Japan Post Probe Finds 9,000 Cases of Missold Insurance: Yomiuri
Japan Post Probe Finds 9,000 Cases of Missold Insurance: Yomiuri
(Bloomberg) -- Japan Post Holdings Co. is set to release a final report on missold insurance as early as Dec. 18, and the findings will show more cases than an interim probe uncovered, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
After speaking to more than 120,000 clients, a special investigation committee composed of external lawyers found 9,000 incidents of insurance sales at post offices that possibly violated the law or company rules, the Yomiuri said. That’s an increase from the 6,300 cases reported in September, when 58,000 clients had been contacted.
The scandal broke in June with revelations that customers were potentially getting worse terms after switching to new policies recommended by Japan Post salesmen. Some people were made to pay premiums for both old and new products concurrently.
The report has found cases where terms and conditions were not properly explained to clients, or where sales to the elderly were made without the involvement of their families, a violation of internal rules, the newspaper said.
The incident has shocked the Japanese public, especially in rural areas, where the nation’s 24,000 post offices are part of the social infrastructure. It also caused sales for U.S. insurer Aflac Inc., a close ally of the postal giant, to slump.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gearoid Reidy in Tokyo at greidy1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gearoid Reidy at greidy1@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Linus Chua
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