Financial Resources for the CALI System
Financial Resources for CALI (Mutual Insurance)
Non-life insurance companies (mutual insurance associations) compensate accident victims for financial damages for personal injury in the form of insurance payments (mutual insurance payment). Payments are made from the reserve for CALI (mutual insurance) premiums (mutual insurance premiums).
Premiums are uniform, regardless of which non-life insurance company (mutual insurance association) you have a contract with. Premiums (mutual insurance premiums) are verified annually and adjusted as necessary in accordance with the "no-loss, no-profit" principle, which adjusts income and expenses so that neither losses nor profits are generated. The amount of premiums (mutual insurance premiums) is determined by the Financial Services Agency after deliberations at the Council on Automobile Liability Insurance. These deliberations are usually held in January each year. The determination based on the results of verification of the balance between insurance premium (mutual insurance premium) income and insurance payments (mutual insurance payments).
Premiums
The following chart shows changes in premiums since 1978 (for a two-year contract for a private vehicle). The CALI premium (mutual insurance premium) was 41,850 yen from 1985 to 1991. Then it gradually tended lower, with repeated fluctuations, to 17,650 yen in April 2023. The reason for this is that the number of traffic accidents has decreased and the amount of insurance premiums (mutual insurance premiums) paid has declined due to improvements in automobile safety performance and other factors. The number of traffic accidents peaked at 952,191 in 2004, and then declined to 301,193 in 2022, while the number of traffic fatalities peaked at 11,452 in 1992, and then declined to 2,610 in 2022.
Financial Resources for the Government’s Program Guaranteeing Compensation for Automobile Accidents
The Government’s Program Guaranteeing Compensation for Automobile Accidents is a program in which the government (MLIT) pays the amount of damages, within the legal limit, to victims of accidents caused by hit-and-run or uninsured vehicles that are not covered by CALI (mutual insurance).
The Government’s Program Guaranteeing Compensation for Automobile Accidents is financed by a contribution* included in premiums. The contribution, which finances the Government’s Program Guaranteeing Compensation for Automobile Accidents, has been 4 yen per private vehicle per year since April 1, 2023.
*Contribution: Money paid to carry out a certain project
Financial Resources for Victim Support
The program provides treatment and rehabilitation support at 12 treatment and rehabilitation facilities established and operated throughout Japan, benefits for home nursing care to victims receiving home care, and support for orphans of traffic accidents. The system is funded by revenue from a new contribution established in April 2023 (125 yen per car per year), a reserve fund, and transfers back from General Accounts.
Financial Resources for Accident Prevention Measures
The program promotes the introduction of advanced safety vehicles (ASVs). It enhances operation management for trucking and other transportation by introducing ICT technology, and conducts vehicle assessments to encourage the selection of safe vehicles and the development of safety technology. It also conducts accident prevention measures such as aptitude assessments for drivers of buses, trucks, taxis, and other vehicles. The system is funded by revenue from a new contribution established in April 2023 (125 yen per car per year), a reserve fund, and transfers back from General Accounts.
Please use this information to ease your
concerns and for support.
If You Are Involved in a Traffic Accident
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has prepared a pamphlet titled "If You Are Involved in a Traffic Accident." This pamphlet informs and guides people who have been involved in a traffic accident about various systems and procedures. The challenges you face due to a sudden traffic accident will change over time. Please use the information in this pamphlet according to your situation at the time.
Traffic Accident Victim's Notebook
MLIT has created the “Traffic Accident Victim's Notebook” with the hope of providing support to automobile accident victims. The notebook allows victims and their families to record accident details and provides information about support systems available through police, local governments, and private victim support organizations. We also hope that it will provide support to all accident victims, and help to ease their concerns.