China Tests Micro-Insurance For Rural Poor
Wu Qi of Xinhua reports on the government’s latest efforts to introduce micro-insurance to rural China.
Dai Yongheng never imagined he would make history. But he did just that on Sept. 3, 2008. The middle-aged farmer from north China’s Shanxi Province procured a fixed-term life insurance for all five members of his family. He paid 150 yuan (21.90 U.S. dollars), becoming the first micro-insurance deal in rural China.
The insurance policy pays 75,000 yuan if something happens to Dai’s family in Dongpao Village, Qixian County, China Life Insurance, operator of the policy, said.
One day later, all 1,017 residents from Xishantou, Macha and Huaishu villages of neighboring Qixian County took out a group insurance policy for accidental injury. If anyone in the village gets hurt, there is a total of 50 million yuan to cover expenses. For example, every villager put 10 yuan into the pot. The insurance company guarantees each of them a 5,000 yuan payment. The total is higher because the villagers bought the policy together, the first group policy of its kind in the country.
