China bans off-beat insurance policies

China’s insurance regulator has banned several types of controversial policies that have been used by insurers to create hype, including those that covered losses from World Cup bets or from unplanned Valentine’s Day pregnancies. Insurers are forbidden from selling several types of insurance products, including those that cover losses due to speculation or damages by rare events, according to a guideline issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission that came into effect on Sunday. Policies that attempt to “unfairly exploit” certain social issues such as severe air pollution or the rising rate of divorces in the country are also banned, according to Caixin. In recent years, Chinese property insurers have developed some eye-catching but misleading products to gain publicity, such as policies targeting married men that promise to offer compensation to their wives if the couple gets divorced due to an extramarital affair.