John Dimos (pictured above) says Tokio Marine Group, the giant Japan-headquartered multinational insurance firm, is ramping up its growing presence in Australia.
“Over the last 10 years, the Tokio Marine business in Australia has been expanding,” said Dimos, head of sales and distribution partnerships for Tokio Marine Management Australasia (TMMA). “Our vision is to continue this expansion.”
TMMA is Tokio Marine’s managing agent. Sydney-based Dimos’ responsibilities cover two brands recently acquired by his firm: World2Cover, a leisure travel brand and AHI in the accident and health space.
Further signs of this huge firm’s expanding Aus presence: Jim Glossat, like Dimos, formerly with the financial services firm, Capricorn, became CEO of Tokio Marine’s Australia operation last year. Also in 2023, Tokio Marine officially launched GCube Insurance (GCube) locally, a global underwriter for renewable projects.
Dimos suggested that his firm sees AHI and the accident and health sector as a major opportunity.
“This is one of our core product lines and we have capacity to write more than we do today,” he said. “We also want to leverage the group’s strength.”
Dimos said Tokio Marine wants to bring additional products into the Australian market that aren’t currently being written or are underserved by the local insurance industry.
“Being part of this global group, we have access to insurance lines that aren’t being written domestically in Australia, or are only being written by a very small number of people and more often than not, that’s coming through the London market,” he said.
Dimos said, in recent years, his firm has leveraged its global powers in the cyber market.
“And that’s becoming a growing area for Australia,” he said.
In 2015, World2Cover became Tokio Marine’s first insurance offering in the consumer market in Australia. Dimos said the product’s expansion is currently focused online.
“From a World2Cover point of view, it’s really about expanding our online presence and partnering with as many service providers as possible to be World2Cover distributors,” he said. “As part of our digital expansion, we recognise the importance of providing purchase opportunities through channels and platforms that enable our customers to buy insurance where they want, when they want.”
He said the travel cover firm is improving its mobile customer journey to help it compete in the direct insurance space.
Dimos said Tokio Marine’s Australia operation, despite being a branch of the Japanese operation, has “significant freedom to serve local market needs.”
“For example, this year, AHI is actively seeking opportunities to expand its product offering by providing cover domestically with support from our international sister companies,” he said. “We have a range of product lines and international products that we’re looking to develop as we continue to grow our market share in Australia.”
According to its website, Tokio Marine has a presence in nearly 50 countries and was founded 150 years ago.
“The original parts of the business were looking at rail and transit, as well as fire insurance in the domestic market in Japan,” said Dimos. “In the late-2000s Tokio Marine decided to expand internationally, to the point where now more than 50% of group revenue comes from companies outside of Japan.”
In 2008, Tokio Marine acquired Kiln, a UK insurance firm. The deal was described by some news reports as the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese insurance group. Kiln’s coverages include aviation, liability, life sciences, energy and cyber.
The same year, the firm acquired Philadelphia Consolidated Holdings, a US company with a focus on commercial property and casualty insurance products.
Dimos said Australia is part of this international expansion and growth journey.
“Tokio Marine has been in Australia for about 60 years,” said Dimos. “However, for the majority of that time, its focus has been on Japanese clients whose coverages were an extension of global insurance programs run out of Tokio’s headquarters.”
In international markets, said Dimos, the firm is now focused on niche specialty lines including financial lines and contingency type covers.
“That’s our core remit,” he said.
The global firm writes tens of billions of dollars in GWP each year, putting it among the world’s top five largest insurance companies.
Are you an insurance professional working for a global firm? Tell us what you can about your firm’s plans Down Under, below
