Reputation management in the Japanese insurance marketplace

As seen in many other parts of the globe, there is a growing public awareness of corporate ethics in Japan. The deregulation process in the Japanese insurance marketplace is causing a shift toward a market in which a customer's choice becomes the defining factor in a carrier selection. The reputation of the carrier plays a critical role in this selection. The author believes that the origin of reputation management evolves from a business conduct stemming from gaining each customer's trust. One of the initiatives that is currently in force on a company-specific basis is to "expand the scope and activities of insurance,'' to enrich the function of insurance products beyond its traditional concept. The hope is that this initiative will contribute to society's growth, which will ultimately enhance the company's positive reputation. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing effort to design a quantitative analysis methodology to enable a truly functional model of reputation management.