China insurers pay US$145 million in snowstorm claims

China's insurance companies have paid out 1.04 billion yuan (US$145 million) in claims for the worst snowstorms since 1954, the nation's insurance regulator said.

The insurers received 851,000 snow-related claims as of Feb. 12, said Wu Dingfu (吳定富), chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, who spoke in Beijing yesterday at a disaster relief meeting, broadcasted on the regulator's Web site.

China's insurers need to help the provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou and Jiangxi, where more than 354,000 homes collapsed, 1.4 million were damaged and electricity blackouts occurred.

At least 107 people were killed, eight are missing and direct economic losses were 111 billion yuan (US$15.4 billion) since Jan. 10, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

PICC Property and Casualty Co (中國人民財產保險), which has the largest property insurance coverage in China, paid 50 million yuan to Guizhou Power Grid (貴州電網), its biggest single prepaid claim, Wu said.

The company will pay all of the claims that fall under its "responsibilities," according to a statement posted on the insurer's Web Site on Feb. 13.

"The key task after the disaster is calculating the loss and paying out the claims related to electricity systems," PICC chairman Wu Yan said in the statement.

"Insurance coverage is very low," Wu said. "A lot of enterprises didn't insure their properties, some other companies didn't have enough coverage."

"The total claims given by the regulator are quite conservative, the amount will increase further," said Luo Yi, a Shenzhen-based analyst with China Merchants Securities Co (招商基金管理公司).

"The snowstorms actually have increased people's awareness to insure their properties and lives; we expect to see more people and companies to get insured in the future," Luo said.