The China Insurance Regulatory Commission announced yesterday it will allow insurers to set their own prices for flight insurances.

The commission said in a notice that it will abandon its instructive regulation on aviation insurance on Dec. 1, a policy that has been in practice since 1999, Xinhua news agency reported today.

Currently, premiums of the aviation insurance are set by the government.

A normal personal aviation accident policy now costs 20 yuan (2.66 U.S. dollars) at mainland airports. The policy covers only a single, one-way flight and the buyer or his or her family can seek to claim as much as 400,000 yuan if there is an accident.

The policy, though it doubled its maximum claim to 400,000 yuan in 2003, drew nationwide criticism that it was a "huge-profit" product as the cost of the policy was said to be only three yuan while the chances of an air crash are relatively slim, the report said.

By the end of last year, overall premiums from aviation accident insurance reached 176 million yuan while from January to July this year, the figure stood at 127 million yuan, the report said.

The reform, aimed at promoting fair competition in the market according to the commission, also encourages insurers to develop products that can cover other transportation means and give customers more options, the notice said.