The Growth of Post Office Life Insurance
Board of Insurance
AT the end of November, 1938, the total value of outstanding contracts in post office life insurance reached 5,000 million yen, in round figures, while the total number of contracts exceeded 31,000,000. That is to say, 387 contracts per 1,000 persons of the population of Japan were in effect at that time.
This great popularity enjoyed by the postal insurance system in Japan compares favourably with leading Western countries; in fact, the Japanese system occupies the third highest place, following that of Great Britain and of the United States, both in number and value of contracts. When, however, it is remembered that the Japanese system, started in 1916, was only 22 years old last November, while those of Great Britain and the United States are some 80 and 60 years old respectively, the remarkable growth of postal insurance in this country must be regarded as unparalleled.
This growth, as has previously been explained,1 is due to the easy terms of the contracts, to the public character of the undertaking, and above all to the essential contributions the system has made to national life, particularly in stabilizing and improving the economic life of the wage-earning classes.
Stages of Development
In leading up to the present state of development, the Japanese postal insurance system has gone through several stages. When it was first started in 1916, the maximum amount of policies was kept down to 250 yen in view of the economic conditions of the classes forming the objective of the system. With the general development of the economic life of the nation, however, this was raised to 350 yen in 1922, to 450 yen in 1926 and to 700 yen in October, 1938. Another phase of development was recorded in 1931 when the system of insuring children above 3 years of age was inaugurated; this was revised in October, 1938 lowering the minimum age requirement to one year of age. Premium rates were also lowered at the same time.
1 See an article entitled "The Trend of Post Office Life Insurance" in the May (1938) number of TOKYO GAZETTE.
Since this system functions as a means of saving, the endeavours of the mass of the people to cooperate with the Government in carrying out the national savings policy in connection with the current emergency have been reflected lately in the increased number of contracts. While it took 6 years and 8 months to attain the first 50 million yen goal and thereafter an average of 2 years and 4 months to register an increase of the same amount, the space of time required for increases since 1935 has shortened greatly as shown in the case of the last 500 million of the 5,000 million yen goal which required only 5 months.2
[Chart: Growth of Post Office Life Insurance, shown with reference to value of contracts, by stages of development. A line graph rising from 0 to 50 on the vertical axis (in hundred million yen, scale marked at 0, 5, 10, 15 ... 50); horizontal axis marked 1916, 1921, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1937, 1938, Nov. 1938.]
TABLE SHOWING RECENT INCREASES OF 500 MILLION YEN IN VALUE OF CONTRACTS STARTING FROM THE 2,500 MILLION YEN LEVEL
| Value of Contracts | Time When Attained | Time Required for Attainment |
|---|---|---|
| ¥ 3,000,000,000 | May, 1935 | 23 months |
| 3,500,000,000 | Sept., 1936 | 16 months |
| 4,000,000,000 | Sept., 1937 | 12 months |
| 4,500,000,000 | June, 1938 | 9 months |
| 5,000,000,000 | Nov., 1938 | 5 months |
Promoting National Savings and Health
The amount received by the post office life insurance in premiums totalled 2,210,000,000 yen by the end of July, 1938; the amount
paid out as insurance money, surrender values and rebates totalled 767,000,000 yen; the fund reserved for payment of insurance money amounted to 1,600,000,000 yen. This reserve fund is invested largely in public utility enterprises. Loans are also granted from it, under strict Government supervision, to finance public welfare projects such as the building of hospitals and schools. Of late, however, investment in the loans of the national and local governments has been heavy. Thus, this system of insurance has not only promoted national savings but also has cooperated directly in carrying out national financial policies, particularly under the current emergency. The development and increasing popularity of the system, therefore, is desirable from the point of view of national purposes as well as of the welfare of the people.
With regard to the measures carried out by the system for promoting national health, a full account was given in the previous article. Certain statistical data, however, may be of interest to readers. According to the latest returns, the number of persons who were served at the 230 medical consultation stations throughout the country during the past year amounted to more than 7,910,000 and those served by travelling physicians and nurses in 5,720 places to more than 3,000,000. Figures for those treated by physicians, surgeons and dentists under contract with the system have not been available to date. Campaigns for promoting health through literature, movies and other means have been directed not only toward policy holders but toward the entire population. The popular "radio gymnastics" broadcast by the Radio Corporation of Japan since 1928 was originally planned by the Bureau of Post Office Insurance as a measure for promoting national health. The scope of these direct and indirect services will expand in proportion to the growth of the insurance system in the number of policy holders and in the value of contracts. Th [sic] recent attainment of the 5,000 million yen goal will accordingly afford new opportunities for real service to the nation.
Wartime Provisions
With the outbreak of the China Affair, several emergency measures have been adopted such as the validating of contracts taken out by those in the services after going to the front, the granting them of the privilege of delaying payment of premiums for the policies held by themselves and their families until their return home, and the immediate payment of insurance money in full at local post offices on the application of beneficiaries of the war
dead. The privilege of medical treatment, which is confined to policy holders, is also extended to the members of families of those in the services at the front. Actually, considerable numbers of those privileged under this emergency measure have been receiving medical treatment. Such emergency measures can be carried out without serious difficulties only by State enterprises operating on large scales. Here lies the real strength and worth of the Japanese postal insurance system. The authorities, however, are not content with the present achievement, remarkable as it may have been; but, with the cooperation of the nation, are endeavouring further to develop the system for greater usefulness in keeping with national purposes.
2 That the speed with which this last increase was achieved surpassed all expectations may be seen from the following quotation taken from the May, 1938 article previously cited. "It is possible that within a few years the value of contracts outstanding will exceed 5,000 million yen."