The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that ordered seven nonlife insurance companies and an insurance group to pay damages to people whose homes were damaged in a fire caused by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe and its vicinity.
The Third Petty Bench of the top court handed down the ruling in favor of the insurance companies and the insurance group. The insurers had filed an appeal after the Osaka High Court ordered them to pay a total of 12 million yen to 19 people.
Justice Tokiyasu Fujita said, "The act of the insurance companies cannot be regarded as illegal enough for the plaintiffs to demand damages, even if the companies provided insufficient information or explanations about their earthquake exclusion clauses."