->About residential earthquake basic insurance

Why does the government create residential earthquake insurance? What are the purposes thereof?
In witness of severe economic losses caused by September 21 Earthquake (921 Earthquake or Jiji earthquake) in Taiwan, the Government has proactively installed the residential earthquake insurance system and recognized it as one of the complementary measures for the work program of post-disaster reconstruction plan. In the meantime, the Government has undertaken a part of the liability for insurance losses derived from major earthquake events, hoping that this act insurance will make up the insufficiency of commercial insurance, assist disaster affected citizens in rebuilding their homeland and alleviate the impact of disasters on national finance.

What is residential earthquake basic insurance? How to insure your home?
As an extension of residential fire insurance, residential earthquake basic insurance has its coverage extended to include earthquake accidents. This enables the insured to receive base compensation not only for accidents specified in the residential fire insurance, but also for damages and losses caused by earthquakes. All of the residence owners can enroll in the insurance directly through a domestic property insurance company or loan financial institution (insurance agent); or indirectly through a licensed insurance broker or insurance agent company.

What is the coverage of residential earthquake basic insurance?
The coverage of residential earthquake basic insurance is defined as the “total loss” of property caused by earthquake vibrations as well as fire, explosion, landslide, subsidence, displacement, crack, breach, tsunami, high tide and flood caused by the earthquake. The compensation amount of each residence is limited to the insurance amount, which is set according to the replacement cost of the subject matter insured. Where the replacement cost exceeds NTD1,500,000, the insurance amount will be limited NTD1,500,000. Besides, NTD200,000 will also be paid for each resident building as the temporary accommodation fee.

What are the claim standards of residential earthquake basic insurance?
According to Article 56 of the Terms and Conditions of Residential Fire and Earthquake Basic Insurance Policy, the losses covered by the Insurance refers to the total loss of a residential building and such loss is directly resulted from an accident specified in the insurance coverage of this contract. The said “total loss” refers to:
The government agency has notified or commanded the owner to demolish the building or has directly demolished the property.
The property has been identified by the Insurance’s qualified assessor, architects association, structure/ civil engineering association or earth technician association as unbearable for living and must be demolished for reconstruction; or as unbearable for living without repair and the repair cost is more than 50% of the replacement cost when an accident occurs.
Why has a total claim made basis been adopted by the residential earthquake basic insurance?
The reasons for adopting a total loss claim made basis for this insurance is to simplify the claim process and complete insurance claim within the shortest period. This will enable disaster-affected citizens to quickly receive financial aids while reducing the insurance premium as the claim expenses are reduced. Above information are cited from the website of Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund(https://www.treif.org.tw/index.aspx).

Disaster Responses Reports

About residential earthquake basic insurance