A man in Shenzhen, Guangdong, has reported that an insurance policy he purchased 30 years ago, which promised a monthly payout of 500,000 yuan after he turned 60, has been denied by the insurer after he received only the first payment.
The policyholder, Mr. Chen, stated that he bought the pension insurance in 1995 for 4,055 yuan, an amount equivalent to approximately 43,000 yuan today. After faithfully paying premiums for three decades, the policy matured. However, the insurance company refused to continue the payouts stipulated in the contract.
The policy document clearly states "monthly payment of 500,000 yuan after age 60." Despite this unambiguous wording, Mr. Chen received only the initial payment before the disbursements were stopped.
In response, the insurance company, China Life Insurance Company Limited, attributed the issue to a historical clerical error. They claimed that an employee mistakenly input "monthly payment" instead of the intended "one-time lump sum payment" when the policy was created decades ago.
Mr. Chen's legal representative has countered this explanation, arguing that the policy wording is clear and unambiguous. Furthermore, the lawyer pointed out that, according to relevant regulations, the period during which the insurer could have corrected such an error had long since expired, by the year 2000 at the latest.
Having failed to resolve the dispute, Mr. Chen has now engaged legal counsel and filed a lawsuit against the insurer. The case is scheduled to go to trial on July 13th.