Chinese insurer offers bird flu cover

According to Chinese media sources a Chinese insurance company is offering a life policy specifically for bird flu.

But people in Chinese cities will have to pay more than those in the country.

It seems that the Minsheng Life Insurance Co, Ltd has been given the go-ahead by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, and according to reports the policy will be launched very soon.

Apparently the scheme will pay out a maximum of 100,000 yuan ($12,400), and people living in the main cities will pay 200 yuan for the policy, while those outside will pay 100 yuan for a reduced payout of 50,000 yuan.

To date the H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 60 people of 118 confirmed human cases across South East Asia since it first hit in Vietnam and Thailand in 2003.

In an attempt to stem the virus, millions of birds have been culled across the region, but it has already spread to birds in Russia, Turkey, Romania and Croatia.

The virus remains hard to transmit between birds and humans, but the concern is that it might mutate to make this transfer more easily, or worse still, be able to move from person to person.

Experts say avian flu is not a food-borne virus, so eating chicken remains safe.