Insurance for the Moon Festival in China

Allianz China General Insurance is offering moon insurance in collaboration with Taobao Insurance. The policy is actually an accident insurance policy that also pays out a bonus if the moon is obscured by clouds on the day of the Asian Moon Festival, which takes place this year on September 19th. The insurance policy, which was launched only recently, is the first cooperation project between the two insurers.
 

The Mid-Autumn Festival has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years and is particularly popular in China, but also in other parts of Asia. It is held during the full moon in the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The traditionally-minded Chinese tend to celebrate with their families. As well as enjoying the special moon cakes, watching the moon itself forms an important part of the celebrations.

The moon is brought down to earth for a week
 

Patience Chan, who works for Allianz in Hong Kong, explains the enthusiasm around the festivities: “The moon is brought ‘down to earth’ by modern light shows and thousands of differently shaped lanterns. In Hong Kong, the fire and fury of an ancient ritual roars its way onto the streets in the shape of a 67-meter long dragon. And no Moon Festival would be complete without family and friends gathering to indulge in delicious foods – both traditional and new. The festivities can easily stretch over the whole week – just enough time to sample all the moon cakes on offer."
 

If the star of the show, the moon, is a no-show, the Chinese can now, for the first time, take out insurance against the bitter disappointment. But that's not all: "Accidents are more likely to occur during major festivals than on normal days of the year, so this product is very effective, for advertising purposes, in terms of getting more people to take out cover," explains Janice Jiang of Allianz China General Insurance Company Ltd.
 

Policyholders could opt to pay in between 20 and 99 yuan (the equivalent of between 2.50 and 12 euros). The accident insurance policy offers cover of 100,000 yuan (around 12,000 euros) – for any accidents sustained during nighttime moon-watching excursions. In addition, customers receive a payment of between 50 and 188 yuan (between 6 and 22.50 euros) if they do not get to see the moon during the Moon Festival due to bad weather. The corresponding amount is then transferred into the policyholder's account. The decisive data source is the China Weather forecast at 6 p.m. on a specific day. This determines whether money is paid out or not. In certain regions of China, policyholders also receive a pack of moon cakes to make up for the fact that they missed out on seeing the moon itself.

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