HomeBusinessThu,Apr23,2020page11Spilloverinsurancesalessoar342%amidpandemicHEALTH-CONSCIOUS:Thenumberof‘walkerpolicies’inthefirstquarterincreasedto20,upfromnineayearearlier,FinancialSupervisoryCommissiondatashowedByKaoShih-ching/StaffreporterDespiteinsurancepolicysalesfalling37.7percentannuallyinthefirstquarter,salesofspilloverinsuranceproductssurged342percenttoNT$297million(US$9.87million)asconsumersfocusedonhealthinsurancecoverageamidtheCOVID-19pandemic,theFinancialSupervisoryCommission(FSC)saidonTuesday.Spilloverinsurancepolicies—namedafterthe“spillovereffect”thatoccurswheneventsinonesectoraffecteventsinanother—spurconsumerstoimprovetheirhealthinreturnforpolicyincentivessuchaspremiumcutsorbonuses.Moreconsumershavebeenattractedtospilloverproducts,whichallowthemtoincreasecoveragewhileloweringcostsforlifestylechangessuchaswalkingmoreorschedulinghealthexaminations,InsuranceBureauDeputyDirector-GeneralChangYu-hui(張玉輝)said.“Thecoronavirusoutbreakseemstohavemadeconsumersmoreawareoftheirhealthcoverage,whichwasonereasonwhytheproductscontinuedtogrow,whileoverallsalesretreatedduetostricterregulationsandlowerinvestmentreturns,”Changadded.TheFSC’sapprovaloffournewproductsinthefirstquartermightalsohavehelpedincreasesalesofspilloverpolicies,hesaid.Asoftheendoflastmonth,33spilloverinsuranceproductswerebeingofferedbyeightlifeinsurancecompanies,comparedwith16productsfromsevencompaniesayearearlier,Changsaid.“Walkerpolicies”—whichgivepolicyholdersbonusesforimplementingawalkingregimen—continuedtoshowthemostrapidgrowth,withthenumberofnewpoliciesinthefirstquarterincreasing20percentto15,386andfirst-yearpremiumsincreasing7percenttoNT$249million,commissiondatashowed.NanShanLifeInsuranceCo(南山人壽)joinedTaiwanLifeInsuranceCo(台灣人壽),CathayLifeInsuranceCo(國泰人壽),ChinaLifeInsuranceCo(中國人壽),ShinKongLifeInsuranceCo(新光人壽),FubonLifeInsuranceCo(富邦人壽)andFirstLifeInsuranceCo(第一金人壽)inofferingspilloverinsuranceproducts,thedatashowed.Thenumberofwalkerpoliciesinthefirstquarterincreasedto20,upfromnineayearear