The ACE Group of Companies announced today that Huatai Insurance Company of China Limited (Huatai), an ACE Group strategic partner, has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to become one of the first insurance companies to offer broad pollution coverage in China.
Huatai has worked closely with Chinese regulatory officials to develop coverage for both first-party clean-up and third-party claims for pollution conditions associated with operations or investments in China, with limits up to $25 million.
Huatai Chief Executive Officer Zhao Ming Hao commented, “We are very pleased to be the first local Chinese non-life company to provide this product for our clients throughout China, using our extensive branch network. We believe that there will be significant demand for this product in the future. The assistance of our strategic partner ACE has been critical in its development.”
“The increase in environmental awareness in China in the past few years is enormous, as is the pace of regulatory change,” said Karl J. Russek, Senior Vice President, ACE Environmental Risk. “Multinationals, in particular, increasingly face scrutiny of their environmental performance in China, both from within China and from constituencies in their home countries. We view this product as an important differentiator for our multinational clients who have assets or operations in China.”
In addition to coverage from Huatai, a suite of environmental risk management services for companies with operations in China is available from ACE Environmental Health and Safety Consulting Services (Shanghai), Ltd.
Huatai Insurance Company of China Limited was formed in 1996 and was the fourth nationally licensed non-life company in China. Huatai has a national license to provide property and casualty products through its network, which covers 18 provinces and municipalities in China. Additional information can be found at www.ehuatai.com.
The ACE Group of Companies is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE), a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, the ACE Group of Companies conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. Additional information can be found at www.acelimited.com.
###