Taiwan FSC Approves First Heat-Protection Microinsurance Trial and Bank Cooling-Site Pilot
Climate change is increasing the risks of extreme heat and heat-related illness, while low-income and lower-middle-income households and older people living alone often have less access to medical care and cooling resources. Microinsurance previously covered only life and accident risks, but Nan Shan Life’s health-insurance pilot aims to close that protection gap. The Ministry of Environment and the Financial Supervisory Commission are also adding banks’ public spaces to the Cool Map, linking post-incident insurance payouts with preventive access to cooling.
The FSC approved the Nan Shan Life Group Micro Heat Injury Hospitalization Care Health Insurance policy on May 28, 2026, for a one-year trial in Tainan beginning July 1. Policyholders hospitalized for heatstroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope or heat cramps receive a fixed NT$10,000 benefit. First Commercial Bank has also added 82 locations to the Cool Map and designated its headquarters as a demonstration site. The FSC will ask the bank to share its experience with the Bankers Association.
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The history behind this eventNan Shan Life Launches Taiwan’s First Microinsurance for Heat Injuries
Extreme heat is posing growing health and financial risks to outdoor workers, older people and low-income households in Taiwan. Reported medical visits for heat-related illness reached 312 in the first 10 days of July 2026, up 6% from a year earlier. Nan Shan Life’s product extends microinsurance — low-cost basic coverage for financially vulnerable groups — into climate adaptation, an approach endorsed by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission and Ministry of Environment as an inclusive-finance innovation.
Nan Shan Life received approval for the pilot on May 28, 2026, began coverage in Tainan in July and announced the program on July 20. The insurer is fully funding premiums for nearly 32,000 low-income and lower-middle-income residents and eligible older people. Policyholders hospitalized for specified conditions including heatstroke, heat syncope or heat cramps can receive a fixed NT$10,000 benefit. Taiwan’s first group microinsurance policy dedicated to heat-related hospitalization will initially run as a one-year pilot.
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