Nippon Life Insurance Company (Nissay) posted ordinary profit of ¥155.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, a 68.4% decline from ¥492.6 billion a year earlier. Investment expenses rose 140.6 percentage points to ¥2,198.8 billion – from ¥914.0 billion in fiscal year 2024 – on the back of losses from securities sales, which the company identified as the main driver of the contraction. Draft financial results were released May 26, 2026, and are scheduled for formal discussion at the 79th annual meeting of policyholder representatives on July 2, 2026.
Despite the profit decline, new business activity picked up across product lines. Total annualized new policy premiums reached ¥272.9 billion for the year, a 16.7% increase from ¥233.9 billion in fiscal year 2024. Individual insurance new policy premiums contributed ¥250.5 billion, up 17.1%, while individual annuity new premiums added ¥22.4 billion, a 12.4% gain. Premiums linked to medical coverages, living benefits, and waiver-of-premium benefits rose 11.3% to ¥46.5 billion.
By policy count, new individual insurance contracts totalled approximately 3.475 million, a 5.4% decrease from the prior year. The face amount of those contracts climbed 57.7% to ¥3,326.5 billion, indicating that policyholders were taking out higher-value coverage. New individual annuity contracts numbered approximately 190,000, up 46.6% year-on-year, with a corresponding face amount of ¥621.8 billion. Group insurance new policy volume more than doubled to ¥370.1 billion from ¥130.5 billion in the prior year.
The in-force portfolio showed marginal contraction across most metrics. Total annualized in-force premiums came to ¥3,691.2 billion at March 31, 2026, a 0.3% decrease from ¥3,702.8 billion at the same point in 2025. Individual insurance in-force premiums edged up 0.4% to ¥2,686.1 billion, while individual annuity in-force premiums fell 2.1% to ¥1,005.0 billion. Medical, living benefit, and related in-force premiums were up 1.2% at ¥688.2 billion. The number of individual insurance policies in force declined 0.6% to approximately 30.156 million, with the corresponding face amount falling 4.3% to ¥109,021.8 billion. Group insurance face amount in force decreased 0.8% to ¥95,593.9 billion, and group annuity policy reserves slipped 0.8% to ¥13,671.9 billion.
Insurance and reinsurance revenues totalled ¥5,402.3 billion for the year, a 12.7% rise from ¥4,794.6 billion in fiscal year 2024. Benefits and other payments increased 18.9% to ¥5,297.5 billion from ¥4,454.1 billion. Investment income grew 48.2% to ¥3,285.2 billion, with higher interest and dividend receipts cited as the principal factor. Investment expenses, however, rose to ¥2,198.8 billion from ¥914.0 billion – an increase driven by securities sales losses – reducing net investment income by ¥32.2 billion year-on-year to ¥993.6 billion.
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Nippon Life’s total assets reached ¥85,831.8 billion as of March 31, 2026, up 5.2% from ¥81,615.4 billion at the close of the prior fiscal year. General account assets totalled ¥84,708.2 billion, an increase of ¥4,237.7 billion, or 5.3%, over the prior fiscal year-end. The company held yen-denominated government and corporate bonds as its core asset class and added domestic bond positions during the year, citing their relative advantages against other yen-rate assets in a rising interest rate environment.
For domestic equities, the company selectively replaced certain stock holdings while maintaining attention to corporate earnings and dividends over a medium- to long-term horizon. Foreign securities purchases – in both government and corporate bonds denominated in foreign currencies – were guided by currency movements, with some positions taken using foreign exchange hedges. The company also maintained a focus on prime lending while conducting individual credit risk assessments.
Nippon Life’s results come as Japan’s life insurance sector is projected to expand over the medium term. GlobalData estimated in January 2026 that gross written premiums in the Japanese life insurance market would grow from JPY38.7 trillion in 2026 to JPY47.8 trillion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%. GlobalData Insurance Analyst Katam Prasanth attributed the anticipated trajectory in part to product mix shifts, noting that “stronger sales of yen-denominated life policies have offset weakness in foreign-currency products, supporting topline stability into 2025 and establishing a stronger base for 2026.” Prasanth also said aging demographics would sustain demand for protection, annuity, and health products across the forecast period. Nippon Life’s draft fiscal year 2025 financials remain subject to formal adoption at the July 2, 2026, policyholder representatives’ meeting.
