Fu Mingquan, a resident of Longmen, Sichuan province, was glad to learn that earthquake insurance covering houses would be available on a trial basis in areas prone to quakes.

Under the program, residents can buy insurance - paying up to a maximum 60,000 yuan ($9,670) for rural residents and 150,000 yuan for urban residents - if their houses are destroyed in a major earthquake.

"The policy may mitigate the shortage of funds for post-quake housing reconstruction," said Fu, a 51-year-old restaurant owner, after learning details of the program that were uploaded to the website of the Sichuan provincial government on Monday evening.