MESSAGE FROM
THE PRESIDENT

Chairman:

Yoshihiko Murase

President:

Makoto Sugimachi

I would like to begin this message by expressing my sincere gratitude to all our stakeholders for their continued
support.
Before moving on, I would also like to offer my heartfelt sympathy to those who are suffering as a result of therecent earthquake, the epicenter of which was in the offshore of Yamagata Prefecture. I pray for the earliest possible
reconstruction of their livelihoods.
In 2018, Japan experienced numerous natural disasters, including the earthquake centered in the northern part ofOsaka Prefecture in June and 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in September.
Earthquake insurance was established in 1966 to stabilize the livelihoods of those affected by natural disasters likethese. In the earthquake reinsurance scheme, three players – the Japanese government, private non-life insurancecompanies and JER – work together across sectors to ensure that earthquake insurance claims are paid promptly andreliably.
Since the establishment of the earthquake insurance system, JER has adopted contributing to the maintenance anddevelopment of an affluent and safe society and becoming a company that is widely trusted by the public throughthe sound management of the household earthquake insurance system as its management philosophy as the only
company in Japan that is permitted to exclusively handle reinsurance for earthquake insurance covering dwelling risks.
JER has been working to make this philosophy a reality.
JER has always sought to make earthquake reinsurance payouts promptly and reliably in the wake of disasters suchas the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto Earthquakes as its mostimportant mission.
At the same time, JER has consistently paid close attention to managing and administering assets for futureearthquake reinsurance payouts, focusing primarily on asset liquidity and safety.
Reflecting growing interest in earthquake disaster preparedness, the number of earthquake insurance contracts has
been increasing with each year to reach an all-time high of more than 19 million policies in force as of the end ofMarch 2019.
JER is in the second year since it commenced the fifth medium-term business plan in fiscal 2018. Under this mediumterm business plan, we are working to build strong, sustainable earthquake insurance systems and make business
continuity management (BCM) more effective in anticipation of an inland earthquake in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. In
asset management, we pursue contributions to corporate earnings through our management capacity buildups while
guaranteeing asset liquidity and safety.
As business foundation items underpinning these initiatives, we seek to train experts and promote working conditions
that match diverse ways of working. Moreover, we build a governance system that is compatible with environmentalchanges and make our management more appropriate and effective.
In this new era of Reiwa after Heisei, we will continue making efforts to understand our roles and responsibilities andexecute our duties reliably in order to contribute to the development of an earthquake insurance system based on therecognition of our social mission. We aim to become a company that is completely trusted by its stakeholders.
We hope that we can continue to count on your support as we pursue these initiatives.

July 2019

Makoto Sugimachi
President
Japan Earthquake Reinsurance Co., Ltd.

Japan Earthquake Reinsurance Co., Ltd. Annual Report 20191