Japanese life insurers pursue growth in the US through acquisitions

Written by Adam Cadle

28/05/2025

Japanese life insurers are to accelerate their efforts to expand their business in the US, mainly due to the maturity of the domestic market, Fitch Ratings has said.

“We believe these acquisitions will be beneficial for Japanese life insurers, potentially boosting their earnings amid the US’s steady population growth,” Fitch stated.

“We view their acquisition of US life insurers favourable, reflecting Japanese life insurers’ strong credit quality, ample capital, long-term investment horizon and willingness to support growth.”

Currently, the North American business contributes nearly 20% to Japanese major life insurers’ overall business, with more than 70% of group operations still based in Japan. However, we expect the proportion of overseas operations, particularly in North America, to increase steadily due to faster growth operations.

However, risks to the successful US expansion of major Japanese life insurers include heightened volatility, elevated inflation, and challenges to GDB growth. Fitch said Japanese life insurance groups could be adversely affected if the US life insurance sector faces a crisis, such as in the real estate market or private credit.

“If the proportion of North American operations increases significantly in the future, the associated risks could have a stronger impact on the creditworthiness of major Japanese life insurance groups.”

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