Major life insurer Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co. and U.K.-based Direct Line Group announced Wednesday they will form a joint venture to sell automobile insurance through direct channels.
The venture will specialize in the direct sale of risk-differentiated automobile insurance, in which premiums vary according to a driver's risk factors, such as age, sex and area of residence.
The announcement marks the first time a major life insurer has plunged into the risk-differentiated auto insurance market in conjunction with a foreign nonlife insurer, Yasuda President Mikihiko Yamamoto told a news conference.