Insurance companies have begun offering policyholders free consultations on the potential risks of suffering damages from burglaries, fires, traffic accidents and other incidents.

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. evaluates the car-theft risks of policyholders, taking into account factors such as the type of vehicle involved, its age, the type of antitheft device installed, frequency of use and parking locations.

The insurer says it has developed the risk-diagnosis program on the basis of vast amounts of data the firm has accumulated over the years.

The program produces a diagnosis in several minutes, offering an overall and individual evaluation of the risk of car theft depending on car management conditions and storage environment, among other factors.

It also offers advice on measures aimed at reducing the risk of car theft.

The company developed the program in 2002, when the damage caused by organized car-theft rings was mushrooming.

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance subsequently developed similar programs on lock-picking and other forms of burglary, as well as arson.

The risk-consulting service is available at 10,000 of the company's 50,000 sales agents across the country.

"We intend to further increase the program menu," a company official remarked.

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. also provides risk-consultation services to its policyholders free of charge.

The company's Sompo J-Net system visually displays the kinds of risks its customers may face, depending on their family composition and age, by using graphs and illustrations.

In addition to providing consultations on ordinary insured events, such as car accidents and fires, the system also provides information on the costs involved if a householder dies, pension benefits and the financial burden on families that have members in need of nursing care, among other things.