China lockdowns: insurers revive ‘quarantine insurance’ offerings as Covid infections strain medical costs among residents
- Chinese insurers have launched new versions of ‘quarantine insurance’ products to meet surging demand amid fresh lockdowns
- Coverage periods have been shortened and prices lowered amid regulatory pressure to avoid consumer rights abuses
Some Chinese insurers have revived their Covid-19 insurance products on e-commerce platforms to cover for medical costs and death, as financial pressure mounts following a recent surge in infections.
Public Mutual Insurance Corp is offering a new version of a previous policy that is designed to pay 200 yuan (US$31.40) per day during quarantine under certain conditions. Hong Kong-listed ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance revised a similar product with a similar payout for people required to quarantine in state-mandated facilities.
The marketing, under the watchful eyes of regulators, follows sporadic lockdowns in major technology and financial hubs in Shenzhen and Shanghai as China battles its worst outbreak in two years. Thousands of neighbourhoods were subjected to lockdowns, from northern Jilin province to Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province.
Dubbed “quarantine insurance”, coverage also includes compensation for hospitalisation and death due to Covid-19, as well as disability as a result of Covid-19 vaccination.
Both Public Mutual and ZhongAn have reduced the coverage period to three months from one year. The number of days insured people can claim was also cut – to no more than 14 days, from as many as 60 days previously.
