Could hurdler Liu Xiang claim insurance for his injury? Ping An Insurance, which has given the star athlete health protection worth 100 million yuan (HK$113.9 million), seemed not to think so, saying the right Achilles tendon injury that Liu suffered was probably not included in his policy.
The country's second largest insurer by market share gave Liu a policy in November. In return, Liu agreed to represent the company as a 'charity ambassador'.
'You can't really put a price on these. They are priceless,' Liu said about his legs at a Ping An charity event in November.
So far, the insurer has yet to pay on a single claim since the policy was initiated. Nor, apparently, will it have to this time, because Liu was given only a 'standardised' life policy instead of any special purpose insurance he needed, according to Ping An.
'We feel sorry about Liu's withdrawal from the Olympics. No one wants this to happen,' group president Louis Cheung Chi-yan said on Monday.
Mr Cheung declined to comment on the terms of Liu's policy.
