Fourteen property insurance companies have launched 32 COVID-19 insurance products since April last year, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Thursday.
The firms have sold 148,745 policies, generating combined first-year premiums (FYP) of NT$71.52 million (US$2.52 million) as of Thursday, it said.
The commission has encouraged insurers to offer COVID-19 products to provide financial support to people facing economic losses due to disease prevention measures, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Wang Li-hui (王麗惠) told a news conference in Taipei.
Although there is no official guidance or definition of a COVID-19 insurance policy, most products cover medical and hospitalization expenses incurred due to treatment for COVID-19, data from insurance companies showed.
Some plans, such as those offered by Fubon Insurance Co (富邦產險), provide compensation for those who are contacts of an infected person and have been placed under mandatory 14-day quarantine, but not for those who must self-isolate after entering Taiwan.
One policy launched last month by Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance Co (台灣產物保險) drew attention from consumers who found its compensation of NT$100,000 for those under quarantine attractive, given that the policy only charges NT$500.
Asked if the policy might prompt people to visit high-risk areas visited by infected people, such as railway stations or shopping malls, in the hopes of receiving a payout, Wang said that the company does not cover cases in which people intentionally put themselves in a situation under which authorities would order them into isolation.
Taiwan Fire & Marine in a statement rejected rumors that it refused to sell the policy to health workers, flight attendants, pilots or residents of Taoyuan, saying that it offers the plan to all.
It also dismissed speculation that it would halt sales of the policy.
Although the firm has a set limit of risk exposure, that limit has not been reached, it said.
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