The Point: Ripple Effects - Building High Performance Insurance in Japan

Winds of Change
Achieving high performance in the Japanese insurance marketplace is a challenging goal, given the convergence of forces currently buffeting the market: ongoing deregulation, the imminent extension of Bancassurance (the sale of insurance products by banks) and the planned privatization of Japan Post. Domestic and foreign players alike are in a race to define and capitalize on opportunities for competitive advantage, articulate clear strategies for addressing market changes and position them effectively to deliver optimum performance. The differences between the two are the speed and the path on which they plan to travel.

Accenture research into the evolving Japanese insurance industry to identify how executives viewed the impact of the deregulation journey so far—in terms of their own organization and the overall market—is revealing. The research also examines how companies intend to respond to these changes, and seeks to determine how far along they are in meeting the benchmark standards of high performance identified by Accenture's research of more than 6,000 organizations worldwide.

Overall, executives believe the impact of these forces on the industry is significant and will require insurance companies—especially Japanese organizations—to employ markedly different practices from those they traditionally have relied on if they want to compete in the new environment. This is particularly evident in the fact that a large majority of executives surveyed felt their companies did not meet the operating standards Accenture research has shown to be essential to achieving high performance.