Group History

Since its founding, Tokio Marine Group has relied on its comprehensive strengths to weather a myriad of challenges, including the Great Kanto Earthquake and Japan’s defeat in World War II. Throughout our history, all of our activities have been based on earning customer trust. We have continued to support customers and society in times of needs, thereby helping them step forward to take on new challenges.

The power of our people, the constant driving force for supporting customers in times of need

1879
Japan’s First Non-Life Insurance Company, Overseas Expansion from the Start

Tokio Marine Insurance contributed to the modernization of Japan as the country’s first non-life insurance company. In 1880, the year after its founding, the company began direct underwriting operations in London, Paris, and New York, a testament to the global focus we have held since the start.

1894
Young Employees’ Efforts to Improve Business Results

In 1890, we established three local agents in the United Kingdom, the home of marine insurance. In 1891, premiums income from overseas hull insurance grew rapidly to account for more than 50% of total premiums income. The company fell into a financial crisis in 1894 due to a rapid deterioration in finances as a result of underwriting a large volume of high-risk properties. It was young employees, including Kenkichi Kagami, who had joined the company four years previously, and Hachisaburo Hirao, a newcomer to the company, that thoroughly re-examined policies in the United Kingdom and were thereby able to bring about a financial recovery within a few years.

1914
Launch of Japan’s First Auto Insurance

Tokio Marine Insurance launched an automobile insurance product at a time when there were only about 1,000 vehicles in Japan. The number of domestic auto insurance policies issued by the Group has grown to more than 15 million, the outcome of our continuous efforts to address motorization after World War II.

1923
Response to the Great Kanto Earthquake

Many lives and assets were lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake. The fire insurance of the time offered no coverage for damage caused by earthquakes, but each non-life insurance company offered payouts as a form of consolation.While other companies received subsidies from the government for the consolation payments, Tokio Marine Insurance made use of its sound financial base, becoming the sole insurer in the industry to fund the payments on its own.

History of growing our business in line with changing times

1945
Recovery After Japan’s Defeat in World War II

World War II shrunk the marine insurance market, and premiums dropped to around 40% of pre-war levels over the four years following the war’s conclusion. Tokio Marine Fire Insurance responded to this situation with a focus on fire insurance. Through flexible strategies not relying solely on marine insurance, we were able to overcome the post-war trials to recover performance.

1959
Release of the Liability Insurance

At a time when accident victims often found themselves with no recourse other than to give up, we launched Japan’s first liability insurance product to address the social need to cultivate awareness regarding proper damage compensation and define the appropriate level of compensation.

1970
Establishment of Auto Claims Service Centers

In 1970, Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance opened auto claims service centers to strengthen points of contact with customers in order to respond effectively to the sudden increase in accidents that accompanied the growth in the volume of automobile insurance policies.

Development of revolutionary products leveraging refined expertise and specialties

1998
Release of the Auto Insurance with Coverage for Personal Injury

After the deregulation of the insurance market, Tokio Marine Group developed a personal injury insurance product designed to compensate for all damages a policyholder may be liable for after an accident.
This product proved immensely popular among customers, eventually becoming the standard for the auto insurance products of today.

2002
Launch of an Integrated Life and Non-Life Insurance Product

We developed an integrated life and non-life insurance product called Super Insurance based on the concept of providing customers protection throughout their entire life with both life and non-life insurance. This product was developed from the customer-oriented concept of “bundling together various difficult-to-understand insurance products into a comprehensive package.” It has helped us earn stronger customer support through an increase in the attractiveness of our products and improvement of the sales system.

2012
Release of One Day Auto Insurance

We began offering One Day Auto Insurance. Based on the concept of allowing customers to receive insurance only for the days they need it and offering easy application via mobile phone, this ­product was an industry first.

Creation of global network and balanced portfolio

2008-Present
Expansion of the International Insurance Business

Tokio Marine Group acquired both Kiln (U.K.) and Philadelphia Consolidated Holding (U.S.) in 2008 and started full-scale expansion of operations in the European and U.S. markets. In our search for additional growth opportunities abroad, we acquired Delphi Financial Group (U.S.) in 2012 and HCC Insurance Holdings (U.S.) in 2015. These companies have strong growth potential and high profitability. They also have few overlapping risks with existing businesses and are thus contributing to enhancing capital efficiency, increasing profits, and stabilizing the business platform of Tokio Marine Group.