The average Taiwanese holds 3.3 insurance policies, the highest in the world, followed by Chinese with three policies, Vietnamese and Indians with 2.7 policies, South Koreans with 2.3 policies and Japanese with 1.8 policies, a survey released yesterday by BNP Paribas Cardif showed.
Despite holding the most insurance products per person in the world, only 67 percent of Taiwanese said they feel well-protected in the event of unforeseen accidents, lower than the Asian average of 72 percent, including 90 percent for Vietnamese and Indians, and 72 percent for Chinese, the survey showed.
While about 72 percent of global respondents worry the most about losing their job and income, Taiwanese respondents are mainly concerned about chronic diseases, followed by major accidents and catastrophic illness, it showed.
BNP Paribas Cardif polled 26,000 people in 26 markets on three continents to assess their need for personal insurance coverage and analyze their behaviors.
“Their fear of chronic diseases may be related to the fact that Taiwan is becoming an aged society, with more people over 65 years old,” BNP Paribas Cardif told a media briefing in Taipei.
That might also explain why most Taiwanese respondents said they want to have better protection to alleviate costly medical expenses caused by hospitalization, major diseases and permanent disability.
Most Taiwanese respondents were satisfied with the nation’s public health insurance program, personal safety and education system, while they were most unhappy with their jobs, financial planning for retirement and business environment for start-ups, the survey found.
“We already know that local consumers love purchasing insurance products, but it is surprising to know that they do not feel protected enough,” BNP Paribas Cardif chief executive officer for Asia See See Ooi (黃金喜葹) said.
“It looks natural to me. The more insurance policies people buy, the more clearly they get to know the potential risks in their lives. In other words, people holding more policies tend to have higher risk awareness,” National Chengchi University department of risk management and insurance professor Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) told the news conference.
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