Buying insurance face to face is difficult during the pandemic: 3 ways to help yourself

The pandemic has led people in Hong Kong to reduce going out and interacting with others. At the same time, people are paying greater attention to health risks, and demand for insurance has continued to increase. If you want to buy insurance but do not wish to meet an insurance adviser or agent face to face, what compromise options are available?

1. “Buy insurance without assistance” – purchase simple products online

In fact, many insurance products can now be purchased online, including term life insurance, short-term savings insurance, and some Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme and tax-deductible annuity products. Consumers can read the product details, premiums and other information carefully on an insurance company’s website or App before applying for insurance. The process is usually simple and quick.

Although these products can be sold online, this does not mean that their structures are simple. The terms and conditions can be highly complex, and the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme is one example. In fact, prospective policyholders can use an online insurance comparison platform. After professionals such as actuaries break down the product terms and conditions one by one, prospective policyholders can compare different options before purchasing insurance directly online.

2. “The product is too complex and I need help” – find an adviser at the touch of a button and apply remotely

If you want to “find someone to help”, or wish to purchase complex insurance products that cannot be sold online, including those with investment elements or long-term products, but do not want to meet anyone in person, what can you do?

The Insurance Authority currently allows insurance companies to sell all life insurance products, including investment-linked assurance schemes, through Virtual Onboarding, for example via video applications such as Zoom and Team. A spokesperson for the Insurance Authority stated that, as at the end of February this year, the Insurance Authority had approved 16 Virtual Onboarding sandbox applications. According to 10Life’s statistics, insurance companies and individual banks including AIA, AXA, BOC Life, FWD, Hang Seng Life, annuity companies, HSBC Life, Manulife, Prudential, Sun Life, YF Life and Bridgeway also provide Virtual Onboarding services.

However, the problem is that consumers may not easily find a quality insurance agent to answer their questions. This is where 10Life can help. On this page, consumers can directly find hundreds of insurance advisers (agents or brokers) to provide assistance, with many offering personal profiles to enhance transparency. Users can also learn about advisers’ satisfaction ratings through the “5-star rating mechanism”. Once they have selected a suitable adviser, they can arrange a video meeting to have their questions answered.

Image: 10Life users can find insurance advisers instantly on this page 

3. Certain protection products can be sold through “all channels”

What if you want to purchase a product from an insurance company that does not provide Virtual Onboarding services?

The Insurance Authority has introduced temporary facilitation measures allowing members of the public to purchase certain protection insurance products through non-face-to-face sales channels, such as online, by telephone, by post or via video meetings. These products include tax-deductible annuities, Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme products, term life insurance, premium-return policies that provide protection without a high savings element, and renewable policies with no cash value. These temporary measures will end on 30 September this year.

A spokesperson for the Insurance Authority stated that, as at the end of January this year, a total of 45,000 policies had been sold through non-face-to-face sales channels covered by the temporary facilitation measures, with total annualised premiums exceeding HK$570 million. These included 6,700 qualifying deferred annuity policies and 9,800 Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme plans.

Five essential safety measures for applying for insurance by video

Finally, when applying for insurance through new channels such as video meetings, the Insurance Authority reminds prospective policyholders to take all necessary safety precautions. First, avoid doing so in public places to prevent personal data from being disclosed to third parties. Second, after receiving an email containing a video meeting login link, policyholders should contact their insurance company or intermediary directly to verify the authenticity of the email and login link.

Third, read the disclaimer before joining the video meeting. Fourth, although policyholders have the right to refuse to have the sales process recorded, as some life insurance policies often last for several decades, policyholders are advised to accept video or audio recording so that the entire sales and application process is documented, protecting the interests of both themselves and the policy beneficiaries.

Finally, as policyholders only need to provide an electronic signature once to complete the application, this also means that they have confirmed and agreed to the contents of all application documents. Therefore, policyholders must carefully review all application documents before providing an electronic signature.

Note:

1. This article was prepared by 10Life based on market information collected from various sources and is provided for general reference only. It does not take into account any individual needs or suitability and should not be regarded as sales advice. Before applying for insurance, you should discuss suitable insurance solutions with a licensed insurance adviser and refer to the information provided by the insurance company.

2. Last updated: 28 March 2022.

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.