Three of Japan¡¯s four major life insurance companies enjoyed insurance premium income growth in April-September, their earnings reports have shown.
All the four ¡ª Nippon Life Insurance, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, Sumitomo Life Insurance and Dai-ichi Life Holdings ¡ª saw their single-premium whole life insurance policies and savings-type products attract stronger domestic demand amid rising interest rates.
Insurance premium revenues rose 30.4% from a year earlier at Meiji Yasuda, 13.4% at Nippon Life and 4.0% at Sumitomo.
Higher interest rates are ¡°very beneficial,¡± Sumitomo Managing Executive Officer Nobuji Takao said.
But Dai-Ichi Life suffered a premium revenues drop of 7.4% due to weaker sales of foreign currency-denominated products at a group insurance firm.
Meanwhile, Nippon Life¡¯s core operating profit expanded 27.4% to rewrite a record high as investment profit went up on higher interest and dividend income. Still, its Executive Vice President Naoki Akahori called for vigilance against volatile markets. ¡°Neither political nor economic conditions warrant optimism,¡± he said.
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