Japan insurer Sompo sets up fintech base in Tel Aviv

[TOKYO] Property-and-casualty insurer Sompo Holdings Inc has set up a fintech hub in Israel, becoming the first Japanese insurer to do so in a country where it hopes to tap local expertise in digital and cyber-security technologies.

Sompo, one of Japan's top three property-and-casualty insurers, is also looking for opportunities to tie up with or invest in Israeli start-ups with innovative technologies in areas such as agriculture and life sciences, company officials told Reuters on Monday.

The new fintech base, in Tel Aviv, was set up this month, they said. Sompo already has similar bases in Tokyo and Silicon Valley, where it is looking for start-ups in the fields of artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IOT) - or computing devices embedded in everyday objects.

REUTERS