Meiji Life Insurance Co. has started selling a 5 million yen life insurance plan through magazine advertisement inserts, company officials said Thursday.
The move is the first among the nation's major insurance companies, where door-to-door sales promotions are still dominant.
Since the beginning of this year, the firm has inserted leaflets promoting the plan, with a maximum guarantee of 5 million yen, in 5 million copies of shopping catalogs distributed by Cecile Co., Meiji officials said.
Major insurance companies had been reluctant to sell policies by mail order, out of fear that it might take jobs away from their salespeople.
Meiji, which employs more than 32,000 door-to-door salespeople, stressed, however, that the move is experimental and only aimed at increasing the firm's channel of access to potential customers.