Catastrophe insurance and its establishment in China has attracted public concerns in recent years, especially after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province, the 2010 Yushu earthquake in Qinghai province and the Zhouqu devastating mudslide in Gansu province. Based on the problems of catastrophe insurance, the discussions and practices in domestic academic field have provided a amount of theoretical preparation for its development in China. However, there are inadequacies during the process. In particular, Chinese domestic scholars have not defined clearly the notion and connotation of catastrophe insurance, and confused it with commercial insurance and social insurance. This paper focuses on the connotation and values of catastrophe insurance in the first place. Furthermore, based on the lessons of catastrophe insurance systems abroad, the Author argues for the basic principles and path to reconstruct the catastrophe insurance system with Chinese characteristics.