Some 400 customers who bought insurance packages for Mid-Autumn Festival can expect compensation from an insurance company for being unable to see the full moon that night.

A total of 5,154 people bought the insurance packages jointly sold by China's largest online marketplace, Taobao.com, and German insurer Allianz.

The basic package, priced at 20 yuan ($3.27), offered compensation of 50 yuan if buyers could not see the moon in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen that night. A package that cost 99 yuan paid out 188 yuan for being unable to see the moon in any of 41 cities, including the above three.

About 9 percent of policyholders are eligible for compensation.

They are from nine cities: Harbin, Dalian, Wenzhou, Xining, Xi'an, Lhasa, Chengdu, Haikou and Fuzhou, which were overcast or rainy at 6 pm on Sept 19.

Sina Weibo user Hu Changyang wrote on Sunday that he had already received compensation on an insurance policy for the city of Fuzhou.

"It is the first time weather-related insurance has entered the Chinese market," said Jiang Jian'er, a staff member of the corporate communications department of Allianz China.

Ge Ruichao, director of Taobao's finance department, said the post-'80s and post-'90s generations were the major buyers of the full-moon insurance.

Ge believed the new packages helped to add fun to the traditional Chinese festival.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/23/2013 page3)