“Life” and “buildings” as two wheels
In October 1951, implement policy of life kyosai (mutual insurance) was decided in board of directors of Zenkyoren, which was held in Sapporo city (from “Evolution History of Agricultural Cooperatives Mutual Insurance”)
Even after establishment, National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (Zenkyoren) went groping in the dark. It was life kyosai (mutual insurance) which secured Zenkyoren’s progressing walk in this situation.
The original purpose of nokyo-kyosai (agricultural cooperatives mutual insurance) was to prevent the outflow of funds from the rural areas and to promote internal accumulation of rural funds. After the war, Kyosairen Hokkaido had started “life kyosai (mutual insurance) (long-term)” along with “buildings kyosai (mutual insurance) (short-term)” from the beginning of business start.
Promotion policy of nokyo-kyosai (agricultural cooperatives mutual insurance) was resolved at the 1st National Congress of Agricultural Cooperatives opened in October 1952 in Ujiyamada city (now Ise city), Mie Prefecture (from “Evolution History of Agricultural Cooperatives Mutual Insurance”)
In October 1951, in Hokkaido, where life kyosai (mutual insurance) was practiced, directors of Zenkyoren visited and studied the actual situation. Then, they opened the board of directors in Sapporo city, and decided enforcement policy of life kyosai (mutual insurance) called “Yoro kyosai (endowment mutual insurance).” The starting year was decided as 1952, and specific preparation was executed.
The start of life kyosai (mutual insurance) by nokyo realized not only the original purpose of the accumulation of self-funding, but also strengthening relationship between cooperatives members and nokyo.
Buildings kyosai (mutual insurance) carried out by nokyo had mainly targeted the property owned or managed by nokyo so that the relationship between the cooperatives members farmers and nokyo was thin. On the other hand, the implementation of life kyosai (mutual insurance) succeeded in strengthening the relationship between the cooperatives members farmers and nokyo, because such business needed face-to-face explanation to cooperatives member about the security content.
Kyosairen Nagano (Prefectural Mutual Insurance Federation of Nagano of Agricultural Cooperatives) had been also preparing to implement life kyosai (mutual insurance).
Learned from experience of Hokkaido, Kyosairen Nagano started the business in December. Being stimulated by the development of life kyosai (mutual insurance) in Hokkaido, movement to start life kyosai (mutual insurance) was growing in prefectures.
On the other hand, “noka-tatemono-kosei-kyosai (farmers buildings revival mutual insurance)” had also been studied in Kyosairen Hokkaido before its establishment. This kyosai (mutual insurance) was something unprecedented in the past, in the point of accumulating funds for kosei (revival) of the house during the period over the years from 5 to 20 while guaranteeing in case of the unforeseen disasters such as fire and flood disaster.
Generally, long-term kyosai (mutual insurance) was conventionally developed limited to life kyosai (mutual insurance) intended for human life. However, this “noka-tatemono-kosei-kyosai (farmers buildings revival mutual insurance)” was something that was for the first time introduced long-term kyosai in the field of property kyosai (mutual insurance), which was conventionally developed limited to short-term products.
Zenkyoren aimed for spreading “noka-tatemono-kosei-kyosai (farmers buildings revival mutual insurance)” across the country so as to establish long-term kyosai in conjunction with life kyosai (mutual insurance). Zenkyoren started encouraging long-term kyosai (mutual insurance) for “buildings” and “life,” as two wheels of its business.
Business development at three-tiers of cooperatives system
“Evolution History of Agricultural Cooperatives Mutual Insurance” described, ” Combination of short-term buildings kyosai (mutual insurance) and long-term life kyosai (mutual insurance) provided all possible measures regarding comprehensive security contents for farmers lives and properties. It must be highly evaluated as a breakthrough performance to have directed the way of new security system based on the uniqueness of cooperatives, while the commercial insurance system of our country had taken the public stance that property insurance should be separated from life insurance.”
From December 1951 to February 1952, Zenkyoren opened the meeting board for system of nokyo-kyosai (agricultural cooperatives mutual insurance) so as to examine the basic system of kyosai (mutual insurance) business. Referred to foreign case, the board supposed “Carrying out in three-tiers of cooperatives system”.
According to Implementation guidelines, 1) To run kyosai (mutual insurance) business crossover with other business in local-level nokyo, while establishing specialty federation for kyosai (mutual insurance) business in prefectural level. 2) Kyosai (mutual insurance) liability shall be shared between national federation (Zenkyoren) and prefectural federations (prefectural kyosairen) in response to the degree of spread. 3) Regarding life kyosai (mutual insurance), local -level nokyo should function as insurer, and prefectural federation (prefectural kyosairen) should function re-insurer. 4) National federation (Zenkyoren) should function as re-reinsurer underwriting liability of prefectural federations (prefectural kyosairen), so as to nationwide distribute the danger.
In June 1951, the first prefectural representative office of Zenkyoren was opened in Fukushima, so that Fukushima prefecture became the 6th prefecture running kyosai (mutual insurance) business. In July the same year, the business was implemented in also Ibaraki prefecture, Tottori prefecture, Hiroshima prefecture, Fukuoka prefecture, and Tokushima prefecture. Entering 1952, implementation prefecture increased further, and number of kyosai (mutual insurance) implementation prefecture reached 14, by the end of March.
However, business of most prefectural offices of Zenkyoren had been served as the additional business of prefectural guidance federations of agricultural cooperatives and so on. For this reason, the promotion system of kyosai (mutual insurance) was vulnerable, so that other business federation and presidents of nokyo did not still understand kyosai (mutual insurance) enough.
The situation was turned around at the 1st National Congress of Agricultural Cooperatives (in October 1952, at Ujiyamada city = current Ise City, Mie Prefecture) that adopted the “Resolution on the expansion strengthening of nokyo-kyosai (agricultural cooperatives mutual insurance) business.”
Until the end of 1953, kyosai (mutual insurance) business started in nationwide 40 prefectures including Tokyo. At the end of 1954, number of local-level nokyo running kyosai (mutual insurance) business reached 5,414 that hit more that 40% of total nokyo. Nokyo-kyosai (agricultural cooperatives mutual insurance) began to ride to orbit.
Reference = National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives ed. “Evolution History of Agricultural Cooperatives Mutual Insurance”, “Record of JA insurance of founding period, Now looking back to the origin” the Federation, Noriaki Niwata & Hitoshi Hirata “History and Reality of Cooperatives insurance” Cooperatives insurance Study Group, Taiichi Kurokawa “A path in the desert, 50 years of medical care and mutual insurance movement,” Ienohikarikyokai