UDN reported on October 31 that policies in Taiwan pairing interest-sensitive life insurance with a health rider that pays out only after a year have been pulled across the board. Cathay Life stopped sales in September, and Shin Kong Life and Nan Shan Life followed in October.
UDN reported on the 31st that Taiwan’s interest-sensitive life policies carrying a health rider that begins paying claims only after one year are now fully off sale. Cathay Life halted sales in September, and Shin Kong Life and Nan Shan Life followed in October. The report is dated October 31, 2026.
광고 문의 · 300×250The dispute centres on the waiting period that delays coverage. According to the report, Taiwan’s insurance rules cap waiting periods at 30 days for general illness health cover and 90 days for cancer or other major illness. These policies let the rider start paying only after as long as a year, beyond the 90-day limit.
What industry and regulators say
Insurers say the first-year premium contains no health-rider portion, so the policies do not lengthen the waiting period. Cathay Life has explained that its first-year pricing simply did not factor in the incidence of certain illnesses, and that it is not collecting health premiums and then refusing claims.
The Financial Supervisory Commission and the Insurance Bureau did not accept that. The FSC considers the premium calculation too complicated for outsiders to credit the industry’s account, and holds that every medical policy should have the same waiting period with no product-based exceptions. Insurers pulled the products in line with the regulator’s demand.
Where this leaves would-be buyers
The hardest hit are people in so-called sub-health, whose condition makes ordinary medical insurance hard to obtain. Critics also said the product let buyers in poorer health ride into medical cover through a life policy. Existing policyholders are not directly affected by the halt, but the report does not say how current contracts are handled.
The report quotes no independent outside experts; the explanations came mainly from insurers and the regulator. Whether the Insurance Bureau will write new rules or let insurers reapply remains to be seen. Overseas Chinese readers in Korea holding Taiwanese policies may wish to ask their insurer about the terms of their own riders.