Exclusive | Hong Kong looks to technology as public ignorance and apathy leave city with US$885 billion shortfall in mortality protection

To raise awareness about insurance protection, the authority plans to introduce a free online tool to allow people to calculate their insurance protection needs by the end of the year, a senior executive said.

While Hong Kong had the highest insurance penetration rate globally, most residents were buying products with savings or investment features and not enough for their protection value, the study found.

The mortality protection gap – the shortfall between the protection needs of a household, and the financial resources available to fund the surviving family’s future living in the event of death of the breadwinner – translates to a shortfall of HK$1.9 million for every working adult in Hong Kong, the report said. This poses a financial risk for families without adequate insurance compensation, leaving them unable to pay for the family’s mortgage loan, medical bills for elderly parents, or education fees for their children.

“Even though Hong Kong has a well-developed insurance market, most people buy insurance products with savings or investment features and do not pay attention to make sure their insurance policies can provide sufficient protection to their families in case the breadwinner were to suddenly pass away,” Prudence Ho, senior manager of policy and development division at the Insurance Authority, told the Post in an exclusive interview.

“Many Asian and Hong Kong people want investment returns, or at least a decent guarantee of returns, from their insurance policies,” she added.