Tokio Marine to sell insurance policies through Amazon

Nikkei -- Aug 13

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance will sell insurance on Amazon Japan's website, starting Aug. 22, as it looks to take advantage the platform's massive digital sales channel to reach younger buyers, Nikkei has learned.

Customers can sign up for policies via their Amazon account, through which they will be able to handle transactions ranging from premium payments to receipt of claims. Tokio Marine will be the first major insurance company in Japan to sell coverage in this way.

Insurance sales have traditionally been done face-to-face or through companies' own websites. However, most insurers have not been able to take full advantage of digital sales channels, with less than 10% of car insurance policies sold online in the industry as a whole, for example.

Selling through Amazon will help attract younger customers unfamiliar with insurance, Tokio Marine believes.

Customers access a special website for purchasing insurance through an advertisement on the Amazon site. The system uses a data linkage mechanism called API, or Application Programming Interface, so there is no need to reenter personal information such as the customer's name, address, email address or phone number. ...continue reading

Aug 13 (日テレNEWS) - アマゾンで保険を販売します。東京海上日動火災保険が今月22日からアマゾンジャパンの通販サイトで保険を販売することがわかりました。  ...continue reading