When driving a car, safe driving is essential, and subscribing to optional insurance to prepare for unforeseen circumstances is also a necessity. Actor and Kabuki performer Shido Nakamura is one of the drivers who gets behind the wheel himself, but he admits, "I was enrolled in car insurance recommended by the car dealer and never looked into the details myself."
We wanted Mr. Nakamura to know about e-Design Insurance's "&e," so we had Kazumi Taya, CX Promotion Department Leader at e-Design Insurance, who works on improving customer experience, give a presentation. She explained in detail the insurance that aims to "co-create a world without accidents with our customers."

"&e" is the name of a new car insurance offered by e-Design Insurance. While conventional car insurance supports policyholders after an accident occurs, "&e" actively supports the policyholder's driving life. For example, it uses digital technology to analyze and score a driver's performance. Furthermore, it utilizes aggregated driving data to prevent accidents, and as the circle of safe drivers expands, it adds donations to local governments, contributing to the creation of safe traffic environments in communities. The concept is "insurance that prevents accidents."

Prior to the conversation, Mr. Nakamura was shown a video explaining the "Trip Report" function, which allows users to attach an IoT sensor with a 3-axis G-sensor to their car and view it on a smartphone app.

In this "Trip Report," the sensor reads the car's behavior during driving, and data such as sudden acceleration and braking are visualized. From the driving scores, safe drivers are rewarded with hearts, which can be exchanged for coffee and other items. Mr. Nakamura was also impressed by this system.

"I thought, 'That's great.' When I have my family or loved ones in the car, I drive carefully, but sometimes when I'm alone, I can be a bit careless. But with a sensor, I'm constantly being evaluated, so I naturally drive more carefully. And since it's scored, I feel like I want to get a perfect score (laughs)."

Incidentally, this driving data can also be shared with family and friends. For example, it's a welcome feature that allows you to discreetly monitor whether your parents or children living apart are driving safely.

"I believe I drive responsibly as a driver, but accidents can happen sometimes, can't they? Even if I'm stopped, I might get rear-ended. In such cases, if there's a sensor, it can show what happened during the accident, which can serve as evidence when discussing it. That's also a good point."

Mr. Nakamura praised the IoT sensor, a key feature of "&e." However, "&e" offers more than just that. Ms. Taya, the CX Promotion Department Leader, explains further to Mr. Nakamura.

First and foremost, "&e" is an insurance born from e-Design Insurance's deep consideration of what an auto insurance company can do for society and its social significance, aiming to co-create a world without accidents with customers. It not only encourages individual safe driving through IoT sensors but also seeks to expand the circle of safety to the driver's family, and ultimately to society. Furthermore, it offers small daily enjoyments in driving life, such as exchanging accumulated hearts from safe driving for coffee. The concept is "insurance that prevents accidents."

Analyzing road traffic conditions based on data aggregated from sensors, such as "locations with frequent sudden braking," and "locations prone to accidents" from the insurance company's accumulated past accident data, and collaborating with local governments to implement initiatives to eliminate accidents is also a crucial point.

If policyholders drive safely and accidents decrease, the insurance company pays out less in claims. Instead of pocketing this profit, the more accidents are reduced, the more donations are made to local governments to install guardrails on school routes, for example, returning benefits to societal safety. This is another interesting aspect of "&e."

When one hears "car insurance," the image that comes to mind is primarily handling negotiations and paying claims after an accident. While "&e" does provide accident support, its fundamental concept is a radical departure from the traditional image of car insurance. Listening to Ms. Taya's explanation, Mr. Nakamura expressed his renewed interest, exclaiming, "I see, that's amazing, a new concept!"

"In Japan, 'social good' isn't really a familiar concept, is it? It's particularly difficult for Japanese people to grasp. Within that context, we want policyholders to experience 'doing social good' without even realizing it by using "&e." But if we say from the start, 'This is insurance that does social good,' it's hard to understand, isn't it?"

Mr. Nakamura nodded vigorously at Ms. Taya's words. "You're right, it sounds too idealistic (laughs)," he replied, then continued.

"Expanding the circle of safe driving and cooperating in creating safer roads through donations to local governments – I understand very well that "&e" is completely different from previous insurance. At the same time, I feel that a new era has arrived, with auto insurance companies creating insurance products to eliminate accidents."

Essentially, it's car insurance that aims to realize a world without accidents. "&e" was born from a concept entirely different from traditional car insurance, but Ms. Taya also feels the difficulty in communicating that concept.

When asked about this, Mr. Nakamura immediately replied, "It will take time." This response stemmed from his own long-standing experiences in the world of Kabuki.

"It's most important for the creator's or originator's intent to permeate and eventually become the 'norm.' That takes more than five years. We might need to think in terms of decades. It's been seven years since I started collaborating with Hatsune Miku in virtual reality for Kabuki, and it was only in 2022 that we were finally able to perform it in a Kabuki theater. While I can't directly compare Kabuki and insurance, I feel a commonality with "&e" in that the creator's passion is strongly reflected."

A virtual reality character dances on stage, and the audience waves glow sticks. Mr. Nakamura incites the audience from the stage, leading them into a frenzy towards the grand finale. His words carry weight, as he has consistently pushed for innovation while preserving the essential elements of traditional Kabuki.

The concerns Ms. Taya expresses stem from the challenge of communicating "&e," which aims to change the deeply ingrained image of insurance, within the context of a still-prevalent, conventional insurance landscape. This is a challenge born from venturing into new territory.

In fact, Ms. Taya had attended Mr. Nakamura's Super Kabuki performance before this interview. She shared a realization she had there.

"At "&e," I'm in charge of enhancing the customer experience. As I mentioned earlier, the challenge is how to convey the passion we've put into the product to our customers and how they can experience it. Because it's a new concept, it's difficult to communicate, and furthermore, the world of "&e" cannot be created by e-Design Insurance alone. In the Super Kabuki performance I saw recently, the feeling of 'the space becoming one' as Mr. Nakamura engaged and energized the audience was very impressive. It was like co-creating the moment with the audience. While Kabuki and insurance are different worlds, it was a valuable lesson on one way to approach 'co-creation.'"

The word "insurance" tends to make people guarded, so it's necessary to open up customers' hearts. A remark Mr. Nakamura made when the atmosphere relaxed during the interview might offer a hint.

"If you drive safely, you get coffee, right? That's kind of nice."

A cup of coffee costs a few hundred yen. Even for something like that, Shido Nakamura says it's "nice." The ease with which one can engage with it, almost like a game, is also one of the features of "&e."

Tradition and innovation. While these might seem to be in conflict, the modern era is also said to be an era of empathy. Mr. Nakamura, who was also a signatory at a press conference for Dwango's new project "meme nippon project"—a fusion of "prayer x traditional performing arts x latest technology"—stated at the Kabuki performance at Yakushi-ji Temple, "Precisely because it is this era, we express 'peace' and 'tranquility' intertwined with the spirit of Japan."

A society free from accidents, where everyone can drive with peace of mind. The ideal society envisioned by "&e," where empathy for such social good spreads and co-creation advances, likely awaits us with such serene driving lives.

Shido Nakamura
Kabuki actor, among other roles. He continuously challenges himself with various forms of Kabuki, from classical performances to "Super Kabuki," born from the collaboration of Kabuki and the latest ICT technology, and the long-awaited adaptation of the picture book "Arashi no Yoru ni" into Kabuki. Beyond the realm of Kabuki, he is constantly expanding his presence in film, theater, television dramas, fashion, and music.
Outfit: Swing top ¥244,200, Shirt ¥52,800, Pants ¥93,500, Tie ¥26,400, Shoes ¥135,300 (Thom Browne / Thom Browne Aoyama Tel. 03-5774-4668)

Kazumi Taya
Leader, CX Promotion Department, e-Design Insurance. Studied art, architecture, and design in the United States and Italy, among other places. After gaining experience as a digital designer at various companies, she joined e-Design Insurance in May 2021. In her role overseeing CX (Customer Experience), she has been involved in various projects, including the establishment of a research team and rebranding.

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