"Isolation Insurance": Real Insurance or Real Gimmick?
Zhang Guodong
As local cases have been reported in many places, the risk of travel quarantine has gradually increased.
Due to the convenience of purchase, low premiums, and direct hits on consumers' pain points, the "isolation insurance" launched by some insurance companies has become popular on social platforms.
However, the imagination of being isolated at home and earning money is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.
Many consumers complain that there are a series of restrictions in the "isolation insurance" clause, and it is not so simple to make a successful claim.
(See the January 17 "International Finance News")
"59 yuan for epidemic prevention insurance, you can get 200 yuan for one day of home isolation, and a cup of milk tea is guaranteed for one year!" After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, some insurance companies have launched some new insurance types in response to market changes and customer needs, including epidemic prevention and control. The allowance for compulsory isolation due to the control policy is also known as "isolation insurance".
For people, some people need to bear their own expenses for centralized isolation, and at the same time it will delay a lot of time. If they can obtain economic compensation by purchasing insurance, it will obviously have a certain positive significance.
However, the reality is that the insurance process is easy, but it is difficult to successfully settle a claim.
Many people said that they were only informed when they applied for a claim that the second-closest connection, non-self-pay, home isolation, overseas return, and global control were not covered by the compensation.
Some of them did not study the factors of insurance rules and insurance contract terms in detail. It is also related to the relatively new types of "isolation insurance" and responsibilities, and there are some vague or confusing places in the process of sales and claims settlement, but it is not excluded that there are Insurance companies just regard "isolation insurance" as a marketing gimmick, and rhetoric is not enough.
As early as February 2020, at the press conference of the State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism, the relevant person in charge of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said that in order to prevent infringement of consumer rights, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission prohibited insurance companies from developing single-liability products such as exclusive new crown pneumonia insurance to prevent Insurance products are being hyped up using the epidemic as a marketing gimmick.
Judging from the current situation, the common "isolation insurance" on the market is mostly accident insurance within one year. Whether it is within the scope of the above-mentioned "prohibited" items remains to be clarified.
Faced with the controversy caused by "isolation insurance", firstly, consumers should be cautious when applying for insurance, and secondly, insurance companies should be self-disciplined.
More importantly, the regulatory authorities must prescribe the right medicine, the norms of the norm, the suspension of the suspension, and clear guidance and compliance for all parties in the market, so as to prevent the merchants from ignoring the policy and regulation level.
Insurance companies combine business with social reality and launch some products that meet market changes and customer needs. There is no problem, but the premise must be to respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of policyholders. They cannot use the epidemic to engage in marketing, and they cannot just focus on their own profits.
Otherwise, not only consumers will "vote with their feet", but regulators will also come to the door.