Cities in China's Guangdong get $11 million in payouts from May-June floods

By Henry Gale

July 7 - (The Insurer) - Heavy rainfall in China's southeastern Guangdong province has triggered nearly $11 million in parametric insurance payouts to cities in recent weeks.

Since late April, 21 claims totalling nearly 77.5 million yuan ($10.8 million) have been triggered by rainfall in eight cities, according to the province's catastrophe index insurance platform, which provides live updates on weather conditions and parametric triggers, as of July 4.

A third of the funds have been paid in relation to flooding in Zhaoqing, while payouts totalling more than $1 million were also made to the cities of Maoming, Huizhou, Yunfu and Guangzhou.

Reuters reported last month that floodwaters rose more than five metres above warning levels in Zhaoqing, breaking historical records and disrupting the city's power supply. Severe flooding has hit several parts of central and southern China over recent weeks, with more recent flood alerts in the country's north and west.

Guangdong first introduced parametric catastrophe insurance for typhoons and extreme rainfall in 2016, and the scheme has since expanded to cover more cities in the province.

Yufeng Liu, head of treaty and innovative products at Continental Insurance Brokers, told Parametric Insurer in May that demand for catastrophe insurance from city governments across China was "increasingly rapidly".