Taiwan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak has left the island’s insurers bracing for more than $1 billion in claims that the financial regulator is urging them to honor.
The head of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Huang Tien-mu, has ordered insurers to pay out on valid COVID-related insurance policies after they faced criticism from lawmakers for dismissing claims, canceling policies and delaying payouts.
Insurers are looking to limit their losses on policies after underestimating the extent of the disease. There are currently more than 6.3 million still-active COVID-related policies and another million waiting for approval, according to the FSC. This year, insurers have already paid out more to customers — 2.6 billion New Taiwan dollars ($89 million; ¥11.3 billion) — than the NT$2.1 billion in revenue they have received from premiums.