The Shenzhen branch of China Life Property and Casualty Co. had received more than 50 compensation claims for properties damaged by Typhoon Mangkhut as of Tuesday.
Under the catastrophe insurance agreement for the year 2018 signed between the city government and the insurance company, the city is covered for 15 kinds of disasters.
Among them are strong winds, torrential storms, floods, mudslides, landslides, lightning strikes, tsunamis, earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.5 or above and waterlogged property. The policy covers all of the people in Shenzhen when a catastrophe occurs.
The compensation will be made according to an assessment. The maximum compensation for an injured individual is 100,000 yuan (US$14,590). For property or housing damage, the compensation is 20,000 per household.
Those who were affected by Mangkhut can call 9551 to lodge complaints, or use the app or WeChat account of the company.
It is the fourth year the city has purchased catastrophe insurance since the program was launched in 2014. The government-funded insurance covers the costs for medical treatment, disabilities and deaths caused by catastrophic disasters.
In August last year, when Typhoon Hato affected Shenzhen, six injured people were compensated a total of 600,000 yuan.
Additionally, the insurance covers victims in the event of a nuclear accident caused by any of the aforementioned disasters. Individual compensation in a nuclear accident will reach no more than 2,500 yuan.
Shenzhen’s government had been trying to establish catastrophe insurance since 2011 and was approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in 2013 to pilot the program.
According to statistics from the Shenzhen Insurance Association, insurance companies had received 11,167 claims for compensation by 5 p.m. Saturday. The damage was estimated at 146 million yuan.
The claims include 10,406 cases of vehicle damage and 758 cases of nonvehicle damage. Insurance companies also received claims involving three injuries, which were expected to cost 226,000 yuan.