FUKOKU MUTUAL TO TAKE 80% STAKE IN KYOEI FIRE & MARINE

Japanese assurer Fukoku Mutual Life is to take an 80% stake in the life assurance unit of locally based Kyoei Fire & Marine, reported Nikkei on Friday. Kyoei Kasai Shinrai Life will be rebranded under the Fukoku banner from February 1. It will be transformed into a company that markets policies through the shinkin banks — regional co-operatives made up of local residents and small-to medium-sized enterprises. Fukoku said that as part of the deal it would market policies for Kyoei Fire & Marine. From April the Fukoku sales force would begin handling non-life products such as motor cover. The moves are in part the consequence of the recent deregulation of the Japanese insurance sector, under which financial institutions can market other financial products such as life and medical cover.