Insurers are seeing rapidly growing demand for heat-related illness coverage in the sweltering summer and are offering flexible insurance plans that are easy to purchase.
Customers use smartphone apps to apply for the services, which even include single-day contracts for coverage during outdoor concerts and sporting events, for example, reported Kyodo News Agency.
One such insurance policy, provided by a subsidiary of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co and available every summer since 2022, saw its contracts surpass 100,000 this year as of 25 July, including a rapid increase of around 30,000 only in 10 days from 16 July.
Its policyholders can choose between monthly coverage and a contract where they can decide the insurance period from one to 7 days. Contractors of the latter type can be covered starting from 10 a.m. if they complete their application by 9 a.m. the same day. Premiums can be paid via PayPay, one of the most widely used payment apps in Japan.
With temperatures of more than 40 degrees C in various locations in July, the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued alerts against heatstroke and heat exhaustion in many regions, urging people to stay indoors as much as possible during daylight hours.
For the week through 28 July, more than 12,000 people were taken to hospitals across the country due to heat-related issues, emergency workers said.