'Crawfish insurance' launched in Nanjing

China’s first food safety liability insurance, known colloquially as "crawfish insurance," was recently launched in the eastern city of Nanjing. Consumers will receive compensation up to 20,000 yuan ($3,015) if they get rhabdomyolysis after eating crawfish at a restaurant. As of now, five restaurants have purchased the insurance.

This summer, a number of people in Nanjing were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis after eating crawfish. The compensation for these customers not only brought unwanted costs for the owners of the restaurants, but also disputes between the merchants and consumers. The insurance company launched "crawfish insurance" to prevent just such a situation.

Instead of being paid for by the customers, the insurance will be purchased by restaurants. It covers customers' medical expenses for symptoms of rhabdomyolysis developed within 12 hours of eating the crawfish. Restaurants can choose to pay the insurance company either 1,500, 2,500 or 3,500 yuan annually; for these annual amounts, the insurance company compensates afflicted consumers with 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 yuan respectively. The maximum compensation over a year should not exceed 1.5 million yuan.

According to Wang Shengqi, an employee with the local market supervision administration, the first "crawfish insurance" contract was signed on Aug. 11 in Nanjing, making Nanjing the first city in China to launch the unique insurance. A manager surnamed Ge, who works in one of the restaurants that purchased the insurance, believes the deal is very worthwhile, since it offers added security for both customers and restaurants.