Polarization between winners and losers became apparent Friday when the nation's major and second-tier nonlife insurance companies released their earning reports for fiscal 1999.

Of the nine firms that reported business results during the day, five showed declining numbers for the year that ended March 31, while the others had marginal increases in premium income, which compares to sales for non-financial firms.

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., the nation's largest casualty and property insurer, reported 1.286 trillion yen in premium income, up 0.1 percent from the year before.

Runnerup Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., meanwhile, reported a 0.3 percent rise in premium income at 904.5 billion yen.

Premium revenue also rose to 542.9 billion yen for the fourth-ranking Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co., up 0.5 percent from the year before, and 1 percent to 426.5 billion yen for Dai-Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance Co.

The improved results -- which came despite the stuttering economy and intensifying competition -- signal a trend change from the year before.

In fiscal 1998, all nine reported a drop in premium income ranging from 3 percent to 6 percent, saying the lingering recession and intensifying competition took a toll.

The winners cited aggressive marketing, low prices and added service in new products, especially in the area of automobile insurance.

In contrast, Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co., which plans to merge with Sumitomo Marine & Fire in October 2001, suffered a 2.5 percent loss in premium income to 599.4 billion yen at the end of fiscal 1999. Officials attributed the results in part to sluggish sales of auto insurance.

Nippon Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Koa Fire & Marine Insurance Co., which plan to merge in April 2001, recorded declines of 0.7 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Chiyoda Fire & Marine Insurance Co., which plans to merge with Dai-Tokyo in April 2001, logged a 0.5 percent decline in premium income.

In pretax profits, Yasuda, Sumitomo, Dai-Tokyo and Koa enjoyed double digit increases from a year before.

Tokio Marine suffered 65.6 percent drop in its pretax profits, but the company attributes it to a one-time factor: its heavy risk hedge against falls in stock prices resulted in losses because share prices actually went up in the past business year.

Premium income totaled 5.204 trillion yen among the nine.