Hong Kong Insurance Complaints Up 13 Per Cent

The number of complaints received by the insurance industry’s self-regulator last year rose 13 per cent to a record of 603, with 78 claimants receiving a total of HK$3.86 million in claims.

But the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau said the record number of grievances were not because more insurance companies were using unscrupulous sales tactics.

“We received many complaints last year. But if we take away the complaints with no prima facie evidence, the number is actually quite similar to before,” said Michael Tsui Fuk-sun, chairman of the bureau’s complaints panel.

The panel closed the files on 344 complaints last year.

In terms of the natures of the grievance, 44 per cent were on the application of insurance terms; 10.5 per cent on the amount of indemnity; and 15 per cent over non-disclosure conflicts, such as when the claimants did not report their medical history when they bought insurance.

Some 45 per cent of complaints were about medical insurance; 13 per cent on life insurance; and 19 per cent on travel insurance.

In one case, a claimant was admitted to hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and coronary heart disease.

But the woman’s insurance policy stated that the insurance company would not pay for expenses on high blood pressure or complications from the condition.

The panel eventually ruled that the company must pay HK$260,000 in expenses because the claimant’s heart problem could be due to reasons other than high blood pressure.