Initiating Green Gift Project

Insurance companies use a large volume of paper resources in their daily operations for documents ranging from application forms, insurance clauses, insurance claim forms to manuals. While all the members of the Tokio Marine Group have been trying to reduce the volume of paper they use, they have heard customers comment that "there are too many contract-related documents" and say to the extent that they "would not mind if insurance clauses and the like in paper should be dispensed with.“
On the strength of such opinions, Tokio Marine & Nichido has initiated the Green Gift Project from July 2009 in the fields of automobile insurance and super insurance, the project being a switch from paper-based contracts to the accessible web-based format.
With the increase of customers who opt for a web, rather than a printed, version of insurance clauses, Tokio Marine & Nichido will be able to reduce the volume of paper it uses significantly without causing any inconvenience to customers because they can read the content of clauses and policy details on the Company’s website screen whenever they like. At the same time, Tokio Marine & Nichido has been promoting the mangrove afforestation project focused on South East Asia, through monetary donations (Green Gift) to nongovernmental organizations. Specifically, for each customer who chooses web clauses rather than paper ones, we will donate money equivalent to two mangrove seedlings to NGOs, etc.*
Furthermore, with the introduction of web clauses, which provide information on the content of such documents as insurance policy guides, Nisshin Fire & Marine Insurance has introduced innovative ways to make it easy for customers to verify such matters as insurance coverage and procedures when accidents or contract changes occur.

*The amount of CO₂ that is absorbed by two mangrove trees is said to be equivalent to the volume of CO₂ emitted by an automobile driven for the distance of 1,000km.

■Effect of the Green Gift

Giving Environmental Considerations in Automobile Repairs

When repairs are made to automobiles, Tokio Marine & Nichido encourages environmentally-friendly methods to customers, that is, to fix damaged parts and use them whenever possible or to use recycled or rebuilt components in the event of the damaged parts being beyond repair. Thus, the Company endeavors to reduce industrial waste and make more effective use of resources.
In FY2008, there were approximately 170,000 cases where bumper repairs were made by using recycled parts.
The environment-friendly automobile insurance, "Asante," sold by Nisshin Fire & Marine Insurance provides a 10% discount on insurance premiums for policyholders who have agreed to have their vehicles repaired, in the event of an accident, at garages designated by the Company and by making use of recycled parts.

Upgrading Approaches to Natural Disaster Risk Assessment Approach

■A typhoon-simulation model

Provided by Japan Agency
for Marine-Earth Science and
Technology (JAMSTEC)

The insurance business has a highly social and public nature and bears the social mission of stabilizing the foundations of people's lives. For this reason, insurance companies are under obligation to secure their financial soundness and continue to provide products to customers stably for a long time and at appropriate levels of insurance premiums.
Costs of insurance products are determined "after the fact," being dependent on the frequency and severity of risks (accidents). For this very reason, big changes in the frequency of natural disasters and the scales of damage due to climate change and global warming make it very difficult for insurance companies to calculate appropriate insurance premiums, set up adequate liability reserves against the payment of insurance claims in the future or make proper arrangements for reinsurance, should they continue to rely only on the assessment of risks based on the past statistical data.
In the circumstances, the Tokio Marine Group has been making effort to meet with such a situation by utilizing "climate models" which enable us to forecast future climates based on computer simulations, in addition to the forecast mainly by the past statistical data.
In cooperation with Center for Climate System Research of the University of Tokyo, Tokio Marine & Nichido and the Tokio Marine Research Institute have been upgrading their natural disaster risk assessment approaches by utilizing the world’s top-class climate models developed by the university. In addition, through a partnership with Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center of Nagoya University, which analyzes changes in the nature of typhoons occurring around Japan due to climate change, Tokio Marine & Nichido has been conducting research on how the increase in typhoon risks affects the amount of insurance claim payments.
Furthermore, Tokio Millennium Re (Bermuda) has been conducting surveys and research on climate change and global warming, with a focus on North Atlantic hurricanes. To further its research, Tokio Millennium Re has undertaken actions that include regularly holding the Summit on Global Warming and Climate Change, by inviting front-line specialists who study climate change-related risks and provide the assessment of risks caused by natural disaster risks worldwide.
The Tokio Marine Group has been contributing to the realization of a sustainable society by linking research findings on climate change and global warming to the development and provision of products and services while communicating this information to society.

■Upgrading natural disaster risk assessment approaches and their application

Supporting Life in Society through Weather Insurance

Since 2004, IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance in India has been underwriting weather insurance that compensates Indian farmers for the risk of reduced income during periods of drought.
Given that there are many areas in India where irrigation and other water sources are limited, annual grain harvests can be significantly affected by weather in any particular year. When a drought occurs during the monsoon season (June through September), weather insurance provides a fixed level of compensation corresponding to the degree of the drought. Such products contribute greatly to stabilizing the livelihood of Indian farmers.
These measures help to develop insurance products through the utilization of knowhow held by Tokio Marine & Nichido and Tokio Marine Financial Solutions regarding sales of weather derivatives and analysis of climate data as well as through the calculation of such events as the probable occurrence of a drought based on extensive weather data collected in India over the past 100 years. In addition, Tokio Marine Newa in Taiwan has been selling weather insurance (typhoon type) to compensate for typhoon-related damage since 2005.

"Premium World" Environmental Investment Fund

Since December 2007, Tokio Marine & Nichido has sold the Premium World environmental investment fund focused on the 3 themes of the "environment," "food stock and water," and "health and medicalcare."
The company supports initiatives to tackle global environmental issues, through investment in stocks of the world related to these themes which have been attracting global attention against the background of global warming, worldwide economic growth, and population increases.