On September 28, 2018, Shikoku Electric Power announced a partnership with SBI Insurance to offer the Shikoku Electric Power Cancer Insurance Plan. The plan will launch on October 22, 2018, and it will be offered through Denki Ins-Web[1], a website operated by SBI Insurance that assists customers with comparing the pricing of different electricity plans. The plan will be free for Shikoku Electric Power’s newly registered residential electricity customers in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Customers that join the insurance plan who are diagnosed with cancer will receive 50,000 JPY (approximately 450 USD). The insurance service is provided by SBI Insurance, and Shikoku Electric Power will cover the insurance premium.
Shikoku Electric Power’s service area covers Japan’s Shikoku region, which consists of four prefectures in the southern part of Japan, namely Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and Tokushima. Since Japan has fully liberalized its electricity retail market, Shikoku Electric Power has been seeking to expand its business in the Tokyo metropolitan area by offering competitive services in new markets. SBI Insurance is focusing on providing products and services that meet diverse market needs in order to strengthen their sales channels other than direct sales. Shikoku Electric Power and SBI Insurance are working together to provide new services that combine their strengths in electricity retail service and insurance products to improve their service offerings.[2]