Regulator encourages insurers to take part in microinsurance

CIRC wants to expand microinsurance project to target the very lowest wage earners

In an effort to help the 720 million rural population of China, the Insurance Regulatory Commission is introducing microinsurance to a much wider segment of the population. CIRC points out that this segment has an average annual disposable income of 4,000 yuan ($554) a year, against the 10,000 yuan ($1,380) for urban wage earners. Microinsurance is one of the tools with which the government is aiming to unite the development strategies for the increasingly divergent living standards evident in different sectors of the country. More funding is to be provided for rural medical services and old age pensions.