Ms. Rika Nakano (Nippon Life Insurance Company / Community Development Support Office)
When you are sick or injured, medical treatment or a lengthy hospital stay can cost you money you did not expect. This is where insurance comes in handy. If you have insurance, you can receive a lump sum of money from the insurance company in case of an emergency. Insurance company employees not only design and sell insurance products to protect your life and livelihood, but also invest the money entrusted to them by their customers in stocks and real estate to increase the value of their investments. We asked Ms. Rika Nakano of Nippon Life Insurance Company what kind of work they actually do.
Question 1: What kind of work do you do?
My main job is to sell insurance products to customers. But it is not only selling insurance, it is also important for me to think of new insurance policies that meet the needs of the times and to propose insurance policies that match the customer's life situation. In addition, the Community Development Support Office, to which I belong, works with the prefectural and municipal governments to promote initiatives that go beyond insurance. We work with the local police department to distribute leaflets to customers to prevent bank transfer scams so that they can live in their own neighborhoods with peace of mind, hold sports classes for children growing up in the future, and so on.
Question 2: Are there any things that made you happy or made you think it was difficult?
The appeal of insurance work is that it allows us to be a part of our customers' lives. It is sometimes difficult to convey in words the importance of insurance, which is not always easy to understand, and to think about the "important" things together with the customer. We are very happy when we are able to be there for our customers in times of joy, such as when their child starts school, or in times of hardship, such as when they are injured or ill, and when they write to us and say "Thank you" for our support! After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the entire company took special measures, such as omitting some of the necessary documents, in order to pay insurance claims to those affected by the disaster as soon as possible. What helped us at that time was our daily communication with our customers. We were able to confirm the safety of our customers and guide them through the procedures smoothly, which made me proud of my insurance work that can be of help in times of emergency.
Question 3) What kind of place do you work?
I work at Nippon Life Insurance Company's Marunouchi Building in Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. I belong to the Community Development Support Office, and in cooperation with prefectures and municipalities across Japan, I promote activities to help the community by holding seminars to encourage people to receive health checkups and distributing flyers to prevent bank transfer fraud and ensure that local residents can live in peace. We sometimes visit the prefectural and city offices to discuss what kind of seminars and flyers would be effective.
Question 4: How did you choose to get the job?
I have always been involved in activities to support people, such as being a manager in a club activity in high school and volunteering to teach study to children in Cambodia at university. In my job search, I decided to join Nippon Life Insurance because I wanted to work in a job where I could be a part of people's lives and support them. Insurance companies offer a variety of jobs, including product development work to come up with insurance products, sales work to sell insurance, and investment work to increase the amount of money entrusted to them by customers through investment. Any person, regardless of whether he or she has a liberal arts or science background, can play an active role. The most important thing is the desire to help people!
