(Yicai Global) June 18 -- Nearly 200,000 households in Sichuan province, which suffered a 6.0-magnitude earthquake yesterday, have bought catastrophe insurance for the houses, according to preliminary statistics.

Some 115,700 households in the southeastern city of Yibin and 78,400 homes in Luzhou have prepared with catastrophe insurance plans, the Shanghai Insurance Exchange reported.

The insurance pilot kicked off in 2015 to cover natural disasters which are often overlooked by traditional insurers. The basic plan costs CNY27 (USD3.90) in total for an urban house and will offer a maximum of CNY50,000 (USD7,217.90) in compensation. A rural household must pay CNY38 to potentially receive CNY20,000.

China is in a zone prone to various types of natural disasters. These incidents put down 97,000 houses last year and affected 20 million hectares of crops. This caused direct economic losses of CNY264.5 billion (USD38.2 billion), according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Editor: Emmi Laine