Survey finds 60% of Taiwan homes lack earthquake insurance

​TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —  According to the government-backed Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund, as of the end of December 2024, the coverage rate of basic residential earthquake insurance in Taiwan was 38.89% — indicating more than 60% of homes could be uninsured for earthquakes.

TREIF said Taiwan is located on the Pacific Rim seismic belt, which leads to frequent earthquakes. Despite this, the majority of homeowners have no insurance coverage.

The lack of residential earthquake insurance first came to light in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake in 1999. Widespread earthquake losses led the government to establish TREIF, a non-profit organization operating as an earthquake insurance fund pool and consensus-building platform to strengthen domestic earthquake insurance mechanisms.

The government mandated that all residential fire insurance policies must automatically include basic residential earthquake coverage on April 1, 2002. Homeowners with insurance agreements before this may not include earthquake insurance and may require a renewal agreement to ensure earthquake protection.

TREIF said that if homeowners are unclear about their property insurance holder as well as details of their policy, they can visit the "Residential Earthquake Insurance Post-Earthquake Public Inquiry Service Platform" and enter basic personal information to learn more about their policy.

TREIF urges homeowners to be aware of earthquake insurance coverage partly because of aging residences. A government audit found the average age of residences across Taiwan to be 32 years.

Only residences built after the 921 earthquake (1999) meet stricter building standards requiring stronger earthquake resistance.