Last year, the Japanese cooperative insurance company changed its name in English to CO-OP Kyosai. The word “Kyosai” can be roughly translated as “cooperative/mutual insurance”: the word itself in Japanese means “to help and support each other”.
As of March 2021, CO-OP Kyosai had 8.67 million policyholders and despite the 2020 pandemic, it had continued to grow to reach 8.81 million policyholders as of March 2022. As of March 2021, their total claims paid amount was USD 618.5million from 1.29 million payments made.
There are 23 million community-based retail co-op members in Japan and about 40% of Japanese households belong to these local consumer co-ops. The main businesses of consumer co-ops in Japan are retail, insurance, welfare and healthcare; and these all fall under local co-ops and federations.
At CO-OP Kyosai, they have a product called Tasukeai, which was launched in 1984. Initially, it was only 300 or 400 yen a month as a premium (this equivalent to the price of cup of coffee). Insurance for women did not follow until 1998, and plans for children in 1999.
The four types of insurance that they offer are:
- Term Life and Medical Insurance, Student Insurance.
- Long-term Life Insurance: Insurance for the elderly.
- Whole Term Life/Medical Insurance.
- Other Insurance (in alliance with Kokumin Kyosai co-op): fire insurance and car insurance.
Activities
Disaster Relief
On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. During this time, co-ops all over Japan delivered food and water to the affected areas in their delivery trucks. CO-OP Kyosai helped to provide medical insurance and relief money to help with the damages of the earthquake. To get this relief money to those who needed it as soon as possible, 486 people travelled far to the disaster sites and delivered the money to 29,000 resident member homes. The total amount of disaster relief paid as of March 2021 is JPY 2.09 billion (USD 18.4 million).
Pink Ribbon
The Pink Ribbon campaign is run to raise awareness for breast cancer and cancer coverage by promoting self-checks for early detection. Within these campaigns, CO-OP Kyosai promotes their products so that if anyone is unfortunately diagnosed, they will be in a position to concentrate on their treatment with a sense of security that they are insured and being looked after.
Sponsorship of Paralympic skiing
CO-OP Kyosai signed a gold partner agreement with the Japan Para Ski Federation and in 2019 signed as the main sponsor for the “World Para Nordic Ski World Cup Sapporo” in Hokkaido. Following this, they also sent a banner for their para-athletes who joined the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
Life planning
A review of their life-planning coverage started in 1994. They now offer the life-plan advisor certification system (LPA) which is their original qualification for CO-OP Kyosai members and staff nationwide. When certified, they can convey and share their knowledge about coverage, protection, household finance, social security, education for children, end-of-life planning, disaster prevention and health promotion. The LPA gives a similar knowledge to that of financial planners. There are currently more than 4,600 people certified in Japan, of which 1,300 are very active. These individuals organise workshops and study sessions to share their knowledge with more than 30,000 people attending each year.
An example of this is one of their regional cooperatives, Miyagi. The LPA group of Miyagi Co-op held a study session at a local primary school. The children participated in a game that simulated starting up their own business. The game teaches children about buying, selling, and borrowing from financial institutions which helps prepare them for daily life and future plans.
Promoting mutual support with grants
CO-OP Kyosai’s grants programmes started in 2012 and is designed to support collaborations between co-ops and local organisations. The criteria to be eligible for subsidies are as follows:
- Activities that protect people’s livelihoods and contribute to solving their problems.
- Activities that protect people’s lives and enable them to live true to themselves.
- Activities that allow women and children to live rewarding lives.
So far, CO-OP Kyosai has provided grants amounting to over USD 1.8million to over 380 projects. In March 2022, they celebrated their 10 year anniversary.
Grants to promote mutual support in communities
As a fast-ageing society, more than one in every Japanese household on average has a member that is over 65 years old. Therefore, they have focused on bettering the lives of their senior citizens. One campaign that has aimed to tackle this is their food bank. Also, The Ehime Medical Co-op Rainbow Farm creates a place for local residents to belong through agricultural work, combatting frailty and mental health.
They also look to support women and children through similar children’s cafeterias, support for survivors of domestic violence, and support for mothers.
The future
“Together with peers and member co-ops, we will work to help policyholders, co-op members, and people in the local community”.
Continuing to value the power of connections, CO-OP Kyosai hopes that these collaborations and grants will continue to grow and do more good for policyholders, members, and local communities.
