Japanese Insurer Offering Insurance for Stray Bullets

Japan is a very gun-controlled nation. We’ve talked about that fact more than once. Because they’re so gun-controlled, though, it seems they have a problem.

While they don’t respect the right to bear arms, they have a problem with bears and their arms. 

And their teeth.

In short, they’ve got a bear problem. It seems they’re causing problems in urban areas, which has led to many communities allowing rifles to be used to hunt and kill these bears.

Which means there’s a potential of stray bullets hitting private property.

Luckily, capitalism has an answer for that.

Amid a surge in bear-related incidents in Japan, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. has introduced a new insurance product to support local governments ahead of a legal change expanding the use of hunting rifles in urban areas. Starting in September, revisions to the Wildlife Protection, Control, and Hunting Management Act will permit municipal employees and licensed hunters to use rifles to cull dangerous wild animals, such as bears and wild boars, in populated areas, provided specific safety conditions are met.

In response, the insurer’s new policy will cover municipalities for damages caused by stray bullets during such wildlife control operations, including harm to buildings, vehicles, or other property. Currently, municipalities are legally responsible for compensating affected property owners when rifle fire causes accidental damage during these operations. The new coverage provides protection of up to JPY30m (approximately $202,000) per incident, helping to mitigate the financial burden on local authorities as urban wildlife management efforts intensify.

Now, here, this wouldn’t be a municipal issue unless the hunters in question were the municipal employees. For licensed hunters, though, they’d be on the hook for any damage caused by stray bullets. 

Yet because of the nature of this policy, the cities are taking the responsibility for compensating people for damage, which makes sense. Especially when it’s kind of difficult to determine just who fired the round at that moment in many cases, especially with something like this.

So, the insurance looks like a pretty good hedge against that potentiality.

In reality, it’s not likely they’d have to pay out all that much. Except in the most densely populated cities, there’s usually a lot more open space than people realize. Gun shots may go a long way, but they’re eventually going to run out of energy and fall to the ground. They may also hit something that’s not someone’s home or vehicle, like a tree. The odds of stray rounds hitting something that would require payment aren’t as great as many might like to believe.

But when it does, it can be expensive, depending on what gets hit.

That makes this insurance attractive to some municipalities in Japan. Since the incidents are likely not to be that great, and many won’t be all that costly, then it also makes sense for the insurer.

Plus, right now, this seems to be the only company offering it, which gives them a bit of a monopoly for the time being. Others will likely offer their own versions sooner or later, but for now, they’ve got the market cornered.

Man, do I love capitalism.

And man, do I love strange stories that involve guns, capitalism, or some combination thereof.

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