The recent passage of an amendment to the Insurance Act (保險法) that bans claims for accidental death for people under the age of 15 has resulted in a drop in minors taking part in outdoor activities as local insurance companies have started refusing to provide them with accidental death insurance policies.
The amendment to Article 107, which stipulates that a policy holder must be 15 years or above before death benefits can be received in the event of the policyholder’s death, took effect last Wednesday. Since then, insurance companies have stopped offering accidental death coverage for people under the age of 15.
The change has caused charity organizations to cancel outdoor activities for disadvantaged children, while many schools have called a halt to graduation trips.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said the amendment — which was made following strong pressure from C.V. Chen (陳長文), a local attorney and president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, to prevent insurance fraud in which parents murder their children to claim the insurance money — was passed into law in the spirit of goodwill, but he questioned whether insurance companies may have overreacted to the change.
Under the new Act, insurers are only required to pay the premium and accrued interest for an insured individual under the age of 15.
Previously, the beneficiary could receive as much as NT$2 million (US$62,500) in funeral expenses for an insured minor aged 14 or under, or an individual diagnosed as suffering from a mental disorder who dies before the age of 14.
As the amendment does not apply retroactively, about 520,000 insured minors will be unaffected.
Hu told Taichung City officials to determine whether the amendment was too restrictive and to notify the administration and the legislature if it was determined that remedial measures were necessary.
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