中国: 停止販売大気汚染保険

Last month the Mainichi News on-line reported the following:

中国:大気汚染保険の販売停止　支払い条件厳しく

毎日新聞　2014年04月03日　19時38分

　【北京・井出晋平】大気汚染が深刻化する中国で、大手保険会社が発売した大気汚染による健康被害を補償する保険商品が、約１週間で販売停止に追い込まれた。保険金支払い条件が厳しすぎるため、当局が販売停止を命じたという。

　中国の英字紙「チャイナ・デーリー」などが３月２７日に報じた。保険を発売したのは、中国の保険大手、中国人民保険と中国平安保険の２社。いずれも北京など特定都市が対象で、掛け金は７８元（約１３００円）から。

　大気汚染が原因の健康被害に最高１５００元の保険金を支払うほか、微小粒子状物質「ＰＭ２．５」の濃度が１立方メートルあたり２５０マイクログラム以上の「厳重汚染」が５日間続いた場合などでも給付金を支払う。同１７日から発売された。

　だが、保険金の支払いを受けるには、大気汚染と健康被害の因果関係を証明することが必要。また、市内すべての観測地点で汚染が連続して観測されることなどが条件だった。

　中国メディアによると、健康被害と大気汚染の関係を証明するのは困難なうえ、北京市内１２の観測地点全てで５日間、厳重汚染が続いたことはないという。

　このため、実際に保険金を受け取るのは難しく「保険ではなく、まるで宝くじだ」との批判が出たため、中国保険監督管理委員会が販売停止を命じた。保険会社は契約数などを明らかにしていないが、すでに契約した保険は有効という。

(試譯文)

In China with the air pollution aggravating, insurance instruments to compensate for health impairment caused by air pollution were put on the market by major insurance companies. But they were forced to stop the sale in about one week; it was said that this was because the insurance policy payout conditions were too severe, the authorities ordered the sale to stop.

A Chinese English paper the "China Daily" etc. reported it on March 27th. Putting the insurance on the market were two major Chinese insurance companies: the Chinese People Insurance and the China Common Security. Both with a specific city as the target, such as Beijing, and the premium started from 78 Yuan (about 1300 yen).

For health impairment with air pollution as a cause, a maximum of 1500 Yuan insurance money would be paid, and payment would also be made when the concentration of the minute particulate matter "PM2.5" was in "severe contamination" of 250 micro-grams or more per cubic meter and had been in continuation for five days. The insurance was put on the market starting from the 17^th of the same month.

However, in order to receive the payment of insurance money, one had to prove the cause-and-effect relationship between air pollution and health impairment. Moreover, one condition was that a contamination had been observed continuously at all the observation points in the city etc.

According to a China media, it was said that to prove the relation between health impairment and air pollution was difficult, and no severe contamination could continue for five days at all the 12 observation points in Beijing.

For reasons that it was criticized as "not insurance but more like public lottery" and that it was difficult to actually receive the insurance money, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission ordered the sale to be stopped. Although the insurance companies had not clarified the number of contracts concluded, it was said that those insurance that already had a contract would be effective.

I agree with the observation that to prove the relation between health impairment and air pollution was difficult.