Sony 2007 Annual Report Download - page 47

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Netherlands announced their intention to establish a joint venture life insurance company in
Japan that will develop and sell individual annuity products.
1“Lifeplanner” is a registered trademark of Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
2Sony Life’s insurance in force, persistency rate, lapse and surrender rate, solvency margin ratio and EV
figures are calculated and disclosed on the basis of Japanese statutory accounting standards.
Sony Assurance
http://www.sonysonpo.co.jp/ (Japanese only)
Sony Assurance, which has adopted the direct insurance business model, delivers practical,
high-quality services through direct dialogue with customers via the Internet and telephone
channels. Its main products are automobile insurance as well as medical and cancer insurance.
In April 2006, Sony Assurance launched a new customer communication website that
puts it directly in touch with its customers. The website offers various content, including
customer evaluations of Sony Assurance’s accident resolution services, results of customer
opinion surveys and the progress of Sony Assurance’s efforts to eliminate customer
dissatisfaction. In October 2006, Sony Assurance enhanced its accident resolution services
for all automobile insurance policyholders by promising that the staff member assigned to
handle accident resolution will respond to the customer within three hours3 upon receiving
an accident report.
The cost competitiveness of Sony Assurance’s direct insurance business model and the
high quality of its services continue to boost the number of new policies and strengthen
support from policyholders. As of March 31, 2007, the combined number of automobile and
medical and cancer insurance policies in force exceeded 900,000, an increase of approximately
13% from the previous fiscal year-end. Going forward, Sony Assurance will continue to grow
its business with the aim of enhancing its presence as a leader in the direct insurance industry.
3 This commitment is for all accidents reported during normal business hours.
Sony Bank
http://sonybank.net/ (Japanese only)
Sony Bank is an Internet bank that targets retail banking customers with a variety of highly
convenient, high-quality financial products and services. In June 2006, Sony Bank launched
a mobile banking service, which allows customers to conduct bank transactions from mobile
phones, further enhancing the convenience of banking transactions. In October 2006, Sony
Bank launched a new “card loan” service in an alliance with GE Consumer Finance Co., Ltd.
December 2006 saw the start of an ATM affiliation with Seven Bank, Ltd., that generally
enables Sony Bank customers to use Seven Bank ATMs installed in 7-Eleven stores and
other locations throughout Japan 24 hours a day, and no service fees.
With the expansion of Sony Bank’s services and products, deposited assets4 (the total of
deposits and investment trusts) increased 26%, to ¥848.8 billion, while loans outstanding4
rose 19%, to ¥284.7 billion. The number of accounts as of March 31, 2007, totaled
approximately 490,000, up nearly 14%, or roughly 60,000, from the previous fiscal year-end.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, Sony Bank expects to introduce full-scale securities
intermediary services, and continue to expand its lineup of other banking products and
services, with the aim of further enhancing customer satisfaction.
4Sony Bank’s deposited assets and loans outstanding are calculated and disclosed on the basis of Japanese
statutory accounting standards.
Sony Assurance’s customer
communication website
1,000
750
500
250
0
848.8
576.3
675.1
2005
(Yen in billions)
2006 2007
Sony Bank’s Deposited Assets
(Deposits and Investment Trusts)
100
75
50
25
0
93
67
82
2005
（Tens of thousands）
2006 2007
*As of March 31
*As of March 31
Sony Assurance’s
Number of Policies in Force