Global brokerage Marsh has joined forces with MST Insurance Service to establish a joint venture (JV) agency aimed at providing specialised recommendations for corporate insurance coverage.
Marsh’s move comes in response to the recent disruptions in the insurance industry caused by a price-fixing scandal. The venture, named MST Marsh, is a 50-50 joint venture that will focus on addressing the unique insurance requirements of businesses, specifically targeting midsize to large companies with annual sales ranging from JPY30 billion to JPY200 billion (equivalent to US$200 million to US$1.3 billion).
A Nikkei Asia report said that MST Marsh sets out to offer advice to companies not only on traditional coverage, such as fire and liability insurance, but also on emerging risks like cyberattacks and supply chain disruptions.
“We optimise insurance that companies had let slip through the cracks or bought too much of. There should be a great need for that,” MST Marsh vice president Katsutoshi Ikejima said.
Despite the advantages of the broker model, it has not gained significant traction in the Japanese insurance market, accounting for only around 1% of the overall market share.
Marsh's collaboration with MST, one of Japan's largest insurance agencies affiliated with a financial institution and with a long-standing relationship with MUFG Bank, aims to expand its customer base.
Marsh also recently announced the launch of a global cyber practice which integrates all of the company’s cyber capabilities across insurance, risk intelligence, incident management, and cybersecurity worldwide.
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