Sony Life Announces Current Status of Results of Investigation into Inadvertent Under-Payment and Nonpayment of Insurance and Other Claims
October 5, 2007
Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings Inc., today announced the results of its investigation into inadvertent under-payment and non-payment of insurance and other claims during the period from April 2001 through March 2006.
Sony Life deeply regrets the occurrence of these incidents and apologizes sincerely for any inconvenience it has caused. The company is undertaking full-fledged efforts to prevent a recurrence as a top management priority. Going forward, Sony Life will continue striving to raise its level of service to customers.
- Policies Investigated
During the period from April 2001 through March 2006, insurance and other claims were paid on approximately 550,000 policies. (Of this number, 510,000 were for individual life insurance, 200 were for group insurance and 40,000 were for other policies). - Investigation Results
When Sony Life's investigation results were announced on April 13, 2007, some 3,732 policies remained under investigation. The company has determined that 1,513 insurance and other policy claims require payment (¥721.8 million). As a result, the total of insurance and other claims requiring payment has amounted to 1,756 policies (¥740.6 million).
Sony Life continues to investigate claims that may require payment, and payment has been completed on 1,559 claims (¥693.8 million). The company will continue this process until all payments are complete. - Status of Measures to Prevent Recurrence
Sony Life has made the establishment of a claims payment administrative system a top management priority in its FY2007 business plan. The company has established a special project for the introduction of countermeasures to strengthen its management structure relating to the payment of insurance and other claims, including reporting directly to Sony Life's President and Representative Director. Through this project, the company has created a Guidebook on the Payment of Insurance and Other Claims. We are continuing to systematize the use of confirmation tools, develop large-scale systems and provide notifications regarding coverage. Through such measures, Sony Life will enhance the level of follow-up service provided after the conclusion of contracts.
Note: This is an English-language summary of a Japanese announcement made by Sony Life on October 5, 2007. The summary was prepared by Sony Financial Holdings Inc. solely for the convenience of non-Japanese readers.
