Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Regulator: Insurance relief vital

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-09 08:57

China should establish catastrophe insurance as soon as possible, Wei Yingning, vice-chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, said yesterday.

The country's current insurance coverage is incapable of offering adequate compensation for losses from catastrophes, said Wei, a member of the National Committee of CPPCC.

Around 30 percent of losses from catastrophes in developed countries are covered by insurers, while the percentage is lower than 5 in China, Wei said in a speech at a plenary meeting of the top political advisory body.

Huge losses in the rare blizzard in south China last winter and the massive May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province added to the country's fiscal burden, he said.

The two disasters incurred losses of more than 150 billion yuan ($21.9 billion) and more than 800 billion yuan, respectively.

The State Council should set up a joint team to lead the catastrophe insurance work, he said.

The catastrophe insurance should be framed in the country's disaster prevention and response system with pledged support in subsidies and favorable taxes, he added.

Both State and private capital should be mobilized to support the catastrophe insurance fund, the political advisor said.