Insurance payouts for Hyogo Prefecture hailstorm reach ¥56.4 billion

The General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ) has reported that insurance claims from the hailstorm in Hyogo Prefecture on April 16 have reached ¥56.4 billion as of May 31.

The figures, compiled from GIAJ member companies and the Foreign Non-Life Insurance Association of Japan, provide a comprehensive overview of the claims paid out.

Hailstorm-related insurance claims in Hyogo Prefecture

The specific claims data are as follows:

• Vehicle damage: 81,021 claims were accepted for vehicle damage, with 79,468 resulting in payments totalling ¥31.4 billion
• Fire insurance: 40,861 fire insurance claims were accepted, and 39,529 claims were paid, totalling ¥24.7 billion
• Miscellaneous casualty insurance: This category, which includes personal accident insurance, saw 270 accepted claims, with 241 claims paid, totalling ¥297 million

These numbers reflect all requests for damage investigations, insurance coverage inquiries, and policyholder consultations.

Noto Peninsula earthquake insurance claims

The GIAJ also updated the insurance claims figures for the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on Jan. 1. By March 31, the total payouts amounted to ¥74.4 billion.

The report includes data from both GIAJ and the Foreign Non-Life Insurance Association of Japan.

Claims across different prefectures are summarised as follows:

• Niigata Prefecture: submitted 25,395 claims, with 15,605 claims paid, amounting to ¥12.9 billion
• Toyama Prefecture: filed 34,512 claims, with 22,828 claims paid, totalling ¥17.1 billion
• Ishikawa Prefecture: reported the highest number with 54,426 claims, and 38,445 claims paid, amounting to ¥41.5 billion
• Fukui Prefecture: had 3,924 claims, with 2,008 claims paid, totalling ¥1.3 billion
• Other areas: combined submitted 10,006 claims, with payouts totalling ¥1.7 billion

In total, 81,544 claims were settled from 115,171 completed investigations out of 128,263 filed claims.

This places the Noto Peninsula earthquake seventh in terms of total insurance payments for earthquakes in Japan. Historical comparisons include the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, with payouts of ¥1.3 trillion for over 826,000 claims, and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, which saw payments of nearly ¥391 billion.

Focusing on natural disasters, four major Japanese non-life insurers are expected to raise fire insurance premiums by around 10% nationwide, according to individuals familiar with the matter.

According to Nippon’s report, the premium increase is driven by significant payouts for natural disasters and rising costs for home repairs.