Rural Homeowners’ Willingness to Buy Flood Insurance

Houses are the primary asset for Chinese rural families. However, dramatically increasing frequency and severity of floods have caused significant loss in rural houses recently, and there is generally no insurance available. In this article, we investigate the rural residents’ willingness to buy insurance according to a national survey. The results show that there exists a strong need for flood insurance in rural China, and the influencing factors in the insurance demand include the recent frequency of floods, income, and past experience with lack of flood insurance. Policy suggestions for flood insurance are provided for the insurance industry and Chinese government.