the latter the previous financial year had helped the country’s assurers to post the first increase in premium level for several years. A natural fall in concert with the decline in Japan’s population has been exacerbated by a loss of trust engendered by the recent mispayment scandals. Only Nippon Life recorded growth, up 0.2% year on year — helped by its sales of annuities. Core operating profits at the nine assurers were up 8% to ¥2.38tn, helped by improved investment returns. The famed “negative spread”, shrank by ¥320bn, helped by increased interest rates. Premium revenue at the top seven foreign-owned assurers rose 2% to ¥4.78tn, with core operating profit up 3% to ¥430bn.