'22 Games enjoy flurry of creative insurance

Insurance policies specially catered to winter sports have been gaining increasing attention as Chinese people's enthusiasm for such activities has been kindled by the ongoing 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

To keep up with Chinese people's increasing participation in winter sports and the rising demand for insurance products related to such hobbies and lifestyles, China's first internet insurance company ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co launched a special accident insurance product on Feb 5 targeting winter sports including alpine skiing, snowboarding and skating. The scope of insurance coverage includes accident medical reimbursement, accident casualty and even reimbursements for trip cancellations. The maximum indemnity stands at 400,000 yuan ($62,982).

ZhongAn said winter sports incur higher likelihood of injury, but ordinary accident insurance policies usually do not cover snow-and-ice activities－the major impetus behind launching the new products.

Sales of accident insurance covering risky sports such as skiing have spiked 70 percent year-on-year by Feb 9, said Li Yongqiang, an account manager at China Ping An Property Insurance Guangdong branch.

Sales of such insurance will remain robust during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics thanks to people's increasing enthusiasm for cold-weather sports. The products are expected to gain more policyholders amid wider proliferation of winter sports in China, said Li.

Manulife-Sinochem, the first insurance joint venture in China, saw its premium income from accident insurance covering skiing surge 133 percent on a yearly basis from Jan 1 to Feb 14 this year.

Applicable to people aged between 28 and 70, the maximum indemnity of the product comes at 300,000 yuan. People taking part in other high-risk sports such as high-diving or licensed flying can also apply for the insurance.

As the underwriter for property and casualty insurance for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, People's Insurance Co of China Ltd has extended its coverage beyond Olympic venues. It has launched two accident insurance products this year covering domestic winter sports and related tourism. The maximum indemnity is set at 500,000 yuan.

According to PICC President Wang Tingke, the insurer has allowed the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to explore more winter sports insurance products. By combining insurance, technologies and services, the insurer aims to promote the risk management capabilities of the government, companies and tourists. It is by insuring property and physical well-being that winter sports can seek high-quality development in China.

Li Mingxiao, director of the Beijing office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said Beijing-based insurers have rolled out more than 50 winter sports-related insurance policies since the beginning of 2020, providing over 320 billion yuan worth of coverage.

Data from the China Tourism Academy showed that more than 305 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports or related activities during the skiing seasons in 2021 and 2022.

According to China's winter sports development action plan 2021-2023 jointly released by three government bodies in February 2021, insurers are encouraged to come up with comprehensive winter sports insurance services by introducing more products covering venues, facilities and physical well-being. Market entities and individuals are encouraged to purchase related insurance policies.

Hu Yuanyuan in Beijing and Zhou Mo in Shenzhen contributed to this story.