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Insurer to adopt all quake orphans

By Song Hongmei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-05-15 14:52

China Life chairman Yang Chao (in white jacket) inspects the quake-hit areas in Mianzhu, Sichuan province on May 14, 2008. China Life Charity Fund will cover all the basic living expenses of children who have lost their parents in the devastating earthquake centered in Sichuan province, until they reach 18 years old, Yang said last night. [baidu.com]

China Life Charity Fund will cover all the basic living expenses of children who have lost their parents in the devastating earthquake centered in Sichuan province, until they reach 18 years old, chairman Yang Chao said last night.

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China's largest life insurer said it is in discussions with the local civil affairs department over details.

As of 4 pm yesterday, China Life had received 150 claim reports from Sichuan, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Gansu and Yunnan, and is estimating insurance payouts of 134 million yuan ($19.14 million). Twenty-six of them have already been paid, the largest of which totaled 130,000 yuan.

Despite the avalanche of claims, Yang said "We are fully prepared and there are no worries about making the payments." China Life yesterday paid 10 million yuan in advance for its policyholders' medical expenses to rebuild their lives.

China Life said it is anticipating a high level of claims from the earthquake, which so far has claimed 14,866 lives.

The insurer had 110,900 life insurance policies in Sichuan's Wenchuan county, the site of the earthquake's epicenter. Half of them were held by students.

Unlike its smaller rival Ping An, China Life is more vulnerable due to its extensive reach in the remote mountainous terrain of southwestern China. Ping An devotes more limited resources to serving urban customers.

In addition to speeding up processing of policyholders' claims, insurance companies and employees are expending more effort helping the quake victims.

Rough calculations show that as of 5 pm yesterday, China's insurance sector had donated more than 64 million yuan, with China Life donating 16.47 million yuan, while PICC, the country's largest non-life insurer, has donated 10 million yuan, China Insurance Group 6 million yuan, and Ping An and China Pacific each 5 million yuan.

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