Insurers activate settlement of claims for SW China earthquake

Insurance companies have initiated emergency response procedures for the settlement of claims after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday, according to the Sichuan banking and insurance regulatory bureau.

Such service measures were introduced as setting up a 24-hour hotline for claims settlement, actively seeking customers, accepting reports through multiple channels, simplifying materials, and lifting restrictions on designated hospitals.

Local insurance organizations showed that a total of 115,684 households in the city of Yibin were insured for 2.94 billion yuan (about US$427 million), among which 13,600 households in Changning County of Yibin were insured for 360 million yuan.

As of 4pm Wednesday, around 243,880 people had been affected by the earthquake. Thirteen people died and 220 were injured. More than 52,000 people were relocated from quake-hit areas. Over 20,000 houses collapsed or were severely damaged, according to updated statistics.

The People's Insurance Company Group of China said the company will continue to pay close attention to the progress of disaster management, and actively promote the implementation of various claims settlement services in an orderly manner.