Japan Turns to Insurance to Cope with Lonely Deaths of Single Tenant
Insurance policies to prepare for 'kodokushi'—lonely deaths in which single tenants die alone in rental housing—are on the rise in Japan. When a tenant dies alone in a room, the landlord bears not only the cost of restoring the unit, including estate clearance and specialized cleaning and repairs, but also arrangements for funerals and cremation services, as well as lost rent while the room remains vacant. To ease this burden, landlords are turning to insurance.
Japan's lonely death insurance falls broadly into two types: landlord-type and tenant-type. Under the landlord type, the property owner or building management company pays the premiums and receives compensation, up to an agreed limit, for restoration costs and rent losses until the next tenant moves in when a tenant dies in the unit. The tenant type involves adding a special clause to a renter's contents insurance policy purchased by the tenant, covering estate clearance and restoration costs after death. Premium rates suggested by the Japan Short-Term and Micro Insurance Association are several hundred yen (roughly 900 to 7,800 won) per month per room for the landlord type, and about 20,000 yen (roughly 170,000 won) for two years for the tenant type.
Data on how insurance payouts are actually used have also been compiled. According to a December 2025 report by the Japan Short-Term and Micro Insurance Association, 2,220 lonely death cases were identified from micro-insurance company data in fiscal year 2024. The average loss from clearing belongings and remains was 266,265 yen, while the average loss for unit restoration was 610,507 yen. An average of 389,706 yen was paid out in rent compensation for vacancies.
Local governments have also played a significant role. The city of Nagoya directly contracts with insurers to cover losses at safety-net housing and other units occupied by single-person households aged 60 and older, with qualifying landlords and management companies paying no premiums. Tokyo's Ota Ward subsidizes half of the initial enrollment fee, up to 5,000 yen, when a single-person household aged 65 or older moves in. Shinjuku Ward subsidizes insurance premiums related to single-person households aged 60 and older by up to 6,000 yen per building per year for up to 10 years, while Minato Ward provides free insurance to owners of senior rental housing that meets requirements. The system supports tenant occupancy by supplementing costs at the municipal level.
There are also mechanisms to check on tenants' well-being during their tenancy. Since last October, Japan has required residence-support housing to provide routine well-being checks, home visits, and connections to welfare services. Residence-support corporations entrusted in advance by tenants can also handle the disposal of belongings left behind after death. The structure uses insurance to cover landlords' cost concerns, while local support organizations check in on people living alone during their lifetimes.
South Korea has seen similar attempts. DB Insurance's predecessor, Dongbu Fire & Marine Insurance, launched a 'rental housing management cost insurance' in 2017 that covered rent losses for up to 12 months when a unit became vacant due to a tenant's lonely death, with optional coverage for estate clearance and restoration costs. However, as of May this year, the product is believed to have had virtually no policyholders. Lonely death-related insurance is also hard to find on the market. Ryu Seong-kyung, professor emeritus of business administration at Dongseo University, said, "In Japan, after kodokushi emerged as a social issue, private micro-insurance companies entered the market with related products," adding, "In South Korea, this issue has only recently begun to surface as a social concern."
