Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Japan Co., a Japanese subsidiary of a major U.S. insurance group, said Tuesday it will withdraw from operations here -- only nine months after its launch. The move follows the group's review of its business strategy late last year, officials said, adding that the Japan subsidiary will continue to take care of its roughly 950 existing automobile insurance policyholders. Allstate Japan started business in April in Miyagi Prefecture, utilizing a deregulation measure that has enabled nonlife insurers to differentiate premium rates for residents of different regions. Miyagi was chosen as the firm's first business site as it boasts a low accident rate, the officials had said. In September, the firm expanded its business to five other prefectures in the Tohoku region. Allstate, unlike traditional Japanese insurers, has not used agents and has taken all of its orders through toll-free phone calls.
