P&I mutual The Standard Club opens Tokyo office

The Standard Club, the mutual insurance association, which insures shipowners, operators and charterers for their liabilities to third parties, has opened an office in Tokyo – 20 years after it first began a joint venture with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire (TMNF) to underwrite P&I business in Japan.

Tokio Standard for the 21st century (TS21) now underwrites 8 percent of P&I business in Japan. The new office will be led by TMNF Japanese claims director, Masaki Maeda. He will liaise with and assist TMNF in servicing TS21 members through claims handling and provision of general claims advice and also work closely with the club’s claims team in Singapore.

Masaki joins the club after a career of 30 years with TMNF where he has held claims and managerial roles. During his career he has worked in many locations out of Japan and his expertise covers all areas of commercial claims. Masaki spent several years working with TS21 and has a longstanding relationship with the club.

Jeremy Grose, group chief executive at the Standard Club said: “We are delighted to celebrate 20 years of TS21. Japan is a key market for us and TMNF is a highly valued partner. This is a significant step in continuing to enhance the service provided by TS21. We are so pleased to have Masaki Maeda join us to lead this new office. His exceptional experience, his understanding of the P&I market both in Japan and around the world, will make him an asset to our team. This is an exciting time for TS21 and we are looking forward to working with TMNF on this next phase of growth.”

Tokiko Inoue, executive officer, head of commercial lines claims department at TMNF, said: “This new claims office is testament to the club’s commitment to the Japanese market. We have a very successful partnership with the Standard Club and are pleased that such an experienced Japanese person will be leading the office. 20 is a special number in Japan and marks the coming of age of TS21. We look forward to our continued relationship with Standard Club.”

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