協会概要

Association Outline

Message from Our Representative Director

The mission of underwriters in the life insurance industry is to ensure all customers bear insurance premiums fairly for the risk they bring to the insurance pool. This is one of the core functions of life insurance companies that can result in promoting the financial health and moral soundness of the life insurance business. By fairly evaluating applications based on applicant’s age, gender, health conditions, medical history, and working conditions, underwriters make decisions whether to accept such applications accordingly. Thus, we contribute to the social welfare and wellbeing by providing financial protection, while we protect and control the mortality & morbidity experience of insurers for which we are working.

The life insurance underwriter is also the company’s underwriting risk expert. We are responsible for the development of underwriting policies, questionnaires, manuals, and other standard by products, as well as the use of reinsurance solutions, and reviewing of the latest overseas underwriting research. It is also very important to speed up and improve the efficiency of underwriting operations. These days, automation and maintenance of underwriting rules and other duties related to underwriting operations have also become an increasingly important part of underwriter’s roles.

With rapid development of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and ICT as well as remarkable advances in medicine and healthcare including genomics, more and more diseases that were difficult to be detected and treated have been cured. It is likely that we would soon enter the era when human health conditions can be accurately predicted. Accordingly, the roles expected for underwriters would be inevitably evolving towards those with broader and higher skill sets. I firmly believe that in such a new era, the Underwriting Association of Japan is expected not to merely provide information based on the past experience but also to thoroughly analyze the past and to present the future vision to provide support to underwriters who are at the forefront of underwriting.

In addition, in accordance with the demands of the times, we started holding educational workshops on the Web in 2020. And we started conducting the exam in the CBT (Computer Based Testing) format from 2022. With these changes, more people can access our activities, support easily and we believe that we can contribute more to the development of the industry.

The Underwriting Association of Japan is committed to helping the development of underwriters by providing the knowledge necessary for the roles and responsibilities of underwriters through educational courses, qualifications, and various other activities, with the times.

August 2023
Yuko Yoshitake
Representative Director
UWAJ

Mission and Business Activities

Mission Statement

The mission of the UWAJ is to advocate the importance of underwriting and further develop industry professionals with underwriting expertise & skill in addition to developing the profession, whilst enhancing industry standards and that of national health & welfare management.

Business Activities

The UWAJ conducts the following business activities to fulfill its mission

Academic research and investigation related to underwriting.
Training and accreditation for underwriters.
Information exchange and cooperation with domestic and overseas organizations related to underwriting.
Dissemination of information and publication regarding underwriting.
Research and investigation concerning appropriate claim payments.
Extraordinary activities required to accomplish the missions of the UWAJ.

Organization Name

Underwriters Association of Japan (UWAJ)

Brief History

2006: The Underwriters Association of Japan Limited Liability Intermediate Corporation was established in July.
The first education seminar was implemented in October.
2008: Textbooks for the entry-level qualification exam were published in September.
2009: The first entry-level qualification exam was carried out in January. The UWAJ was reorganized into an Incorporated Association from Limited Liability Intermediate Corporation in June, in accordance with the abolishment of the Intermediate Corporation Act. Textbooks for the intermediate level qualification exam were published in September.
2010: The second qualification exam for entry-level and intermediate level was carried out in February.
The first UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
Textbooks for the advanced level qualification exam were published in September.
2011: The third qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The first UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2012: The fourth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The second UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2013: The fifth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The third UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2014: The sixth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The fourth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2015: The seventh qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The fifth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2016: The eighth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The sixth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2017: The nineth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The seventh UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2018: The tenth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The eighth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2019: The eleventh qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
The ninth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2020: The twelveth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.
2021: The tenth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
The thirteenth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in August.
2022: The eleventh UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.
2023: The fourteenth qualification exam for entry-level, intermediate level and advanced level was carried out in February.; The twelfth UWAJ Annual Conference was held in May.

Directors and Secretariat

Representative Director
Yuko Yoshitake: The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited
Director
Naoyuki Tsukada: The Toa Reinsurance Company, Limited
Hideki Suzuki: Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Toshiro Hoshiko: Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
Junichi Matsumoto: Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Tomohiko Furushima: Swiss Re Asia Pte. Ltd.
Koji Imura: Nippon Life Insurance Company
Shinya Okazaki: Munich Re, Japan Branch
Katsu Kubota: SCOR SE Japan Branch
Hideya Kohno: Hannover Re Services Japan
Akira Inoue: Manulife Life Insurance Company
Masanori Tanaka: ORIX Life Insurance Corporation
Yukiko Fujikawa: RGA Reinsurance Company
Masaki Yamagishi: Metlife Life Insurance Company
Auditor
Hiroyuki Toyota: The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

Location

The Underwriters Association of Japan (UWAJ)

Address: C/O TOKYOTO BUSINESS SERVICE CO.,LTD., Time24 Building 5F 2-4-32, Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-0064, Japan

Corporate Membership

(The number of members is 56 as of August 31, 2023)

AEON Allianz Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd.
Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company
AXA Direct Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
AXA Life Insurance Co.,Ltd.
Cardif Assurance Vie Japan
Credit Agricole Life Insurance Company Japan Ltd.
Daido Life Insurance Company
Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company
Fukokushinrai Life Insurance Company,Limited
FWD Life Insurance Company, Ltd.
General Reinsurance AG Tokyo Branch
HANASAKU LIFE INSURANCE Co., Ltd.
Hannover Re Services Japan
Japan CO-OP Insurance Consumers’ Co-operative Federation
JAPAN POST INSURANCE Co.,Ltd.
LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY
Manulife Life Insurance Company
Medicare Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company
MetLife Insurance K.K.
MICIN Insurance, Inc.
Midori Life Insurance Company
Mitsui Sumitomo Aioi Life Insurance Company, Limited
Munich Re, Japan Branch
Nanairo Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
National Federation of Workers and Consumers Kyosai Cooperatives
National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives
Nippon Life Insurance Company
Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Company Limited
NN Life Insurance Co., Ltd
ORIX Life Insurance Corporation
Rakuten Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
RGA Reinsurance Company
SBI IKIIKI SSI Inc.
SBI Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
SCOR SE Japan Branch
Sompo Himawari Life Insurance Inc.
Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
Swiss Re Asia Pte. Ltd., Japan Branch
D&D FINANCIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
TAIJU LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
TAIYO LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Teachers’ Mutual Aid Co-Operative Society.
The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited
The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
The Neo First Life Insurance Company, Limited
The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
The Prudential Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
The Toa Reinsurance Company, Limited.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Communications Co., Ltd.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
Uchiyama Underwriting Inc.
Underwriting & Claim Consulting Company
Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd.
& Individual members