Three of the nation's six major nonlife insurer groups posted a net loss in fiscal 2002, due to hefty valuation losses on their securities holdings, according to parent-only financial statements released Monday.

Nipponkoa Insurance Co. posted a net loss of 28.64 billion yen, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. logged a net loss of 26.95 billion yen and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co. recorded a net loss of 4.35 billion yen.

It was the second consecutive year of losses for Sompo Japan and Nipponkoa -- the first time this has happened since the end of World War II.