ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has raised its share ownership to 57.7% of the issued stocks of HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI GROUP INC., which engages in the insurance intermediary business (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Yasuhiko Kubota, CEO; hereinafter “HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI”), by acquiring additional shares of HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI. Since its capital and business tie-up with the insurance intermediary business operator in June 2014, ITOCHU has been supporting the business growth of HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI through the gradual acquisition of shares owned by the existing shareholders. HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI has become a consolidated subsidiary of ITOCHU following the latest acquisition of shares.

HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI is an industry leader engaged in the insurance intermediary business, offering life and non-life insurance products to retail customers through its sales network of 740 shops nationwide. It provides a quality consulting service supported by its own employee training system.

HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI has adopted the corporate philosophy of being “an excellent and the most caring company for customers” in developing its insurance intermediary business, respecting the choices of customers who would best meet their needs with a broad and independent selection of insurance products and/or companies on the life-insurance market, where it was common for insurance companies’ sales representatives to have a face-to-face approach for selling insurance products to individuals. HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI is also active in offering unique follow-up support services to their customer, including Anshin No Wa (*1) and the 3 + ① (*2), which are highly appreciated.

Featuring a strong, customer-centric approach to providing comprehensive services, HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI sells 257 products of 42 partner insurance companies with 2,240,000 policies (concluded at 415 directly operated shops, as of the end of June 2019). The retention rate within the first three years is high, with about 93%. Moreover, HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI has received a number of independent awards, including the Porter Prize (*3), awarded for the first time to an insurance shop operator, and ranked at the first place in the Oricon Customer Satisfaction Ranking (Insurance Category) for insurance shop operators.

With the consolidation of HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI, which will be a core of our market-oriented business, ITOCHU will take consistent steps with the subsidiary’s corporate philosophy to help achieve business growth and improve the quality of services provided to customers.

ITOCHU has been actively promoting new business development at home and abroad through investments in startups for over 30 years, leveraging edge-cutting technologies and advanced business and service models. ITOCHU aims to demonstrate its digital technologies through the business with HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI and support collaborations with startups in the field of InsureTech, leveraging its networks in Japan and overseas.

ITOCHU has announced the Medium-Term Management Plan “Brand-new Deal 2020 Next-Generation Merchant,” calling for an enhanced customer experience and new retail business propositions. The consolidation of HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI is consistent with the approach adopted in the Medium-Term Management Plan. The demands and behavior of people are constantly changing along with the development of the digital society. ITOCHU will aim to expand its business by supporting diversification in the customer interface and creating new services for HOKEN NO MADOGUCHI, leveraging its business networks in Japan and overseas and synergy among group companies.