Takuya Tsuda, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.

Aiming for insurance that is in line with the times and can also handle unknown risks

Takuya Tsuda, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
He graduated from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University in 89 and joined Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance (now Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance) in the same year.
After serving as the head of the new insurance department and the head of the product and service planning department, he has held his current position since April 2022.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance continues to provide the peace of mind and safety required in this era, from non-life insurance businesses such as automobile insurance and fire insurance to risk solution businesses for abnormal weather and cyber attacks. This time, we spoke with Managing Executive Officer Takuya Tsuda about their efforts to deal with new risks and their "DX x Insurance" services.

■ University life where I learned "optimization"

During my university days, I majored in a field that combined "economics, mathematics, and computers," and I researched how to "optimize" things using those technologies. For example, I used computers to "optimize" the calculation and adjustment of train schedules, which was done manually at the time. I also used statistics and probability to think about efficient product placement. From this experience, I came to believe that by using mathematics and computer technology, it is possible to "optimize" things in any industry.
After graduating from university, I wanted to work in a job that would allow me to "optimize" things while broadening my horizons through contact with various industries. During this time, I became interested in working for a financial institution, and with the encouragement of my senior at university, I decided to join our company.
When I first joined the company, I worked in sales, mainly acquiring new customers. I had many opportunities to meet people in the manufacturing industry, and I began to receive many consultations about finance. At that time, I was able to take a strong interest in the technology of the other party thanks to the knowledge I learned in university lectures. After that, I was involved in developing insurance products to deal with new risks, such as cyber attacks. In the absence of past statistical data, I think it was important to identify what was fake and gather accurate information in developing new insurance products.

■Training is the best way to prevent data leakage

The Data Management Department's work can be broadly divided into two areas. The first is to protect our company's information in the event of a cyber-attack. As a way to prevent cyber-attacks, we are strengthening our firewalls, which filter communications with external systems. However, what we are focusing on even more is training our employees. A typical cyber-attack is phishing email scams, in which emails containing suspicious links or viruses are sent. Simply opening an email can lead to systems being hijacked or data being leaked. We train our employees as part of their daily work to avoid opening these emails.
We sometimes send training emails that actually resemble scam emails to employees and measure the open rate and number of people who open them. If an employee opens the email, we take thorough measures such as providing individual feedback and having them take courses. After repeating this training, the open rate for training emails fell below 1%. However, 0% is the minimum standard for protecting data, so we continue to provide training, focusing on new employees who are more likely to open emails.
The second is to prevent accidental information leaks. The most common causes of data leaks are emails or documents sent to the wrong person. Training is also effective in these cases, and we take measures such as fundamental technical aspects and confirmation procedures.

■ Not just when something happens, but also before it happens and when recovering

This was a job I did when I was in the Product and Service Planning Department, but our company also handles insurance called the "DX value series." Until now, insurance only paid out claims when an accident occurred. However, with the "DX value series," we have begun providing services at the prevention stage to prevent accidents from occurring, as well as at the recovery stage after an accident has occurred.
Take insurance against cyber attacks as an example. In this case, in the prevention stage, a monitoring system can be installed to prevent viruses from entering. In the recovery stage, if a virus does invade and destroy the system, the costs of data recovery and system restoration will also be covered. Products that can cover both before and after like this are also available as a series in automobile insurance and other insurance.

■ Facing unknown risks and demands while balancing changes from the existing

We live in a society where change is constant, so I think there will be an increasing number of unprecedented and unknown risks. There are technological changes such as autonomous driving, and there are also changes in the economic environment such as exchange rates and pandemics. We need to constantly consider how these social changes will affect our insurance products.
Non-life insurance companies must keep the systems they provide services running 24 hours a day, so they cannot tolerate services being unavailable due to cyber attacks or system failures. To prevent such situations from occurring, it is important to "optimize" the system infrastructure while incorporating new technologies. However, we must also consider the risks that may arise from incorporating new technologies. We aim to continue providing services that are in line with the times and required by our customers by striking a balance between existing and new technologies.

■Message to students

When it comes to career development, it is extremely important for students to have the attitude of "choosing for themselves." If you choose a job based on the company's reputation or the benefits it offers, there will be a gap between your ideal and reality. Since there is an equal relationship between companies and students, I would like students to actively choose their careers with a strong sense of "choosing for themselves" the company they choose.

Student Newspaper Online August 28, 2024 Musashino University 4th year student Nishiyama Ryusei