Swiss Property Insurance (China) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Swiss Property Insurance (China)”) recently disclosed a significant settlement announcement revealing that due to a 6-year-old boy accidentally swallowing a battery for an air conditioner remote control in the United States, resulting in permanent injury, the insured and the plaintiff reached a settlement of $40 million USD (approximately 287 million RMB), with Swiss Property Insurance (China) bearing the liability for compensation equivalent to 141.28 million RMB.
The news quickly trended on Weibo on July 11th.
According to the announcement, the incident occurred in July 2022. A 6-year-old boy in the United States mistakenly swallowed a battery from an air conditioner remote control, causing permanent gastrointestinal damage. Subsequently, his family filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the remote control—a manufacturer exporter—claiming damages amounting to $125.2 million USD.
To avoid higher claims for losses determined by juries in subsequent lawsuits, lawyers advised the insured to settle the case. Ultimately, the insured and the plaintiff reached a settlement of $40 million USD. Based on the policy terms and the information received regarding the case, Swiss Property Insurance (China) considered the case to be covered under the policy and was responsible for compensating for the settlement amount after depleting the base layer insurance coverage. The company promptly confirmed the policy obligations and calculated the loss. On June 18, 2025, Swiss Property Insurance (China) had completed a payment totaling RMB 141.28 million, with the policy liability limit exhausted.
The official website shows that Swiss Property Insurance (China) was restructured by the Beijing branch of Zurich Insurance Company in April 2013, approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, and is committed to providing comprehensive insurance solutions and risk management services for corporate clients. Its services include foreign clients operating in China, institutions of global Zurich clients in China, domestic large and medium-sized enterprises, especially Chinese multinational corporations that are “going global.”
Cover image source: Daily Economic News, photo by Liu Guomei.
This article is compiled from public information.