PMI-Linked Life Insurer Eyes Japan

Reviti, a life insurance company associated with Philip Morris International (PMI), is looking to enter Japan, reports Reuters. Reviti offers lower rates to smokers who switch to electronic nicotine delivery devices.

PMI commands more than 70 percent of the Japanese heat-not-burn market with its IQOS device.

Reviti Chief Executive Daniel Pender told Reuters that the insurer was spending time looking at the Japanese market because it has a significant number of people who smoke and boasts many vaping products.

Most insurers treat smokers and vapers the same, meaning they can pay close to double the premiums of nonsmokers. Reviti, however, offers a discount of up to 15 percent for vapers in Britain. Customers who quit tobacco and nicotine altogether get a discount of up to 50 percent (also see, “Rewarding change,” Tobacco Reporter, June 2019.

Pender said Reviti could disrupt the market in Japan, where most life insurers work on aggregate rates, meaning they do not distinguish between smokers and non-smokers in terms of prices.