Case Study - Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. is a member of the MS&AD Insurance Group, a world-leading insurance and financial group and the No. 1 non-life insurance group in Japan, and is a company that handles non-life insurance, which is its core business. In order to realize the ideal society, we face social issues that impede it, quickly identify and communicate the various risks that arise from them, prevent the occurrence of risks, reduce the impact of risks, and provide various products and services to reduce the economic burden when risks become a reality.
The company handles both corporate and individual defined contribution pension plans, but for corporate defined contribution pension plans (corporate DC), it primarily supports "medium-sized and small businesses."
We spoke with Noda and Hashimoto from the Personal Financial Services Department/Defined Contribution Pension Team about the behind-the-scenes system that supports the management and administration of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance's defined contribution pension plans.
*Department names are as of the time of the interview in June 2023.
As an organization that manages defined contribution pension plans, we propose system designs, explain the systems to employees, and support applications to obtain approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Corporate defined contribution pensions (corporate DC) are a system in which the employer pays the premiums and the employees themselves manage the funds. Since it is difficult to expect employees with no investment experience and no prior knowledge to "manage the funds at their own risk starting tomorrow and build up assets for their retirement benefits and retirement," employers who introduce corporate DC plans are legally required to make an "effort" to provide investment education to their employees.
Initially, we only provided services in the form of face-to-face seminars by dispatching lecturers to companies. Later, in response to requests from companies for assistance with those who were unable to attend seminars or for whom it was difficult to dispatch lecturers to remote locations, we added a service menu that provided seminar content on DVDs and other media.
However, media such as DVDs require inventory, so even if we wanted to revise the content, we could not respond immediately, which was an issue, so we began considering the following measures.
We have investment education content for people who are thinking of joining a corporate DC plan, as well as continuing education content for people who are already members but would like to refresh their knowledge or find out more about the DC plan.
The investment education content includes information on what a corporate DC is, how to manage it, and the procedures for its use. The continuing education content goes into more detail and provides detailed information on the features of each investment product.
Providing investment education to companies that have introduced defined contribution pension plans
Could you please tell us about the defined contribution pension services offered by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance?
Consideration and implementation of LMS (Learning Management System)
You currently provide investment education services through e-learning, but how did you do it prior to that?
When we began considering this in 2014, the internet and smartphones were already widespread, and we discussed how e-learning would be easy to use for employees of the companies that adopted it, so we decided to provide the service as one of the pillars of investment education.
With DVDs, companies have to purchase one and watch it together, but e-learning has the advantage that you can study on your own. Therefore, we have decided to provide investment education tools in two forms: seminars and e-learning.
During the period when it was difficult to hold seminars due to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies often chose e-learning, and we felt that it was extremely important for us, as an operations management institution, to have multiple investment education tools.
How did you select your e-learning vendor?
Our selection criteria were whether the company could provide the services we wanted, whether the administrative burden on the companies that would actually use the system would be minimal, and whether the company had a strong track record in e-learning operations. Of course, because it would be used by a variety of companies, it differs from the usual use of LMS, so it was also essential that the system had functions such as the ability to manage courses for each company.
After comparing several companies, your company (REVIC Global) was not actually the cheapest in terms of cost. In the end, in addition to the selection points I mentioned earlier, I decided to go with your company because I heard good reviews from companies that use your services and because your support system is well-developed.
We consulted extensively on the design of the administrative flow, and were able to achieve simple operations with minimal administrative burden for both the client and our company.
Investment education using SmartSkill Campus and feedback from companies using the service
What exactly does SmartSkill Campus involve?
What kind of feedback have you received from companies that use the service?
Employees who have taken the course have told us that they are happy that they can take the course at their own timing and speed, and that they can review the material as many times as they like during the course period. Company representatives have also said that they are very grateful that each employee can progress through the course until they complete the final confirmation test, and that even if someone has not progressed, they can check their progress and provide support.
Over the past few years, we have issued an average of 1,000 IDs per year, and there are companies that take the course on a regular basis, so we feel that it is a tool that receives stable support.
Creating e-learning content that is easy to understand
We are also commissioned to produce e-learning content. Is there anything you keep in mind when creating this content?
I am conscious of how to make the content as easy to understand as possible. In 2022, I made a major revision to review all the content. Starting with the selection of the character who will lead the course, I made sure to think from the perspective of the participants, such as what kind of voice tone would be easy to listen to and not boring.
In addition, subtitles have been added throughout the entire program, making it accessible to people with hearing impairments.
You have been using our services since 2015, please let us know your opinion.
When it comes to content production, we are not only pleased with how quickly they can produce it, but also with how they can provide us with suggestions on how to express things in a way that would be easier to understand.
Creating a single piece of content is quite a difficult task, and naturally there is a discrepancy at first between what we have in mind and what your company imagines, but you communicate well so we are able to move forward toward the same goal. You were able to incorporate our requests as much as possible within the set schedule, and in the end, we wanted viewers to like the content, and the fact that you were able to respond to various requests toward that goal is the biggest reason why I think it was a good idea to use your company.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
Effectively provide investment education to employees of companies that have introduced corporate defined contribution pension plans (corporate DC) using an LMS
However, many of the companies we support are small and medium-sized enterprises, and in most cases they do not have human resources personnel with appropriate knowledge about investments, and even if they do, they cannot allocate resources to employee education. In response to this issue, as an institution that manages defined contribution pension plans, we provide investment education services to employees at the time of system introduction and when reviewing the system after a certain period of time has passed since its introduction.
Previously, we revised the plan about once a year, but recently, due to changes in the asset formation environment, we need to revise the plan every few months. Previously, even making small corrections required time and money, but after consulting with your company, we changed the system to allow for timely updates, and now we have a system in place that allows us to provide our customers with the most up-to-date information possible.
Is there anything you would like to achieve or challenge in the future?
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance's Future Outlook
After the introduction of a corporate DC plan, we are basically on the premise of doing business with you for a long time, but by law, we are now in a position to be evaluated by companies as an operating and management institution once every five years. With the rise in awareness of asset formation in society, it is becoming difficult to receive evaluations from companies by simply providing traditional services. We need to provide new services and listen to the voices of companies and incorporate those that are most requested.
SmartSkill Campus can do a variety of things, so we think it could go a step beyond investment education for defined contribution pension plans and be used as content to help corporate employees build assets for the era of 100-year lifespans.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance's Future Outlook
Company Name
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
Industry
Insurance
Eligibility
Employees of companies that have introduced corporate DC plans
assignment
Education for employees of companies that have introduced corporate DC plans
Reduce operational burden
E-learning content production
