Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has ordered four of the country’s largest non-life insurers, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, to submit revised business improvement plans following revelations that seconded employees improperly accessed customer data from rival firms, according to a Jiji Press report.
The FSA found that seconded staff, dispatched to insurance agents, had shared sensitive policyholder information and competitor sales data—conduct that violates Japan’s personal information protection and unfair competition prevention laws.
The four insurers must submit revised plans by 30 May and overhaul governance measures introduced last year after a separate price-fixing scandal. It is reportedly rare for the FSA to demand revisions to previously submitted plans.
The orders follow months of regulatory scrutiny. In July 2024, the FSA instructed the same four insurers to investigate and report on breaches linked to seconded employees. By August, it was reported that more than two million customer records had been compromised. The leaked data included names, policy numbers, insurance types, maturity dates, and premium amounts.
The latest action comes amid broader efforts by the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ) to restore confidence in the sector. Last week, the GIAJ unveiled a set of trust-building measures, including governance reviews, training programmes, and the creation of a third-party advisory panel.
