Major Life Insurers See Surge in Chinese Employees — Success Stories Shadowed by Compliance Concerns
In continuation of Part 1, which revealed that in some sales offices Chinese employees account for as much as 70% of staff, Part 2 will introduce the advantages and disadvantages of the increase in Chinese employees.
【Part 1: In some offices, as much as 70% the rapid rise of Chinese employees in life insurance】
How do insurance companies view this sharp increase in Chinese employees? A Japanese employee at one sales office commented, “Chinese employees are generally aggressive and hardworking.” While not all Japanese employees are like that, he said many Chinese workers are energetic, which has a positive impact on the entire sales office.
Another Japanese employee working at a different life insurance company shared the following benefit of having more Chinese employees:
“Because Chinese employees actively work and bring in contracts, the branch manager was pleased that his salary increased. In some offices, some Japanese employees are not happy about the large number of Chinese staff, but overall in the industry, it is generally seen as positive that more sales-capable Chinese employees are joining.”
Insurance products being discontinued
However, there are not only positive aspects. Japanese administrative staff have raised concerns about their awareness of compliance. Cases of abuse of hospitalization lump-sum benefits are gradually increasing and have become an internal issue. As mentioned earlier, most Chinese employees work diligently and seriously. However, there are also reports of problems such as the following:
“In recent years, there have been increasing cases where customers (insurance policyholders) who returned to China during long holidays claim to have been hospitalized there and submit medical certificates from hospitals to request insurance payouts.”
In some cases, this has even led to certain insurance products being discontinued, according to the aforementioned Japanese employee.
According to the Asahi Shimbun (March 29, 2026), there has been a sharp increase across multiple life insurance companies in claims for hospitalization lump-sum benefits for hospital stays said to have occurred in China. Many of the diagnoses are gastroenteritis, and insurers believe many of these are unnecessary hospitalizations intended solely to obtain the lump-sum payment.
Hospitalization lump-sum benefits are life insurance products that pay a fixed amount when the insured is hospitalized due to illness or injury, regardless of the number of days hospitalized. Depending on the insurer, the payment ranges from about 50,000 yen to 300,000 yen. The report noted that in one insurer, cases involving China rose from about 650 in fiscal 2022 to about 13,000 in fiscal 2024—roughly a 20-fold increase in just two years. Hospitalizations were concentrated in a small number of medical institutions, and most cases were gastroenteritis, which is generally considered treatable with home care.
As insurers suspect an increase in hospitalizations done solely to obtain payouts, multiple life insurance companies have begun tightening screening procedures, and the Financial Services Agency is also working to assess the situation.
While Chinese employees in the life insurance industry are highly valuable contributors to companies, they also come with risks of trouble. The response of Japanese life insurance companies is now being called into question.
Reporting and writing： Megumi Nakajima (Journalist) PHOTO： AFRO