カテゴリー別アーカイブ: Useful Information

JMA seismic scale 5 was recorded in Tokyo area from the earthquake that hit northern Japan on March 11th. 
Although many buildings themselves remained without any damages, many households experienced some damages inside their residences such as furniture falling, electronics breakages from falling off, dishes and glasses falling off from the cupboards, etc.
You can easily imagine getting injured from these incidents.  It is also assumable that the emergency evacuation route is to be blocked if a larger piece of furniture fell.
Therefore it is strongly recommended to prepare for earthquakes by fixing furniture and placing them carefully.

Here are some tips and examples:

Ex.)
A unit on 32nd floor of a high-rise apartment in Odaiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Safety measures against earthquakes applied by one of our employees to her own apartment

 Although I heard my neighbors saying “a refrigerator fell”, “a cupboard fell”, etc., there was hardly any damage within my apartment since I already have a variety of measures against earthquakes in place.   These are some of examples that I did to prevent any damage from earthquakes.

A refrigerator and a cupboard: Place 2 tension poles between the ceiling and the cupboard

A cupboard: Fix the doors with a stopper (clasp) to prevent the doors from opening and causing dishes to fall off.   Glasses of shelves: Stick a thin film on the rear side of the glasses to prevent from scattering

Dressers: Insert an anti-fall device under the dressers to prevent them from falling or sliding
 
http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/kurashi-arl/4978684306021.html
http://www.alexgroup.com/disaster/goods/20040.htm

Flower pots: Place rubber sheets underneath to prevent them from sliding 
 

Table and chairs: Stick fabric such as felt pieces at the back of each leg 

Electronics including TV: Place a gel sheet to prevent from sliding

Although it took some time and money, I felt really grateful to find no breakage and injury after experiencing such a powerful earthquake.

These items are available at:
　・Tokyu Hands　http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/en/index.html
　・Larger furniture shop　
　・Home center

>> Indication of Earthquake Level in Japan
>> Emergency Evacuation Backpack
>> Evacuation Sites, Areas & Shelters in Central Tokyo
>> Earthquake resistance of buildings in Japan
>> Earthquake Insurance
>> Methods for Contacting Family Members

We received several inquiries regarding earthquake insurances after the northern Japan earthquake. 
Although many of you may already have fire insurance, it will not compensate any damages of household effects or a house caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami or a fire caused by natural disasters.

We’d like to give some descripti on on “insurance” as follows.  Although “insurances” are closely linked to our life, it appears difficult once you start considering applying for one.
Here are brief explanations on two cases for tenants and owners. 

<< Insurance for tenant >>

First of all, tenants need to buy a “fire insurance” for household effects.  It is also common for tenants to buy a “householders insurance” package that includes all necessary services.  

For example, it will compensate not only damages caused by fire but also include the cases:
“    When a child broke a computer or a vase
“    When the house got flooded because of overflow of washing machine, or
“    When the soccer ball you kicked hit and injured someone else by accident, etc.

However “earthquake insurance” is not included in ordinal fire insurance.  You may want to check the followings when you are applying for an insurance package:
“    Can I apply as an optional coverage?
“    Is “earthquake insurance” included in a householders insurance package?
“    How much coverage can I get for a building and household effects?

Let’s see how much it will cost to buy fire insurance including “earthquake insurance”.

Ex.)
Property: A wooden detached house in Tokyo, 100sqm., 10 years old
Set the maximum compensation of household effects to 6,800,000 yen 　
In this case, annual premium of “householders insurance” with “earthquake insurance option” will be estimated roughly around 20,000 yen to 40,000 yen.　

【Coverage】　
・Home contents insurance     Up to 6,800,000 yen
・Tenant liability            Up to 15,000,000 yen
・Repair cost            Up to 1,000,000 yen　
・Personal liability insurance     Up to100,000,000 yen
・Earthquake insurance         Up to 3,400,000 yen
（The coverage of “earthquake insurance” is normally between 30-5o% of home contents insurance.  However it is limited up to 10,000,000 yen.）

<< Insurance for property owners >> 

The annual premium for an owner of a wooden detached house of 100sqm. in Tokyo is estimated to be around 120,000 yen.

【Coverage】 （a case for a wooden detached house）
・Building insurance                20,000,000 yen
・earthquake insurance for a building        10,000,000 yen
・Home contents insurance            10,000,000 yen
・Earthquake insurance for home contents        5,000,000 yen 
・Accident expenses special contract—20% of Casualty Insurance claims or up to 3,000,000 yen.
・Fire after an earthquake special contract 5% of Building insurance claims or up to 3,000,000 yen.

The premium will be half of wooden buildings for ferroconcrete building (fire-resistance) structures, which comes to be around 50,000 yen a year.

The premium differs depending on the structure of building, whether wood or ferroconcretes, or on how much you insure your household effects regardless whether you rent or own a property.

Although the insurance above will not be perfect, it is essential to buy insurance when you rent or own a property.

Please do not hesitate to inquire even if you do not speak Japanese.
There are some bilingual insurance agents offering fire insurance who can assist you from making an estimate to provide supports after incidents in English just like car insurance.  You will be able to buy one comfortably even though these insurance policies appear so complicated.

cf. Ace Insurance Web (information on English bilingual agent is available.)　
　　http://www.ace-insurance.co.jp/en/ipi.html

>> Indication of Earthquake Level in Japan
>> Emergency Evacuation Backpack
>> Evacuation Sites, Areas & Shelters in Central Tokyo
>> Earthquake resistance of buildings in Japan
>> Indoor Safety Measures Against Earthquake
>> Methods for Contacting Family Members