The revelation that Japan Post Insurance Co., which is under the umbrella of the Japan Post Holdings, has engaged in more than 90,000 cases of inappropriate sales to their customers is the largest scandal to hit the group since the 2007 privatization of the nation's postal services. Not only should Japan Post Insurance customers be compensated for any damages they sustained, a probe should be carried out to determine what lay behind the dubious practices and steps must be taken to prevent a recurrence of such problems.
The problems in question include roughly 22,000 cases in which customers made double payments on insurance premiums when they switched to new contracts, 47,000 cases in which customers were rendered uninsured when months passed before they signed new contracts after terminating their old ones and 24,000 cases that resulted in other disadvantages for customers. These cases are found to have taken place over the past five years.
Reportedly behind the improper sales were demanding targets set on the sales of insurance products by Japan Post Insurance. In cases in which customers made double payments on their old and new contracts, the salespersons are suspected of getting customers to delay canceling their old contracts for six months after signing the new ones to avoid having the latter classified as a switch-over. This would allow the salespersons to receive more credit for their sales performances. Similarly, customers were left uninsured for months when they were made to delay the signing of new contracts after canceling their old ones because a new contract signed within three months after canceling the old one would also be deemed a switch-over.