Insurance is one of the most important \u2013 and sometimes most overlooked \u2013 issues to sort out when you move to a new country. Whether it\u2019s compulsory insurance forms, or those that are optional but provide you with some useful security, it\u2019s well worth surveying the insurance landscape ahead of a move. Japan has a highly developed insurance industry which, as in many countries, consists of both legally required and voluntary forms. Here\u2019s a brief look at what you need to consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is compulsory for everyone in Japan. All long-term residents in Japan for three months or longer need to sign up for the statutory healthcare scheme<\/a>, which is typically employment-based health insurance. Short-term visitors to Japan will need to have private health insurance in place to secure a visa.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Public health insurance covers at least 70% of public healthcare costs in Japan. If you want to cover additional costs, or have access to private healthcare services in Japan, you can take out private insurance to avoid out-of-pocket costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you drive a vehicle in Japan, you will need a minimum of compulsory liability insurance to cover accidents to third parties and damage to their vehicles or belongings. You can purchase additional voluntary insurance to cover risks beyond this. Most companies sell comprehensive car insurance that covers pretty much everything. Alternatively, you can buy individual types including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vehicle insurance costs depend on factors including vehicle type, driver profile, claims history, age, and coverage level. As a general guide, expect to pay anywhere between 6,000 \u2013 100,000 yen a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compulsory insurance for workers taken directly from salary as part of Japan\u2019s social security scheme. If you work 20 hours or more in Japan, you will contribute to this scheme. There are two elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a general rule, premium rates amount to 0.8% of salary, with payouts usually covering between 50-80% of salary pay in the event of unemployment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an optional form of insurance in Japan, although mortgage lenders may add it as a requirement. It typically covers damage towards your home caused by the likes of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also add earthquake damage to your policy. Due to earthquake risks in Japan, the government part-covers payout costs for this and provides a guarantee in the event of non-payment by the insurer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard property insurance policies cover the building structure, but you can usually choose to add movable contents (e.g. furniture, valuables) for an additional fee. Other typical add-ons are liability insurance to cover costs to guests if there is an accident in your home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Expect to pay somewhere between 10,000 \u2013 30,000 yen annually for a basic property insurance policy in Japan, with contents insurance available for around 2,500 yen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Japanese residents have life insurance to cover outstanding costs in the event of death, such as mortgage payments, childcare costs, loan repayments, business debts, and other living costs. This type of insurance can also take care of funeral costs. It\u2019s typically paid out to dependent family members left behind, either in a lump sum or regular payments. Premium costs depend on a range of risk factors but start at around 900 yen a month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a pet in Japan, this can cover costs such as vet bills and micro-chipping<\/a> costs. Some policies may also offer liability insurance to cover you if your pet causes damage or injury to a third party.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you live in Japan and travel overseas, you can take out travel insurance to cover potential costs including emergency medical fees, trip cancellations, or lost luggage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Momiji.Takinogawa<\/a>, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Insurance is one of the most important \u2013 and sometimes most overlooked \u2013 issues to sort out when you move to a new country. Whether it\u2019s compulsory insurance forms, or those that are optional but provide you with some useful security, it\u2019s well worth surveying the insurance landscape ahead of a move. Japan has a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":51643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,59],"tags":[807,806,804,41],"class_list":["post-51642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japan","category-life-in-japan","tag-car-insurance","tag-health-insurance","tag-insurance","tag-life-in-japan-2"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51642"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51666,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51642\/revisions\/51666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Car Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Unemployment Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Property Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Life Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pet Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Travel Insurance <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Useful links <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![Momiji.Takinogawa<\/a>,](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Travel_insurance_vending_machines_at_Haneda_Airport_Terminal_3.jpg\"){kind=link}