Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. recently announced that it has begun marketing an insurance policy to cover accidents at fireworks displays.
The new insurance covers payments to be made by the organizer of a fireworks display if spectators are killed or injured as a result of an explosion, human crush or other accidents, the major nonlife insurer said.
It is the first time that insurance has been applied to an unspecified number of people at an event.
The premium is set at 150,000 yen for coverage of 1 million yen in the event that a person dies at a fireworks display with an expected turnout of 50,000 spectators.
Yasuda devised the new coverage in the wake of a fatal crush at a fireworks display in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, earlier this month, in which nine children and two senior citizens on an overcrowded pedestrian overpass were crushed to death following the show.
Families of the dead blamed police for failing to respond to the situation, as requested, and faulted organizers of the event for inadequate crowd control.