The leaders of three major Japanese non-life insurers apologised at their respective general shareholders' meetings on 24 June over scandals rocking the industry.
The three—Sompo Holdings, Tokio Marine Holdings, and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings—have been affected by incidents such as a fraudulent insurance claims scandal involving used car dealer Bigmotor Co and collusion to rig premiums for corporate clients, reported Jiji Press.
At the general meeting of Sompo Holdings, which saw its previous leadership step down at the end of March to take responsibility for the Bigmotor scandal, shareholders voted on the appointments of 13 board directors including president Mikio Okumura.
Mr Shinichiro Funabiki, president of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, a unit of MS&AD Insurance, apologised at the parent's general meeting for the premium-fixing scandal, promising to improve business operations. He also declared his commitment to preventing a similar incident from occurring.
Critics say that so-called strategic shareholdings including cross-held shares, which companies hold in clients to maintain good relations, have helped create an environment that led to fraudulent actions.
"We will eliminate our strategic shareholdings in six years," Mr Funabiki told shareholders.