Sony Assurance Commits E-mail Response within Three Hours

September 29, 2009

Sony Assurance Inc., a wholly-owned non-life insurance subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings, today announced plans to begin a new "Committed Service"* on October 1, 2009. Through this service, Sony Assurance makes a commitment to respond within three hours to customer e-mail inquiries received between 9:00 and 17:00 on weekdays. This new offering is designed to enhance e-mail communications between Sony Assurance and its customers.

Sony Assurance will strive to enhance its customer service, through expanded features and shortened response-time of the Committed Service, and to improve the qualities on any communications over the telephone and via the Internet.

*Committed Services include a variety of services involving a commitment from Sony Assurance regarding either the service or the time by which it will be provided. In October 2006, the company began offering such commitments on its website and through other media. Committed services currently include the following.

• A commitment to automobile insurance policyholders to provide an initial response by an appointed staff member within three hours of receiving an accident report
• "On the Day, Any Day, Response" service which commits to making an initial response to accident reports and convey its results to policyholders on the day the reports are received, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

This is an English-language summary of a Japanese announcement made by Sony Assurance on September 29, 2009. The summary was prepared by Sony Financial Holdings Inc. solely for the convenience of non-Japanese readers.