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保険 · Insurance

Home Insurance Estimator

A quick ballpark for annual fire (火災保険) and earthquake (地震保険) insurance on a Japanese property. Adjust the details for a rough range — then we can arrange real quotes from Japanese insurers on your behalf.

Rebuild cost — roughly ¥150–300k/㎡ × floor area.

Set 0 if you're insuring the building only.

Estimated premium

¥73,350 – ¥113,850

per year, all selected coverage

Fire — building (est.)¥51,000 – ¥85,000
Fire — contents (est.)¥9,750 – ¥16,250
Earthquake — building (GIROJ ロ)≈ ¥10,080
Earthquake — contents≈ ¥2,520
Ask us to arrange cover
This home is 36+ years old — expect a more involved process. Most insurers' instant online quotes only cover buildings up to ~35 years. Older homes (and traditional akiya, kominka, and machiya) carry higher assessed fire and earthquake risk, so cover is often quoted manually, can take longer to come back, may cost more, and occasionally has conditions or exclusions — some insurers decline older wooden buildings outright. This estimate is only a rough guide for such homes.MonoHaus works with insurers used to older Japanese properties — ask us to help arrange cover.
These are rough ballpark figures, not a quote. Fire premiums are not standardized — the same property can vary ~1.8× between insurers, and prices differ by exact specs, coverage, deductibles, and current market rates. Always consult a licensed insurance professional. MonoHaus provides this tool for general guidance only and accepts no liability for reliance on it.

Earthquake uses the official GIROJ base rates (地震保険, the same at every insurer), applied to 50% of the building sum (capped ¥50M) and shown exactly. Fire is a ± estimate calibrated to a real 5-insurer comparison — reliable for wooden/fire-resistant houses; unusual builds or coverage will differ. We're happy to arrange real quotes on your behalf.

火災保険 · Fire insurance

How fire insurance works in Japan

Fire insurance is the core home policy — it covers far more than fire, and it's the prerequisite for earthquake cover. Here's what it protects, what drives the price, and what to watch for.

What it can cover (you choose the perils)

A modern 火災保険 is really an all-round property policy. Typical selectable perils:
  • Fire, lightning, explosion (火災・落雷・破裂・爆発) — the core
  • Windstorm, hail, snow (風災・雹災・雪災) — typhoons included
  • Flood / water damage (水災) — river overflow, storm surge, landslide
  • Water leakage (水漏れ) — burst pipes, leaks from other units
  • Theft & break-in damage (盗難)
  • Falling / flying objects, vehicle impact (落下・飛来・衝突)
  • Riot / civil commotion (騒擾)
  • Accidental breakage (破損・汚損) — the 'oops' cover
You can add or drop perils to tune the premium.

What it does NOT cover

  • • Earthquake, eruption, or tsunami — including fire caused by an earthquake. That needs separate earthquake insurance (地震保険), added on top.
  • • Gradual wear & deterioration (経年劣化), termites, poor maintenance.
  • • Intentional damage or gross negligence; war and civil war.
This gap is exactly why earthquake insurance exists — see the section below.

Building vs. contents — two separate covers

You insure the building (建物) and the contents / household goods (家財) separately — you can take one or both. As an owner renting out a property you typically insure the building; a resident insures contents too.

Insured amount = rebuild cost, not purchase price

The sum insured is set to the replacement / reconstruction cost (再調達価額・新価) — what it would cost to rebuild today — usually ≈ new-build unit cost × floor area. Older-style policies used depreciated value (時価); modern policies use replacement cost so a total loss actually rebuilds the home.

Structure class drives the price (M / T / H)

Fire uses its own structure grades (different from earthquake's イ/ロ):
  • • M構造 — fire-resistant apartment / マンション (cheapest)
  • • T構造 — fire-resistant house (steel, concrete, 耐火/準耐火)
  • • H構造 — non-fire-resistant, i.e. most wood (priciest)
A wooden akiya/kominka is usually H構造; an RC apartment is M構造.

What else moves your premium

  • • Sum insured (building rebuild value)
  • • Location / prefecture — wind, snow, and especially flood risk
  • • Perils selected — flood & accidental-damage add the most
  • • Deductible (免責) — a higher excess lowers the premium
  • • Building age and any newer-build discounts
  • • Contract term — longer terms get a discount

Recent changes worth knowing

  • • Max contract term is now 5 years (cut from 10 in Oct 2022). Longer terms still cost less per year via a long-term coefficient.
  • • Flood premiums are now risk-rated by area (5 tiers by municipality, from Oct 2024) — low-flood-risk locations pay less, high-risk more.
  • • Rates have risen across recent GIROJ reference-rate revisions, driven by typhoon & flood losses.

Common riders (特約)

  • • Personal liability (個人賠償責任) — you accidentally damage others/their property
  • • Earthquake-fire expense (地震火災費用) — a small % for earthquake-caused fire even without full earthquake cover
  • • Temporary expenses (臨時費用), debris removal, rent while rebuilding
  • • Neighbour fire-spread (類焼損害) cover

Older homes are harder to insure

Instant online quotes typically only cover buildings up to about 35 years old. Beyond that — and for traditional akiya, kominka, and machiya — insurers see higher fire and earthquake risk, so cover is usually quoted manually, takes longer, can cost more, and may carry conditions or exclusions; some insurers decline older wooden buildings entirely. It's very much still insurable — it just needs the right insurer and a bit more legwork, which is where we help.

Discounts vary by insurer

Unlike earthquake, fire discounts aren't standardized — but common ones include newly-built / low-age, all-electric homes (オール電化), home security / alarms, and fire-fighting equipment. Each insurer sets its own, so it's worth comparing.

Why prices differ between insurers

Fire rates are not government-set. GIROJ publishes an advisory “reference pure rate” (参考純率), but each insurer adds its own loadings and adjustments — so the same property gets different quotes from different companies. That's why the fire number above is an estimate, and why comparing quotes matters.

This is general information, not insurance advice. Actual cover, limits, and premiums are set by the insurer's policy and assessment — always confirm with a licensed professional.

Learn more: GIROJ — 火災保険参考純率 · 価格.com — building structure class (M/T/H) · General Insurance Association of Japan

地震保険 · Earthquake insurance

How earthquake insurance works in Japan

Earthquake cover (地震保険) is the government-backed add-on to fire insurance. A plain-English overview, summarized from Japan's Ministry of Finance.

Earthquake cover is an add-on to fire insurance

Fire insurance (火災保険) does not cover fire, collapse, burial, or wash-away caused by an earthquake, eruption, or resulting tsunami — that's what earthquake insurance (地震保険) is for. It can only be bought attached to a fire policy, and can be added mid-term if you already have one.

What it covers, and the limits

Residential buildings (including apartment common areas) and household goods for daily life. You set the earthquake sum insured at 30–50% of your fire coverage, capped at ¥50,000,000 for the building and ¥10,000,000 for contents. Business premises, cash, and valuables ≥¥300,000 are excluded.

How claims pay out (policies from 2017)

Payment is banded by damage, as a % of the earthquake sum insured (up to that share of market value):
  • • Total loss — 100%
  • • Major (mostly lost) — 60%
  • • Minor (small) — 30%
  • • Partial — 5%

Premiums & discounts

Priced by building structure (fire-resistant イ / wooden ロ) and prefecture — and it's government-standardized, so the base rate is the same at every insurer. Discounts (not combinable, 10–50%):
  • • Base-isolated building (免震) — 50%
  • • Seismic grade 3 / 2 / 1 (耐震等級) — 50% / 30% / 10%
  • • Seismic diagnosis / retrofit (耐震診断) — 10%
  • • Built 1981-06-01 or later (建築年) — 10%
Long-term contracts (2–5 yrs) apply a coefficient (2y ×1.90 … 5y ×4.70).

Government backing

The government reinsures earthquake liability, so payouts are secure even after a massive quake. The total industry payout per event is capped at ¥12 trillion — sized to cover a Great-Kanto-scale earthquake — and every major quake to date has paid out within that limit.

Tax deduction

Earthquake insurance premiums are tax-deductible: up to ¥50,000 off national income tax and up to ¥25,000 off local residence tax per year.

Payouts depend on the policy and the insurer's damage assessment — it is not a fixed amount. Claims must be filed within 10 days of the event; intent, gross negligence, war, and theft during a quake are excluded. Beware of post-earthquake scams. This overview is general information, not insurance or tax advice.

Official sources: Ministry of Finance — Earthquake Insurance · General Insurance Association of Japan — 地震保険 special site · National Tax Agency — premium deduction

Get an exact quote

Send us the details below and we'll arrange a real fire insurance quote. Most of this is in your Purchase Agreement (売買契約書) and Statement of Important Matters (重要事項説明書) — feel free to just attach those PDFs.

This is a request for a quote, not a policy or an offer of insurance. Final terms and premiums are set by the insurer.

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