Two disclosures of payout misdeeds involving Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. in the last six months are casting a dark shadow over an industry plagued with offensives from foreign-affiliated life insurers.
The company's illegal withholding of policy payouts is also a serious problem that rocks the very foundation of the life insurance industry, many industry analysts point out.
"We have opened up Pandora's box," a Meiji Yasuda executive said with a sigh. The company was inaugurated in 2002 through a merger between Meiji Life Insurance Co. and Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co.