General insurance firms in Japan are offering a variety of services to cover potential losses for companies caused by negative viral contents on the internet. In recent years, there have been cases where companies were forced to deal with criticism on the internet after pictures of foreign objects contained in food products and restaurant staff carrying out unsanitary pranks, such as lying on top of burger buns, went viral on social media. According to big data analysis firm Eltes Co., which offers digital risk oversight, the number of online contents generating negative responses for companies has been increasing from 483 in 2013 to 667 in 2014 to 1,002 in 2015 -- almost 10 times higher compared to the figure reported in 2010 at 102. Once content goes viral on the internet and generates online criticism, companies need to respond -- investigating the cause, preventing further spread of the problematic posts and publishing ads to apologize for the incident, among other measures. In previous cases, it took companies an average of around three months before putting the matter to rest and cost them approximately 3 million yen per month. Major nonlife insurance company Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. introduced this past March a product to cover the cost of dealing with cases of negative viral contents. When unfavorable information sent out from inside or outside a company spreads online or is feared to go viral, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa pays the company up to 10 million yen to compensate the loss. Insurance premiums for the plan are set at between 500,000 yen to 1 million yen a year depending on the size of the policyholder. With help from its group firms, the insurance company will monitor online activities and judge whether content went viral individually by comparing it with past examples. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. started offering risk management study sessions in April 2014, including what to do when viral contents generate negative responses, for other companies through the group's risk consulting firm. Senior executives and workers at its client companies are taught about the process in which an online post goes viral in a negative way, as well as rules regarding the use of social media. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance also offers plans that cover the cost of dealing with negative viral contents. Meanwhile, Tokyo Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. has been offering insurance policies for financial companies since July 2015 in case their clients in farming and fisheries suffer harmful rumors. When the insurance company detects specific key words online over a certain number of times, it pays relief money of 100,000 yen per client. Most companies currently do not have countermeasures against negative viral online contents and are lagging behind in preparing themselves for growing risks. Insurance companies are seeing this as an opportunity to offer their know-how in risk management.
Several Japanese insurance providers have introduced a product to cover the cost of managing a company's reputation following the release of negative viral content. Whether originating from inside the company or externally, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance pays out up to JPY10m ($900,000) to compensate for the damage. Insurance premiums for the plan range from JPY500,000 to JPY1m a year. The quantity of online content which generated negative responses for companies has increased from 102 viral incidents in 2010 to 1,002 in 2015, according to big data analysis firm Eltes.