More than 70% of Japanese drivers purchase voluntary insurance in addition to Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance (CALI.) Being different from CALI, it's up to drivers whether to purchase it. Once you cause a traffic accident, the compensation amount can be huge. So most of the people purchase voluntary insurance preparing for such an occasion. In this article, we explain the variety of voluntary insurances.
Category of voluntary insurances
Voluntary insurances have three categories.
- Liability Insurance directed not for an insured person but for the damage of another party
- Accident Insurance for the damage of an insured person
- Motor Vehicle Insurance for an insured person's car
In the following, we explain more detail.
Liability Insurance for another party
Liability Insurance is not for damage to an insured person but for damage to other parties, for example, injury or death.
| Liability Insurance for people | Being like CALI, this is insurance for a human injury traffic accident. Since CALI's payout is minimum, people use this insurance so that they can cover the excess amount which couldn't be covered by CALI. |
| Liability Insurance for property | It is for when an insured person has to compensate for damage of other party's properties, for example, cars, houses, or walls. This is for the damage of another parties, but not for damage to the insured person's properties. |
Accident Insurance
Accident Insurance is for damage to an insured person, like injury or death.
| Personal Injury Insurance | This is for when an insured person is dead or gets injuries by traffic accidents. It covers the cost for these factors even when the driver was negligent in the accident. |
| Passenger Accident Insurance | It covers the cost for death or injuries of passengers who were in a car under contract of the insurance. |
| Insurance for self-incurred personal accident | If you incurred a car accident, and there is no other party except you, the cost for your damage is covered by this insurance. |
| Insurance for an accident by non-insured cars | It covers cost for an insured person's damages like injury or death when he/she is involved in a traffic accident. It is for when an at-fault driver was not with automobile insurance or the plan he/she purchased is not sufficient to cover all of your damages. |
Motor Vehicle Insurance directed for an insured person's car
This insurance is for when an insured person's car was accidentally involved in a traffic accident and gets damaged.
The model plan of voluntary insurance
The following is a model package of voluntary insurance offered by one of the biggest automobile insurance companies in Japan. This plan is for Prius by TOYOTA.
The model plan for Prius (type: ZVW50) costing about JPY3,200/month
| Insurance included in the plan | Upper limit of the compensation amount |
| Liability Insurance for people and property | No limit |
| Insurance for an accident by non-insured cars | JPY200,000,000 |
| Passenger Accident Insurance | JPY5,000,000 |
| Personal Injury Insurance | JPY50,000,000 |
| Motor vehicle insurance | 1,800,000 |