Japanese insurers sells heatstroke insurance

Brutal heatwave saw more than 14,000 treated for heatstroke by end June.

Brutal heatwaves, which caused more than 14,000 people to be hospitalised for heatstroke in the week ending 3 July, has some insurers in Japan started offering heatstroke insurance, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Japan’s two biggest insurers, Sompo Holdings and Sumitomo Life Insurance have started offering policies that cover medical expenses arising from heatstroke.

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The brutal summer that hit the northern hemisphere also has Japan suffering from a vicious heatwave, with temperatures in June exceeding 35 degrees Celsius for the record six days in a row.

In April, Sumitomo Life started heatstroke insurance in April that costs around ¥100($0.73c) a day. It covers hospitalisation and other medical costs caused by the heat and sun. Meanwhile, Sompo’s heatstroke insurance released just this month pays benefits for hospitalisation, surgery, and even death caused by sun or heat exposure. The plan was initially created for children but Sompo decided to expand the offering to a broader age group.

According to numbers by Sumitomo Life, heatstroke insurance policy takeups have increased to about 6,900 on 29 June, compared to 400 per day before.