Basic residential earthquake insurance covers only the "main building structure" (房屋建築物本體), and pays insurance money only when it reaches total loss (collapse, a government notice to demolish, or repair costs of 50% or more of the replacement cost), up to NT$1,500,000, with a further NT$200,000 paid as temporary housing expenses. From July 15, 2025, if a house has not reached total loss but the government has posted a red danger sign (the "red tag", 紅單), you can also receive NT$100,000 in temporary housing expenses first.
It is attached to residential fire insurance, is bought one year at a time, and has a single nationwide premium rate. Below, based on the FAQ and publicity documents of the residential earthquake insurance fund (財團法人住宅地震保險基金; "the earthquake insurance fund" below), this article sorts out what is covered, how claims are paid, how to apply, and what it does not cover.
Reminder: After an earthquake, look after personal safety first; do not enter a building posted with a red danger sign to take photos for evidence. The sums insured and claim conditions are as in the policy terms and the announcements of the earthquake insurance fund; if you are not sure whether your home is insured, you can call the earthquake insurance fund's toll-free number 0800-580-921, or ask the property insurance company that underwrote the policy directly. If after a re-evaluation you still object to the total-loss determination, you can file a complaint with the financial consumer dispute resolution center (財團法人金融消費者評議中心).
What it covers and how much it pays: one table
In its general FAQ, the earthquake insurance fund states the covered perils: earthquake shaking, and fire, explosion, landslide, ground subsidence, sliding, cracking and breaching caused by an earthquake, and tsunami, high tides and flooding caused by an earthquake. Payouts fall into two situations.
| Situation | Payout | Basis |
|---|
| Total loss reached | The insurance money is limited to the sum insured; the sum insured is set by the replacement cost at the time of purchase, and where the replacement cost exceeds NT$1,500,000 it is counted as NT$1,500,000; in addition, NT$200,000 is paid as temporary housing expenses | Earthquake insurance fund: general FAQ (updated 2025-07-08) |
| Total loss not reached, but the government has posted a red danger sign and issued a written notice | NT$100,000 in temporary housing expenses; temporary housing expenses within the insurance period total at most NT$200,000 | Same as above, effective Jul 15, 2025 |
| Total loss not reached and no red danger sign | Basic insurance does not pay | This article's summary of the conditions above |
| Premium | A single nationwide rate; NT$1,350 per year for a sum insured of NT$1,500,000; for a lower sum insured the actual premium is as quoted by the insurance company | Earthquake insurance fund: fund profile (updated 2025-10-28) |
The earthquake insurance fund explains that the expanded payout of July 2025 carries no additional premium, and applies automatically to all in-force policies for earthquake damage occurring after the effective date. The same explanation also says the NT$200,000 temporary housing expense on total loss is a fixed-amount payment, not subject to the bank mortgage clause, so an affected policyholder can receive the full amount.
What "total loss" means: a cracked wall does not count
Total loss, as the term is used in Article 69 of the policy terms, means, according to the earthquake insurance fund's claims Q&A, one of the following: the government has notified, ordered or directly proceeded to demolish the building; or a qualified assessor has determined, or the architects' association (建築師公會) and the structural, civil and geotechnical engineers' associations (結構、土木、大地技師公會) have appraised, that the building is unfit to live in and must be demolished and rebuilt, or that it is unfit to live in without repair and the repair cost reaches 50% or more of the replacement cost at the time the hazard occurred.
Taking reinforced concrete or reinforced masonry buildings as examples, the earthquake insurance fund lists "unfit to live in and must be demolished and rebuilt" as including: the whole building toppling or collapsing; the whole building, or some floor and above, tilting at a rate of 1/30 or more; a maximum settlement of 30 cm or more. The repair-cost ratio is calculated by the assessor entering the degree of damage to columns, beams and structural walls into the system. For apartment buildings, the unit is the building (幢), and the most severely damaged floor is the one assessed.
One thing to keep straight: the earthquake insurance fund stresses that the total-loss determination and the government's post-quake emergency evaluation red tags and yellow tags (紅單、黃單) are two different things. A red tag asks you to stay out of the building for now to avoid secondary harm from aftershocks, and does not equal total loss for insurance. What a red tag can trigger is the NT$100,000 temporary housing expense, not the NT$1,500,000 insurance money. For how to check the plumbing and electrical piping and wiring at home after a quake, see Checking hidden pipes in walls and gas lines after an earthquake; to understand the intensity levels, read What happens at each earthquake intensity level.
If the house has a mortgage, how is the money split
Most people's earthquake insurance was bought together when a bank arranged the mortgage. Under the mortgage endorsement of the basic residential fire and earthquake insurance (住宅火災及地震基本保險抵押權附加條款), at most 60% of the earthquake insurance money (excluding temporary housing expenses) goes first to repay the mortgage bank, within the scope of the debt, and the remaining at least 40% is paid to the owner; temporary housing expenses all go to the owner.
- The earthquake insurance fund's example: sum insured NT$1,500,000, mortgage balance NT$2,000,000; on total loss the bank can take NT$900,000 and the owner NT$600,000, plus NT$200,000 in temporary housing expenses.
- If the mortgage balance is only NT$500,000, the bank takes NT$500,000 and the owner gets NT$1,000,000.
- After a house is damaged, the unpaid loan still has to be repaid; the earthquake insurance fund also states this in its Q&A.
There is another rule that is rarely mentioned: if the total payable nationwide for a single major earthquake exceeds the total limit borne by the risk-diversification mechanism, the insurance money is reduced proportionally, but temporary housing expenses are not reduced. Two or more earthquakes within 168 hours are treated as one earthquake event.
How to claim and what to prepare
- Report the loss to the property insurance company where you bought the policy. If you do not know whether you are insured, you can look it up on the earthquake insurance fund's post-quake public service lookup platform for residential earthquake insurance (住宅地震保險震後民眾服務查詢平臺), or call 0800-580-921.
- The insurance company sends a qualified assessor to evaluate on site; disputed cases are sent to the earthquake insurance fund for re-evaluation, and if necessary the engineers' or architects' association is commissioned to appraise on site.
- Gather the documents. For total loss: the claim application, proof such as a photocopy of the property ownership certificate (權狀) or the transcript, a payment acceptance form and a temporary housing expense acceptance form, and, if the government demolished the building, a copy of the demolition notice or order. For the NT$100,000 red-tag payment: the claim application, proof of rights in the building, the temporary housing expense acceptance form, and a copy of the written notice issued after the government posted the red danger sign.
- Under Article 75 of the policy terms, payment is made within 15 days after the documents are complete and the amount is confirmed.
Renters should note: the earthquake insurance fund says the temporary housing expense is paid to the insured who has an insurable interest in the ownership of the house, that is, the owner; tenants cannot claim it, and if you need protection you can separately buy tenant-related insurance from a property insurance company.
What basic insurance does not cover: find another way
The earthquake insurance fund's FAQ explains that the sum insured is calculated on the cost of the building structure itself and does not include movable property or decoration. If you want cover above NT$1,500,000, cover for partial loss, or cover for movable property inside the home, the earthquake insurance fund suggests asking the insurance company that issued your policy about "excess earthquake insurance" (超額地震保險) or extended earthquake cover products; the content and price are as in each insurance company's terms, and this article does not list market prices.
Typhoon flooding is a different type of insurance; compare it with Coverage of typhoon and flood cover in residential fire insurance. Rather than claiming afterward, it is more practical to understand your home's earthquake resistance beforehand: you can first use the Old-house checkup map for Taipei and New Taipei to see soil liquefaction and preliminary seismic assessment information, then read How to apply for the old-house seismic assessment subsidy. For intensity information at the moment of an earthquake, see Taiwan real-time earthquake reports and intensity.
FAQ
If walls crack and tiles fall after an earthquake, will earthquake insurance pay?
Basic residential earthquake insurance pays on total loss; partial cracks and fallen tiles usually do not reach the total-loss standard. If the government posts a red danger sign, you can claim the NT$100,000 temporary housing expense. Partial losses depend on separately purchased extended earthquake insurance, as agreed in each policy.
Once the mortgage is paid off, does earthquake insurance still renew automatically?
The earthquake insurance fund explains that basic residential earthquake insurance is a one-year policy that must be renewed every year, and recommends automatic renewal and automatic debit from your bank account so that cover does not lapse. After the mortgage is paid off, a policy that the bank used to arrange may no longer be renewed; please confirm with the insurance company yourself.
Can I receive money if a yellow tag is posted?
Under the earthquake insurance fund's announcement, the condition for the NT$100,000 temporary housing expense is that the government has posted a red danger sign and issued a written notice; a yellow tag is not within this payment condition.
My home's replacement cost is only NT$1,000,000; can I insure it for NT$1,500,000?
No. The sum insured is set by the replacement cost calculated at the time of purchase using the cost reference table of the property insurance association (產險公會); only where it exceeds NT$1,500,000 is NT$1,500,000 the cap. For a lower sum insured, the actual premium is as quoted by the insurance company.
Last updated: 2026-10-30
This article was compiled by the SOSfix editors from public information and is for general reference only. For an individual case, contact the property insurance company that underwrote the policy, or the residential earthquake insurance fund at 0800-580-921.
Sources
- Residential earthquake insurance fund (財團法人住宅地震保險基金): general FAQ for the public (question update dates 2010 to 2025-07-08, verified 2026-10-30) (in Chinese): covered perils; total loss NT$1,500,000 and temporary housing expenses NT$200,000; red danger sign NT$100,000 and the Jul 15, 2025 effective date; no additional premium; one-year policy renewed each year; mortgage bank 60% and owner 40%; sum insured set by the replacement cost and excluding movable property and decoration; single rate; excess earthquake insurance.
- Residential earthquake insurance fund: claims-related questions for the public (question update dates through 2025-07-08, verified 2026-10-30) (in Chinese): the definition of total loss (Article 69 of the policy terms); the 1/30 tilt rate and 30 cm settlement; the 50% repair cost; red tags differ from the total-loss determination; claim documents; payment within 15 days (Article 75); reduced payment and the 168 hours; tenants cannot claim; mortgage examples; the 0800 hotline and the post-quake lookup platform; re-evaluation and complaints to the dispute resolution center.
- Residential earthquake insurance fund: fund profile (updated 2025-10-28, verified 2026-10-30) (in Chinese): single nationwide rate; an annual premium of NT$1,350 for a sum insured of NT$1,500,000; since 2012 the sum insured cap of NT$1,500,000 and temporary housing expenses of NT$200,000.
Related reading: Tenant Fire Liability and Landlord Insurance Guide
