Sales of life insurance policies for children under 14 years old is likely to be banned once an amendment to the Insurance Law (保險法) is passed in the legislature in the near future.
According to an agreement reached between Finance Minister Yen Ching-chang (
The ministry and legislators agreed on Tuesday that insurance companies cannot underwrite a life insurance policy for a minor until the he or she is at least 14 years old.
The Insurance Law amendment is likely to pass its third reading during the current session, after being idle in the legislature since it was proposed in late 1999 by New Party legislator Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大).
Since the sale of children's insurance policies has been an important money earner for life insurers, Hsieh's proposal to ban policies for children was strongly opposed by a number of large life insurance companies, represented by the Association of Life Insurance Companies (
The proposed ban stems from one lawmaker's concern that the policies offer the possibility for a `moral hazard,' where financially desperate parents buy the insurance only to resort to murdering their offspring to collect insurance premiums.
Life insurers claimed that the chance of this scenario taking place in Taiwan is minimal, and that it should not be banned for that reason.
Historically, there is only one recorded case in Taiwan of a parent murdering their child to claim insurance compensation, and that was more than three decades ago. But similar cases have been discovered in western countries in recent years.
However, Hsieh maintained her strong opposition to the policies by insisting that it's immoral to sell an insurance product that might endanger children's safety. Hsieh insists that while insurance products for children, such as accident insurance, should be allowed, life insurance policies for kids are just plain wrong.
Hsieh has been active in the protection of children's welfare for several years.
Meanwhile, according to one pundit, it seems that both sides have compromised on the issue.
"The reason behind the confrontation over the children's policy is that there have not been enough [profitable] insurance products to sell," said Henry Cheng (鄭百亨), managing director of Manulife Funds Direct, which is an affiliate of Manulife Insurance Co (宏利人壽).
"The finance ministry has been deregulating insurance products in recent months, especially insurance policies combined with investment vehicles, which should be very attractive to local consumers. Since there are going to be a lot more insurance products available for life insurers to sell, I think it's likely that they will not insist on selling children's life insurance policies," Cheng added.
The finance ministry has approved more than a dozen new insurance policies this year, which has never happened before. "Anticipating Taiwan's entry into the WTO, the country's insurance regulatory agency has launched its deregulation without announcing it publicly. The pace is likely to accelerate after the Insurance Law is revised," Cheng said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS