Mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong snapped up insurance policies in the territory, generating new office premiums totalling HK$9,613m in the first three months of the year.
The re-opening of borders between mainland China and the territory on 6 February 2023, after a three-year lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, portends well for the insurance markets of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), including Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong insurance industry saw a 7% decrease in total gross premiums to HK$147.2bn ($18.8bn) in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to provisional statistics released by the Insurance Authority (IA)
Bowtie, Hong Kong's first virtual insurer launched four years ago, has grown together with industry peers to triple the market share of the direct distribution channel to 8.5%.
FWD Group Holdings (FWD) is expanding its financial literacy programme, JA SparktheDream, to span seven markets in Asia as part of its 10th anniversary year community initiatives. Developed in partnership with Junior Achievement Asia Pacific (JA), the programme integrates financial, social and life skills education for students to help boost financial literacy in the region.
AIA Hong Kong has announced that it will soon launch "AIA Assemble", a first-in-market, customisable critical illness plan that sets a new industry standard by enabling customers to tailor their critical illness protection and sum assured and thus enjoy higher levels of flexibility and freedom.
People nearing or past age 65 are increasingly choosing to work longer. Between 2011 and 2021, the share of labour force participants aged 55 to 64 years rose from 49% to 59%, and that of people aged 65 and over more than doubled, from 6.2% to 12.5%, according to a report released by Prudential plc.
HSBC Life, the insurance arm of HSBC, has invested US$20 million to upgrade its technology and introduce a range of new medical insurance services for clients, with sales to mainland Chinese clients back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a senior executive.
Hong Kong-based global reinsurer Peak Re says that in 2022, it recorded further premium growth, but also its first loss since its inception due to volatile capital markets and persistently high natural catastrophe losses.
From 1 July, Hong Kong private car owners or drivers entering Guangdong under the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles Scheme can procure a Unilateral Recognition insurance policy from Hong Kong insurers with coverage extended to include the statutory third-party liability motor insurance for the mainland.