As temperatures soar to unprecedented levels from Europe to Asia this summer, some Japanese insurance companies have begun selling policies to protect people struck down by the heat waves.
Sompo Holdings and Sumitomo Life Insurance, two of the country’s biggest insurers, are offering policies specifically designed to cover medical expenses arising from heatstroke.
Japan hasn’t been spared by the brutal summer that’s hitting the northern hemisphere. In June — a month typically known for a relatively cool rainy season — temperatures in Tokyo exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for a record six days in a row, according to the Meteorological Agency. The heat wave nationwide saw more than 14,000 people taken to hospital for emergency treatment in the week that ended July 3.
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