Japan's FSA halts new sales at Prudential of Japan and part of Gibraltar Life until end of January 2027

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued business suspension and business improvement orders on 9 October 2026 to two life insurers owned by Prudential Financial, the companies said in a joint statement. Prudential of Japan (POJ) may not solicit new business until 31 January 2027. Gibraltar Life received a partial suspension that covers its Life Consultant sales channel for the same period; its independent agency channel can continue to sell.

The FSA also gave a business improvement order to the intermediate parent, Prudential Holdings of Japan. All three companies must send improvement plans to the regulator by the end of November 2026 and then report progress at regular intervals. Jiji Press reported that the suspension starts on Tuesday and that the regulator wants reforms that put legal compliance and customer protection ahead of sales.

The orders follow fraud by employees of the insurers. The companies said a special investigation committee, whose findings were disclosed on 8 October, and an FSA inspection both examined the conditions behind misconduct at POJ. Gibraltar said it has contacted more than two million customers in recent months. According to Jiji, this is the first FSA order to suspend a life insurer's operations since its 2019 action against Japan Post Insurance, and POJ had already stopped new sales voluntarily in February.

Prudential Financial said both insurers remain financially sound and able to meet their obligations, and that the parent will continue to give them full support. The statement gave no estimate of the financial effect. The suspensions do not apply to the group's other Japanese units, including Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life. Andy Sullivan, Prudential Financial's chairman and chief executive, called Japan "a cornerstone" of the group's global business.