Auto Insurance In Japan
The main road communications in Japan - Railways. This tradition. This, however, does not diminish with the colossal burden of roads and transport system. The number of Japan’s fleet, including a motorcycle, exceeds 79 million units, while registered in the Russian fleet is about 34 million cars. At the same time on record Japan and Russia about the same number of accidents per year - about 1 million cases. But the annual number of fatalities in road accidents in Russia almost 6 times higher than that of Japan and reached 34 thousand cases per year against 6.3 thousand in Japan.
In Tokyo machines clean, transport jams are rare, painted roads, often located in two tiers, complex junctions monitors specialists in real time, each department and traffic police that the city has its own - a symbol of friendship with the citizens. Usually it is one of the popular cartoon characters.
Living under the shadow of the law
The country samurai iron car is under the protection of goodwill car, but the lives and health of citizens - under the protection of the law. That is the logic of mandatory auto liability insurance vehicle owners in Japan. On that state laws do not insured property risks car, 100% payments are working on the life and health of people (in Russian statistics on such payments account for about 2% of total). The limit insurers’ liability for the risks of damage to life and health of victims of accidents in amounts equivalent to $ 30 thousand Scale internal limits reminds graduation, usually established in insurance against accidents and payment depends on the severity of injuries.
Cheap auto insurance on Japanese reaches the full cost of several fillings car. The coefficient of bonus-low, punishing ride for a salvage or incentive for the safe, non-existent.
Mandatory auto insurance covered all the country’s car. In Japan, sold 3 - summer cheap auto insurance. The cost of such a policy - about $ 100. In Russia savings understood differently, and people’s lobbies are seeking to reduce the duration of the policies. Thus, the list of recent amendments to liability insurance - reduce the minimum term of the policy twice - to 3 - x months. Unfortunately, as the actuarial calculations, the cost of such a policy little attractive price and is approaching 6 - month.
About 70% of Japanese drivers to voluntarily extend the limits of its responsibility at rates in excess of the mandatory 5 times (in Russia all the opposite: the acquisition of additional voluntary insurance liability for the driver will result in relatively modest additional charge). Approximately 70% of car insure their cars on property risks (damage, theft).
As explained by the agency Interfax-AFI “property insurance in the Association of Japan, in the structure of Japan’s fleet quite a lot of old cars with a history of exploitation for over 10 years. As in Russia, “older” car older than 6 years in Japan is not insured for damage, theft.
Fairness in Japanese auto insurance
Since auto liability insurance - socially oriented type of insurance, it is believed that in calculating the auto insurance quotes should be observed here three basic principles. Rates should be fair, insurers can not preying on auto liability insurance, but also go under because of these operations should not be, and so must be cheap auto insurance. This balance of interests. The fair tariff rate takes into account the solvency of the population - the level of consumer prices and wages in Japan. Profitability auto liability insurance operations in Japan, for the recognition auto insurance companies, ranges from 0% to 5%.
The calculation of tariffs justification is profit organization - a specialized center, established by insurers, which employs more than 1.5 thousand man. In addition to motor insurance in the centre of attention created by insurance companies, rates on accident insurance, insurance against fire and earthquake risks.
Models calculation of auto insurance quotes in Japanese auto liability insurance kept secret. But confirmation of their fairness, as claimed by Japanese insurers, is the fact that they agreed with Min-transom Japan and the Ministry of Finance also approved the country.
At the request of insurance companies Centre justifies their calculation of auto insurance quotes for different models of cars. All this is issued to companies as recommendations. In view of the assumptions, the level of their own costs and losses insurers decide how to be tariffs.
Actually the term “recommendation” for the Japanese is quite a different meaning than for Russians, in any case, if such recommendations come from a credible person or institution. It may prove stronger order. Executive Director of Japan Association of Property insurers Katsuo Handa (Katsuo Handa) confirmed the agency Interfax-AFI, “which” in the country, for example, there is no law imposed a mandatory liability insurance operators of hazardous objects. Just Government recommended that hazardous industries to insure third-party liability in voluntarily. Currently, in Japan there are no dangerous production, is not insured for such risk, “- he said. Need I add that the Centre and recommended tariffs enjoyed by all insurance companies Japan.
Painter road against the rise of mortality
In the department of the Central Police District Tokyo is a huge “Aquarium”, where specialists are working on road safety. Over a glass wall visitors can see a large screen on which constantly affects 150 interchanges and road intersections. In “Aquarium” employs 22 professionals in whose monitors recorded fragments all roads panels, they can bring a copy of police records of accidents that have an idea about the causes and perpetrators of road collisions, analyse the cause-effect relationships. This information is not cause for the current intervention in traffic, is doing what on the ground traffic police. Received these centres and other territorial districts of Tokyo information is compared, analysed and serves as a basis for conclusions and decisions to improve road policies. On the basis of such information is emerging picture of traffic flow in the city.
Reforming roads Min trans deal with Japan - authority in the country extremely respectable. Ministry of Transport issues licenses to conduct inspection and commercial organizations responsible for the distribution of roads in each territory. Ministry of Transport participates in the state program to reduce deaths on the roads until 2012.
As explained by Noriyoshi Yamagami (Noriyoshi Yamagami), Head of the Department of compensation payments to victims of accidents in the Ministry of Transport of Japan, the country’s roads are divided into the trunk - wide, fast and household - in the narrow streets, twisting, little attuned to ambulance ride. The entire system of roads built so as to push the driver to trunk roads in the household. Here and speed limits apply and the Lying police at every turn, pivot and artificial added. Residential roads are so narrow that they do not always possible to organize sidewalks, so footpath strip sometimes simply paint in a special color to delineate the pedestrian space. Also sometimes made tracks for cyclists, because the death rate in this group of jockeys in Japan is several times higher than that of European countries. And again crowded blame.
According to statistics for 2006 on the main roads of Japan in traffic accident 4 thousand people were killed and at home - about 2 thousand. Nearly 570 thousand vehicles were damaged in accidents on highways during this period and about 300 thousand cars were damaged in the household roads of Japan.
Observations showed Japan Ministry of specialists: the number of severe accidents is reduced, if the dividing strip along the border to replace the high - fewer cars on the counter-off strip. Causing proved useful in certain zones on the road markings, regulating the distance between cars facing columns. At the complex interchanges of life to alleviate the drivers was used bright strips of road markings indicating the direction of traffic flows and their movement. All these Design, as shown by statistics, reduce the number of accidents on the roads. Benefit, in Japan there is no Russian snow and mud on roads that can drown color any markings.
Sell policies
The overwhelming proportion of auto insurance policies sold by insurance agents in Japan - over 93% (in Russia - up to 70%). Only 0.3% policyholders realize agents and legal persons (in Russia to an average of 20-25% of policies sold car) and about 7% of the volume of direct sales accounted for insurers.
For most insurance agents are secondary earnings. Only 15% of them during the poll confirmed that such activity is their core. Representatives of Japan Association of Insurers acknowledge that profession insurance agent is considered not very prestigious in society. Auto civil liability policies in most cases sold in the local purchase and repair vehicles. Where to sell motor insurance policy, there and obstruct car, no conflict of interest.
Some are licensed auto services Min trans Japan for inspection, mandatory every two years. His driver impossible to pass without a mandatory liability insurance policy.
Caring for improving knowledge of insurance agents was the impetus for the creation of a special training centre of Japanese insurance company Aioi. Its main activity center - training of agents correct technical evaluation of damage the car, a quick calculation and literacy, the ability to take customers with questions to resolve the loss. And because agents often on a part-auto mechanics, enjoyed popularity in the center of the technology courses or small-body repair, replacement and technology glass tinting machines and stuff.
There are courses are better. At the request of workers from auto services and dealer centres center Aioi can upgrade the skills of engineers for examinations at the rank of specialist 3-1 - first class, the center can visit the area to conduct training to qualify for car licence for the Ministry inspected. Masters Aioi teach repair new models of cars, including hybrid.
In the center conducted the test bench, which allow the situation to imitate collision of cars and examine their implications. When crash-testing as a result disperse the car at speeds of 52.5 kilometers per hour in a collision with a concrete barrier, weighing 2.5 tons achieved the effect of collision of two cars on the track, following a speed of more than 100 km per hour. With the speed in the tests three times lower than the result achieved, a similar collision of cars driving at speeds of 30 km per hour. It is at such situations accounted for 80% of all accidents.
The personnel provide up to 24 thousand consultations a year, including by phone, conducting more than 100 tests crash cars a year and involved in training programmes for 5 on third-party listeners for the full cost and the discount to their agents. Replying to a question of “Interfax-AFI,” a representative of the Centre Aioi explained that the insurance company Aioi covers up to 50% cost centre.
Three-quarters of fees insurers in Japan provides life insurance
In total there are 48 insurance companies. Of these, nearly half - with foreign participation. The concentration of capital in the Japanese insurance market is great: the share of 5 largest companies accounted for 85% of charges. In the five leaders hold Tokio Maine, Mitsui Sumimoto, Sompo Japen, Aioi, Nippon Koa.
Japan Insurers Association members gather approximately 95% of insurance premiums. Fair, note the association representatives, should mention another 300 insurance companies operating in the country. Their activities are agricultural profile, they are largely governed Min-agriculture Japan. In view of such companies, we can say that there are 348 insurers.
In Japan, no insurance company with the participation of the state. Moreover, as admitted insurers, joining the state in capital of the company is considered a sign of distress: it is done in critical situations, when companies have problems with solvency. Japan knows the collapse of major cases and insurance companies. At the memory of recent events specialist market experienced its kind in 2000 - and 2002 m - m years.
The insurance market by volume of Japan took charges 4 - in the world after the United States, Germany, Great Britain. Two years ago, Japan on this indicator held “silver”, but was forced to step below, after a sharp change in relations courses world currencies and falling yen to the dollar. The largest share among the newcomers in the capital of insurers have come from the United States (42%). We the representatives of France, Germany, England - the share of less than 10%. The law requires organizers of the country a new insurance company capital formation in 1 billion yen, but to branch - 200 million yen. While the figures may specify, depending on what types of operations candidate intends to do.
Total gross premiums of all Japanese insurers for the year 2006 in the insurance market reached 36.7 trillion yen (about $ 367 billion). Of these, 75% went to taxes on life insurance and only 25% - on charges of all other types of insurance (in Russia classical life insurance fees make up only a few percent of the total).
Total gross premiums insurers of life in Japan reached 8.5 trillion yen in 2006. Of these types of voluntary auto insurance accounts for 3.5 trillion yen, but on auto civil liability - 1.1 trillion yen. At the aggregate motor insurance market provides 55.4% (41.3% and 13.2% damage, theft, auto civil liability), for accident insurance accounted for 15.2%, from fire insurance - 17.1% of total gross premiums of insurers life.
Recently, the Japanese market is clearly visible trend towards mergers of companies. This process, on the one hand, leads to the unification of a number of companies-insurance agencies for business optimization, and on the other hand, does not preclude an increase in the number of insurance agents.
Managing Director of the Association of property insurance Koyi Yoshida of Japan (Koji Yoshida) said that currently about 10-15% of Japanese insurers’ business is in overseas markets. Japanese insurers consider promising Russian market and markets in countries such as Brazil, China and India.