英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 18, 2013)
Streamline car insurance program before price hikes
自賠責保険　合理化努力を値上げの前提に（2月17日付・読売社説）

If drivers are going to be required to shoulder a greater financial burden, the government must shed light on every problem in the compulsory automobile liability insurance program and reform it into a more transparent, rational system.
　ドライバーに負担増を求めるのなら、問題点を洗い出し、透明で合理的な制度に見直す取り組みが欠かせない。

Premiums for the compulsory auto insurance that every car owner must take out will be increased by an average of 13.5 percent from April. This is the second significant increase following the 11.7 percent hike in fiscal 2011.
　自動車保有者に加入が義務付けられている自動車損害賠償責任（自賠責）保険の保険料が４月から平均１３・５％引き上げられる。２０１１年度の１１・７％アップに続く大幅値上げである。

The planned increase is attributed to the deteriorating financial condition of the insurance program. Its accumulated deficits will exceed 500 billion yen at the end of fiscal 2012.
　収支悪化が引き上げの理由だ。１２年度末の累積赤字は５０００億円超に達する。

Revenues decreased after premiums for the insurance were drastically lowered in fiscal 2008, while insurance payouts for deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents have increased.
０８年度に保険料を大幅に値下げして保険料収入が減る一方、交通事故の死傷者への保険金支払いが増加した。

The purpose of the compulsory auto insurance program is to help victims of traffic accidents. Since the program cannot be sustained unless its financial conditions are improved, we think premium hikes cannot be avoided.
　自賠責の目的は、事故被害者の救済にある。収支を改善しなければ制度を維持できず、保険料の値上げはやむを得まい。

However, we are concerned that insurance payouts have remained high even though the number of traffic accidents and the number of people killed or injured in them have been declining.
　ただ、交通事故の発生件数と死傷者数が減少し続けているのに、保険金支払いが高止まりしていることが懸念される。

Behind it may be an increase in claims made for mild injuries, which are not included in traffic accident statistics, and assessments of damage by nonlife insurance companies, which tend to be more lenient than those for voluntary auto liability insurance.
　事故統計に含まれない軽傷者の請求の増加や、損保会社の査定が任意保険に比べて甘くなりがちな事情が背景にあるのだろう。

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Check payments

Private nonlife insurance companies manage the compulsory insurance program. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, the Financial Services Agency and other government offices should work together to develop a system to check whether insurance money is paid appropriately.
　自賠責の運営は民間の損保会社が担っている。国土交通省や金融庁などが連携し、保険金支払いが適正に行われているかどうかを検証する体制を整えるべきだ。

Returns from the insurance premiums are accumulated in reserve funds to use for various projects, including one to help people who suffered permanent damage in traffic accidents. But how the reserve funds are used is problematic, too.
　重度後遺障害者の救済事業などに充てるため、保険料の運用益をためた積立金の扱いも問題だ。

The ministry manages the funds in its special account. To alleviate fiscal difficulties, however, about 1 trillion yen from the reserve funds was transferred to the general accounts in fiscal 1994 and fiscal 1995.
　積立金は、国交省が特別会計で管理している。財政難の穴埋めを狙って、積立金のうち約１兆円が１９９４〜９５年度に一般会計に繰り入れられた。

The repayment deadline has been extended repeatedly, so about 600 billion yen has not been returned yet.
返済期限は度々延期され、現在も約６０００億円が戻されていない。

With the account balance down to 200 billion yen, the principal of the reserve funds has been used and shrunk because returns from the funds alone no longer cover the costs of running the projects.
　積立金の残高は２０００億円程度まで減少し、最近は運用益だけでは費用をまかなえず、積立金を取り崩している。

Diverting the reserve funds to help traffic accident victims is not the purpose of the compulsory auto insurance. We expect the Finance Ministry and the transport ministry to swiftly carry out their pledge to restore the full amount by fiscal 2018.
　被害者支援の原資となる積立金の流用は、自賠責の趣旨に合わない。財務省と国交省は、１８年度までに全額返済するという約束を確実に実行してもらいたい。

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In line with the times

Projects to help traffic accident victims and prevent accidents, which are run by the government, nonlife insurance companies and JA Kyosai (Zenkyoren or National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives) with returns from the funds, should also be checked.
　国、損保会社、ＪＡ共済が積立金の運用益で実施している被害者支援や事故防止対策の事業もチェックする必要がある。

Projects to help victims of traffic accidents are important, but it is worth noting that the three organizations' activities often overlap, as with a project to distribute helicopters carrying doctors. Many should be financed by the government's general account or be conducted by nonlife insurance firms as their contribution to society. It is important to scrutinize the necessity and efficiency of the projects.
　被害者支援は重要だが、ドクターヘリ普及策など３者の重複が目立つ。国が一般会計で手当てすべき事業や損保が社会貢献として行うべき事業も多い。必要性と効率性を精査することが肝要だ。

The government will need to plan a new insurance program in line with the times, such as one with discount premiums for highly safe vehicles equipped with automatic braking systems to prevent accidents.
　事故を回避する自動ブレーキを装備した安全性能の高い車両には保険料を優遇するなど、今後は時代に合わせて全体の制度設計を検討することも求められよう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 17, 2013)
（2013年2月17日01時26分 読売新聞）