Nippon Life Insurance said a former female sales employee in her 30s repeatedly forged medical certificates so that she and her customers could improperly receive insurance benefits, NHK reported. Ten people in all, including the former employee and customers, received payouts improperly.
The insurer announced the findings but gave no further detail on how much was paid out or how the forgeries went undetected. It did not say when the payments were made or how the scheme came to light.
The case points to a gap in the internal checks a major insurer applies to claims, since the certificates were submitted by someone inside the company's own sales network. Nippon Life has not said what it will do about the payments or about the customers involved.