Press Conference by SUZUKI Shunichi, Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Friday, July 21, 2023, 11:02 am to 11:09 am)
 

Q.

I would like to ask about the BIGMOTOR fraud claim. Under the current situation, how does the Financial Services Agency (FSA) consider the liability of the non-life insurance company and how will you respond it in the future? Also, there are some reports that the repair department where the fraud was revealed was accepting secondments of personnel from non-life insurance companies. Does the FSA know about this matter? Please also let us know your response.

A.

Since BIGMOTOR is engaged in insurance sales as an insurance agent under the Insurance Business Act, the FSA is now in the process of confirming the facts. If it is recognized that it has committed a malicious act lacking in policyholder protection, we will respond appropriately in accordance with laws and regulations.
I am aware of reports that BIGMOTOR accepted seconded employees from a non-life insurance company, but I would like you to understand that we are currently in the process of confirming the facts, so I cannot make any official comments based on speculation.
From here on, in my humble opinion, I also saw the news report on TV and it was an incredible situation. If the news report is true, I think that it is totally unacceptable. Many people in our country often call their cars “my beloved car” and really love their cars, and if the reports were true and such acts were committed on their cars, I think, naturally they are very unpleasant. We will pay close attention to such public sentiment, and if it is recognized that there is a malicious act such as inadequate policyholder protection, we will take appropriate measures based on laws and regulations.

Q.

Can I understand that you consider to take certain action, for example an on-site inspection, to check whether there is a malicious act or not?

A.

We are currently in the process of confirming the case by inspecting the facts, so we cannot say anything about future action based on speculation.

Q.

Following on from the earlier question, I understand that BIGMOTOR is liable, but if such inappropriate incidents are occurring so frequently, I believe that there are problems regarding the response of non-life insurance companies. What are your thoughts on this point? Also, you mentioned earlier that you are inspecting the facts. Does this mean that you are holding hearings from concerned parties?

A.

For the first point with regard to the responsibility of the non-life insurance company, I would like you to understand that we cannot give answers based on speculation rather than the confirmed facts because we are still in the process of confirming the facts.
I am sorry to repeat this, but since BIGMOTOR is engaged in insurance sales as an insurance agent under the Insurance Business Act, the FSA is now in the process of confirming the facts. If a malicious act lacking in policyholder protection is found during the confirmation of the facts, we will take appropriate measures based on laws and regulations.
On the second point, about how we are going to confirm the facts, we are still in the process of working on this. We would like you to understand that we are confirming the facts while receiving information from various sources.