Business Alliance and Investment in Insurance Agency for Collaboration in Insurance Sales Business
Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Sony Life, and Next Solution (Nexsol) have formed a business alliance for collaboration in the insurance sales business through insurance agencies. Sumitomo Mitsui Card and Sony Life will also invest in Nexsol, a multi-carrier insurance agency.
Background and Purpose of the Alliance
In recent years, changes in customer preferences have led to diversification of sales channels in the life insurance industry, with an increasing number of customers purchasing life insurance not only through life insurance company sales representatives but also through insurance agencies and the internet. In particular, customers purchasing life insurance through insurance agencies have come to represent a significant proportion.
Sumitomo Mitsui Card provides insurance products to its customers through both face-to-face and remote channels according to customer preferences. They introduce optimal partner agencies based on customers' residential areas and preferred appointment times. Recently, with the increase in customers purchasing life insurance through insurance agencies, the demand for introductions to insurance agencies capable of providing secure and high-quality proposals has been growing.
Sony Life, with the vision of "Protecting customers' lives filled with purpose," leverages its nationwide network of approximately 130 branches and over 5,500 Life Planners who are insurance and financial professionals, along with approximately 2,540 sales agencies (partners) nationwide. As companions throughout customers' lives, they offer "Consulting Sales" that propose custom-tailored protection for each individual customer, and "Consulting Follow-up" that provides protection reviews and advice throughout customers' lives.
Sumitomo Mitsui Card and Sony Life have formed this business alliance to provide insurance product proposals to Sumitomo Mitsui Card customers through even more secure and excellent life planning than before.
Overview of the Alliance
Sumitomo Mitsui Card and Sony Life will acquire part of the shares of Nexsol, a multi-carrier insurance agency currently owned by Money Forward, and establish Nexsol as a jointly managed entity by the three companies. The ownership ratios will be: Sumitomo Mitsui Card 70%, Sony Life 20%, and Money Forward 10%.
Nexsol is a multi-carrier insurance agency with five locations nationwide, commissioned to sell insurance products from multiple life insurance and non-life insurance companies. Through consulting related to customers' life planning, they propose insurance products tailored to each individual's needs.
Through this alliance, the companies aim to further develop Nexsol into an insurance agency that can provide secure and optimal insurance products to customers by utilizing the expertise of Sumitomo Mitsui Card and Sony Life. Specifically, they will build consulting sales based on life planning that is aligned with customers' needs through support to Nexsol centered on Sony Life, which has knowledge of consulting sales based on life planning. Additionally, they will aim to build a secure business structure by strengthening Nexsol's security and management aspects by leveraging Sumitomo Mitsui Card's knowledge of governance and compliance system development.
Furthermore, Sumitomo Mitsui Card will introduce Nexsol to credit card users and users of SMBC Group's comprehensive financial service "Olive" who wish to receive insurance proposals through life planning, creating opportunities for the three companies to provide optimal insurance products to more customers.
Nexsol will continue to operate as a neutral multi-carrier insurance agency, handling various insurance products and proposing optimal products to customers.
Through these initiatives, they will deliver secure, high-quality life planning and insurance product proposals to more customers than before.
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