A life less insured

When my scooter was damaged last year, the insurance company would only pay up if the damage was caused by a collision (and only if there was CCTV evidence). Luckily, police caught the culprit and he paid me cash—so I never needed to make that claim.

But despite having the highest tier of insurance coverage, I wasn’t surprised my policy was weak. Insurance in Taiwan is not like insurance in the west.

And often, it doesn’t exist at all:

Insurance type	NZ	USA	Taiwan
Contents / Property	✅	✅	❌
Health	✅	✅	✅
House	✅	✅	❌
Income	✅	✅	❌
Liability	✅	✅	❌
Life	✅	✅	✅
Pet	✅	✅	✅
Renters	✅	✅	❌
Travel	✅	✅	✅
Vehicle	✅	✅	✅

In some cases, it may be possible to buy coverage for the missing insurance types—but generally speaking, in Taiwan, such policies are unknown and/or unpopular and/or completely unavailable.

Early in my time here, I was consciously nervous about this. What if I damaged my apartment? What if I damaged something on the street? What if someone stole my gear?

I asked a lot of people about the lack of insurance. Almost universally, they said something like “we cherish life and health; other things aren’t so important”.

I, too, cherish life and health. But I also cherish not bankrupting myself if I destroy an apartment.

(Having said that, the vast majority of Taiwanese buildings are constructed of concrete and steel. It’d be hard—but not impossible—to accidentally destroy one…)

In New Zealand, house insurance is a prerequisite for a mortgage. You insure your house before you even buy it. Here in Taiwan, you just move in and cross your fingers.

But as I found with my scooter, even where insurance exists, it can be weak.

When I visited Singapore in December, I purchased the highest level of travel insurance I could find. It covered NT$1,200,000 (NZ$60,000) worth of medical expenses, excluding evacuation. An equivalent policy in New Zealand would have unlimited medical coverage—including medevac.

If I was to rent a car in Taiwan, the maximum payout for vehicle damage might be around NT$500,000 (NZ$25,000). Much less than the value of the car itself, let alone any other vehicles involved in a collision.

This risk is further compounded by Taiwan—ironically—being a high-trust society that’s also litigious.

I miss the comfort of proper, comprehensive, your-life-won’t-be-ruined-if-you-have-an-accident kind-of cover.

Having said that, National Health Insurance remains amazing—helping me cherish life and health as Taiwanese do.

But in all other aspects, I find myself—reluctantly—living a life less insured.

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