Golfing in Japan

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Four million golfers in Japan carry hole-in-one insurance. This is because it is customary for golfers in Japan to throw a lavish party should they hit a hole-in-one. These parties are serious business and have been known to cost more than $10,000. Seeing the opportunity in 1982, Kyoei Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company started offering a policy to cover the cost of this social expectation. Today for the equivalent of about $68 a year, the policy will cover the cost of a celebration party up to $3,000. Almost 40 percent of amateur golfers in Japan own one of these policies. 

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