The national insurance regulator yesterday called for the
establishment of a disaster insurance fund to better deal with
catastrophes and improve the efficiency of relief work.
"It is imperative we set up such a fund and we are quickening
efforts in this respect," Wu Dingfu, chairman of the China
Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said.
The move comes after severe ice and snowstorms hit southern and
central regions in the past month, causing widespread
devastation.
As of Tuesday, insurers had paid out more than 1.04 billion yuan
($145 million) on 851,000 cases of snow-related claims, the CIRC
said.
Of the total, 900 million yuan went on property claims and more
than 57 million yuan was paid on health and life policies.
The industry as a whole is expected to pay out more than 8
billion yuan as a result of the country's worst snowfall for close
to half a century.
Jiang Caishi, general manager of the business development
department of the PICC (Group), the country's largest non-life
insurer, said: "The government could be a supervisor of the fund,
allowing insurance companies to manage risks."
Excluding the losses of industrial and mining firms, the direct
economic losses from the heavy snow is estimated at 111 billion
yuan, the CIRC said.
"Given the 1.04 billion yuan compensation paid out, insurance
companies covered only 1 percent of the total direct economic
losses," Wu said.
Insurers paid out more than 40 million yuan in
agriculture-related claims, with 200 million yuan related to
damaged crops and covering 445 hectares of farmland.
But when compared with 11.87 million hectares of farmland
affected by the weather, the agricultural insurance rates and total
compensation paid out are obviously on the low side, Wu said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2008)
