Midsize nonlife insurers Dai-Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Chiyoda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. announced Wednesday they will merge in April 2001.
The combined total assets of Dai-Tokyo, ranked seventh in the industry, and Toyota Motor Corp.-affiliated Chiyoda, ranked ninth, will reach 2.88 trillion yen, creating the nation's fifth-largest casualty and property insurer.
Top company executives told a Tokyo news conference that they will try to gain a competitive edge by focusing more on the automobile insurance business.