The Agents Who Sell the PoliciesNarrow moat

Tokio Marine Holdings (8766) — moat facet

Tokio Marine sells through agents it spends a fifth of its premiums paying.

Tokio Marine & Nichido sells mainly through agents. By premiums, full-time professional agents account for 28.5%, business companies that sell insurance alongside their own business for 25.0%, and car dealers for 18.4%1.

Tokio Marine & Nichido premiums by channel (%)28.5Professional agents25.0Business companies18.4Car dealersTokio Marine IR conference, May 2026
Three channels sell about 72% of premiums.

An agency network is a moat of relationships: agents who know the insurer's products and underwriters, and whose customers renew. It is also expensive. The agency commission ratio was 19.7% of premiums in the latest year, and the administrative expense ratio 11.7%2.

The regulatory orders reached the channel. Secondments of staff to agencies were banned and most excessive-cooperation arrangements dissolved3. Car dealers, the channel tied most closely to auto insurance, sell the policy with the car.

Tokio Marine's Japanese premiums of ¥2,596.3 billion in the latest year4 came mostly through these agents. The company's strategy is to keep the channel while removing the arrangements the regulators criticised: secondments to agencies ended and most excessive-cooperation arrangements were dissolved5.

The measure is the commission ratio. Falling while premiums hold would show the channel costing less without losing business.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The channel mix is steady; costs are high.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Agency commission ratio, latest year
19.7% of premiums

The cost of the distribution moat; administrative expenses add 11.7%.

Source: Tokio Marine results presentation, May 2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
A Fifth of Premiums to Agents
Nearly a third of Tokio Marine's Japanese premiums go on commissions and administration.
References
  1. ReportedBy premiums, full-time professional agents account for 28.5%, business companies that sell insurance alongside their own business for 25.0%, and car dealers for 18.4%.
    Tokio Marine Holdings, Group Business Strategy IR conference, 26 May 2026 - international businesses, acquisitions and synergies. — 2016-2026 · publ. 26 May 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe agency commission ratio was 19.7% of premiums in the latest year, and the administrative expense ratio 11.7%.
    Tokio Marine Holdings, FY2025 results and FY2026 projections presentation - Japan P&C results: premiums, auto, natural catastrophes and expense ratios. — FY to March 2026 · publ. May 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedSecondments of staff to agencies were banned and most excessive-cooperation arrangements dissolved.
    Tokio Marine Holdings, Business Strategy IR conference, May 2025 - progress on dissolving excessive-cooperation arrangements after the business improvement order. — 2024-2025 · publ. May 2025 · source ↗
  4. ReportedTokio Marine's Japanese premiums of ¥2,596.3 billion in the latest year came mostly through these agents.
    Tokio Marine Holdings, FY2025 results and FY2026 projections presentation - Japan P&C results: premiums, auto, natural catastrophes and expense ratios. — FY to March 2026 · publ. May 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe company's strategy is to keep the channel while removing the arrangements the regulators criticised: secondments to agencies ended and most excessive-cooperation arrangements were dissolved.
    Tokio Marine Holdings, Business Strategy IR conference, May 2025 - progress on dissolving excessive-cooperation arrangements after the business improvement order. — 2024-2025 · publ. May 2025 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026