Kin may receive record mainland payout

The next of kin of one of the Chinese passengers aboard Air France flight 477 may receive 9.6 million yuan (HK$10.9 million) from PICC Life Insurance - the largest personal insurance payout in mainland history.

The client, who was not named, purchased a policy with a premium of 240,000 yuan last year.

According to the terms of the policy, the client was to receive 40 times the premium if he or she died in an aviation incident.

The details of the policy were announced in a short statement issued yesterday by the insurer. However, the identities of the policyholder and the beneficiary were not revealed.

Nine mainlanders were among the 228 people dead after the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.

They included six staff of the Benxi Iron and Steel Company based in Liaoning province, one of whom was a deputy general manager.