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Ministry says earthquake insurance being promoted

Vice Minister of Finance Susan Chang (張秀蓮) said yesterday that the government has been actively promoting residential earthquake insurance since the 921 earthquake and that a domestic reinsurance company had issued US$100 million in catastrophe (CAT) bonds to cover earthquake risks.

Chang made the remarks when she addressed the Second Conference on Catastrophe Insurance in Asia sponsored by Asia Insurance Review, a Singapore-based monthly, in downtown Taipei.

Chang, who concurrently serves as the chairperson of a residential earthquake insurance foundation, spoke at the meeting on the challenges faced by the nation's insurance industry.

Chang said that since the 921 earthquake, risk consciousness has greatly increased.

She said that since fire insurance has automatically included residential earthquake insurance since April last year, the insurance ratio raised to 9.5 percent, or 724,000 households out of more than 7 million households in the country, as of the end of last month.

The ministry also asked the Central Reinsurance Corp (中央再保公司) to issue CAT bonds with a period of nearly three-year maturity.

As this will be the second release of CAT bonds in Asia, she said Taiwan is willing to share and exchange its experience with other countries.
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