A committee formed to investigate irregular sales practices at Japan Post Insurance has revealed 12,836 cases of improper sales, 670 of which were violations of law or internal rules.
This is more than double the 6,327 cases disclosed in an interim report by Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd in September, penned by a committee of external lawyers, Reuters reported.
In August, Japan Post Insurance admitted that over a five-year period, it had sold around 183,000 policies that may have been disadvantageous to customers. Sister company Japan Post Bank disclosed 19,500 cases where it improperly sold investment trust products to elderly customers.
“A number of insurance agents lacked morals, awareness of ‘customer first’, and compliance. They prioritised their own interest rather than that of customers,” committee leader Tetsuo Ito was quoted as saying by Reuters.
He also said the committee has looked into around 82% of the 183,000 cases, and that it would submit an additional report in March 2020.
The Financial Services Authority said recently that it considering halting Japan Post Insurance’s and Japan Post’s sales, as well as serving a business improvement order for the Japan Post Holdings group.
