Market Innovation! Chinese Insurance Co Will Pay Beijing Residents $240 If Hospitalized b/c Of Smog

[hatrack]

A state-owned Chinese insurer will offer residents of Beijing insurance coverage against health risks caused by air pollution, promising to pay out 1,500 yuan ($240) to policy holders hospitalized by smog.

he policy, available for 10-50 year olds, will also pay out 300 yuan ($48.56) when the city's official smog index exceeds 300 for five consecutive days, a level considered "hazardous", according to a notice posted on the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) website.
Beijing's official air quality index (AQI), which measures airborne pollutants including particulate matter and sulphur dioxide, routinely exceeds 300, and sometimes hits levels higher than 500.

A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily level of no more than 20.

EDIT

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0318/Smog-insurance-One-response-to-Beijing-s-pollution

[kristopher]

1. Smog-Covered Paris Offers Free Public Transportation In Bid To Reduce Pollution

Smog-Covered Paris Offers Free Public Transportation In Bid To Reduce Pollution
BY RYAN KORONOWSKI ON MARCH 15, 2014 AT 2:14 PM



The Eiffel Tower, is barely seen through the smog from Paris, Friday, March 14, 2014. Air pollution that has turned Paris skies a murky yellow is giving a break to millions of French travelers for all public transportation in the Paris region and two other cities is free for the next three days. Nearly three-quarters of France is under alert in what the European Environment Agency says is the worst air pollution since 2007.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/JACQUES BRINON

Unseasonably warm weather and too much dangerous pollution have led to some drastic response measures in Europe this weekend.

In a bid to cut down on smog, Parisians don’t have to pay a thing to take public transportation, as recent shocking levels of air pollution have left the City of Lights looking like Beijing or Shanghai. Paris police lowered the speed limit and asked people not to burn wood in fireplaces. Authorities asked factories and trucks with heavy loads to reduce activity. Free bus and subway rides began on Friday morning, and are scheduled to end on Sunday...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/15/3409951/smog-paris-public-transport/

[djean111]

2. Couldn't find out what the premium is....

being cynically aware of how insurance companies work, I will assume that proving one is hospitalized due to smog is a bit difficult, plus we read yesterday that in the US, being admitted and being under observation are quite different when it comes to insurance - on fucking medicare! - or maybe the AQI is due to be bumped up.

edit - France is looking better and better as a place to retire, these days.