BIZCHINA> Center
|
BIZCHINA> Center
|
|
Running for cover
By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-02 10:48 Higher awareness Insurance companies' quick claim settlement after the earthquake also sparked the public's awareness and interest in buying policies. Zheng Xiao, a 53-year-old insurance agent with China Life, has been working overtime for two weeks. He says calls for insurance have jumped nearly 40 percent since the earthquake. "I have to charge my mobile phone every day and bring another spare battery with me, as I'm getting many more calls following the earthquake," Zheng says. "Most of inquiries are about accident insurance, and 90 percent of them decide to buy the policy after the call." As an insurance agent with 15 years experience, Zheng says the past two weeks were the busiest of her career. "Thanks to insurance companies' prompt payments after the earthquake, many more people understand the importance of insurance," Zheng adds. Lin Qiang, a 32-year-old businessman, once spurned calls from insurance salespeople but he's since changed his mind. "Before the earthquake, there were a number of insurance agents calling me to buy their policies, but I usually hung up the phone, believing what they were saying was all hype. But now, I think it's necessary for me to buy a policy, at least to cover accidents. It is also my responsibility to my family." The quake wake-up call also affected insurance workers. When Lan Yadong, vice-president of PICC Life Insurance Co, handed 200,000-yuan payment to a 11-year-old girl who had lost her parents was still lying on the hospital, he says he sighed with relief. "At least, we could ease her economic pressure to some extent," Land says. Though people are more willing to buy policies after the earthquake, experts say they should closely examine the insurance liabilities of different policies. Yuan at the China Insurance Regulatory Commission says there has been a large increase in the amount of calls since the quake. "After the Sichuan earthquake, there is an increasing number of calls asking about relevant insurance policies, particularly household property insurance," Yuan says. However, give the current stipulation, earthquake is generally not included in the insurance liabilities for household property insurance. Even for commercial property insurance, enterprises have to buy an independent rider to cover earthquake risks, Yuan explained. But earthquake is usually covered in life insurance policies. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
