Which travel insurance is best? Experts show you the key details to check when choosing travel insurance

Many Hong Kong people are enthusiastic travellers, and destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore have long been popular choices. Just like booking flights and hotels, travel insurance is one of the essential items many people prepare before going on holiday or on a business trip. However, with so many travel insurance plans available at varying prices, which one is the best? Advice and recommendations on travel insurance from different sources can be conflicting, leaving consumers with no clear starting point for comparison. This article selects a range of single-trip travel insurance plans for a detailed comparison, making it easier for readers to choose. 

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Please note that if a trip is cancelled or cut short due to illness, when making a claim the insurer may require the insured person to provide medical evidence confirming that they were unfit to travel, or that they had to end the trip early and return to Hong Kong. 

When deciding whether to purchase single-trip or annual travel insurance, the most direct consideration is naturally how often you travel. In general, if you only plan to take one or two short trips within a year, single-trip travel insurance is undoubtedly the more economical choice, as you only pay for the actual number of travel days and can flexibly adjust the plan level according to the risks of each destination (for example, whether a higher medical cover limit is required).

However, if you are someone who frequently travels for business or loves spontaneous getaways, then annual travel insurance is often more cost-effective than purchasing cover for each trip separately, and it also saves you from the hassle of having to arrange new insurance before every departure. That said, it is important to note that although annual travel insurance allows an unlimited number of trips within a year, it usually imposes a maximum duration for each trip, commonly around 90 days. If you are planning an extended six-month trip or a working holiday, single-trip insurance (some of which can cover up to 180 days) may in fact be the only option. 

Many travellers who buy travel insurance mistakenly believe that compensation is available as soon as a flight is delayed. In fact, most travel insurance policies specify that a trip delay must reach a certain number of hours, usually a continuous delay of five to six hours, before the insured person is eligible for a cash allowance or reimbursement on a reimbursement basis.

If the delay is caused by adverse weather, natural disasters or mechanical failure, factors beyond the insured person’s control, a claim is usually easier to obtain. However, if the delay is due to administrative arrangements by the airline, some policies may not cover it. In addition, compensation is generally provided in two forms: a “cash allowance” and “reimbursement basis”. The former pays a fixed sum for every set number of hours delayed, while the latter reimburses additional accommodation or meal expenses incurred during the delay. Therefore, if you are delayed at the airport, remember to ask the airline for written proof stating the reason for the delay and the number of hours involved. 

Luggage problems can easily spoil a trip, but do not assume that buying travel insurance means you will receive full reimbursement. The devil is often in the details of “depreciation” and “limits”. When luggage is lost or damaged, insurers will usually deduct depreciation when calculating the compensation amount. This means you will not be reimbursed at the original purchase price for branded suitcases or clothing that you have used for several years.

In addition, each policy sets a compensation limit for each “item” or “set” of belongings, usually ranging from around HK$2,000 to HK$3,000. Even if you lose a watch worth HK$100,000, the maximum compensation you can receive will still only be this limit. As for cover for delayed luggage, the key point is “essential needs”. Most policies will only reimburse basic daily necessities or clothing purchased during the luggage delay period, rather than allowing you to go on a shopping spree. Cover will also only be triggered once the delay has reached the specified number of hours (for example, six hours). Therefore, valuable items are best carried with you at all times. If an incident does occur, be sure to keep photos of the damaged items and the incident report issued by the airline. 

In recent years, more and more Hong Kong people have developed a passion for taking part in various thrilling activities while travelling, but not all travel insurance policies cover high-risk activities such as diving, skiing or skydiving by default. In general, standard travel insurance plans on the market usually only cover sports undertaken on an “amateur” basis, and are subject to specific limitations and exclusions.

Scuba diving

Standard travel insurance may include “recreational diving”, but it usually imposes a maximum depth limit, for example no deeper than around 30–40 metres. It may also require a licensed instructor or a recognised diving qualification. If it involves technical diving, cave diving, or exceeds the specified depth, you will usually need to purchase additional cover for “hazardous activities” or “extreme sports”, otherwise it may be entirely excluded.

Skiing

Skiing is generally regarded as a high-risk winter activity, and is not automatically covered by all travel insurance policies. Many products require an upgrade, or the separate purchase of a skiing travel insurance plan that includes “winter sports”, in order to receive compensation for skiing accidents and related medical expenses.

Marathon races

Many travel insurance policies classify marathons and similar “any sports competition or speed race involving the earning of money or remuneration” as excluded. Even if you are running purely as an amateur for leisure, travel insurance generally tends not to cover marathons.

If you plan to take part in marathon races, deep-sea diving or skiing and other high-risk activities, you must carefully read the “exclusions” in the policy wording before purchasing insurance. If you are injured while participating in an excluded activity, the insurer has the right to refuse to pay all related medical and transport expenses, and these substantial costs could easily blow your budget. 

Insurers usually have strict requirements regarding the claim submission timeframe. In general, the insured person is required to submit the claim form and relevant supporting documents within thirty days after the end of the trip; late submissions are highly likely to be rejected. As for documentation, the requirements vary depending on the type of claim:

• Stolen personal property: a report must be filed with the local police within twenty-four hours of discovery, and a police report must be obtained
• Medical claims: the original medical receipt itemising the charges, together with the diagnosis report issued by a doctor, must be retained
• Flight delays: a delay certificate issued by the airline is required.

A common mistake many people make is losing their boarding pass or immigration records, which are in fact important proof that you were overseas. Many insurers now offer online claims services, so it is advisable to take photos of all receipts and reports on your phone during your trip as backups, to avoid being left with no recourse after returning to Hong Kong if the documents are lost.  

The “excess” is also known as the deductible, and refers to the amount the insured must bear themselves before compensation is paid. Although many high-quality standalone travel insurance plans on the market now offer “zero excess”, particularly for core benefits such as medical expenses and personal accident cover, quite a number of cheaper plans or insurance included with bank credit cards still contain this clause.

For example, if your tablet is stolen and your policy has a HK$500 excess under the personal belongings loss section, when you make a claim for HK$2,000, the insurer will ultimately only pay HK$1,500. Whether an excess is applied directly affects the value of small claims. Sometimes, if the loss amount is only slightly above the excess, the complicated claims process may not be worthwhile. Therefore, when comparing premiums, be sure to check the terms and conditions carefully to see whether any such deductible requirements are hidden there, especially in items such as rental car excess or personal belongings cover, so that you do not discover at the claims stage that the actual payout is much lower than expected. 

This is one of the most frequently asked questions by countless forgetful travellers, whether at the airport gate or already overseas, and the answer is usually the harsh “No”. The vast majority of travel insurance policy terms clearly stipulate that the policy must be purchased and come into effect before the insured leaves the Hong Kong immigration counter. Once you have already departed, your journey is deemed to have started, and any policy taken out only after that point will usually be regarded as invalid. The insurer is entitled to refuse any liability. This is to prevent people from trying to obtain insurance cover only after an accident has occurred or they have fallen ill during their trip.

The only exception is if you have already purchased insurance but need to extend your trip for some reason. In that case, you can usually apply to extend the cover period before the original policy expires. Therefore, the safest approach is to arrange insurance as soon as your flights and accommodation are confirmed, so that you can also benefit from pre-departure trip cancellation cover.  

When choosing travel insurance, the medical cover limit is absolutely a top priority. However, a higher figure is not necessarily better; it should be determined based on the medical costs at your destination. If you are travelling to Asian destinations such as Thailand, Taiwan or Malaysia, where medical expenses are relatively low, a medical cover of HK$500,000 to HK$1,000,000 is usually sufficient to deal with most unexpected situations.

However, if your destination is a country where medical costs are extremely high, such as the United States, Canada, Europe or Japan, even a simple appendectomy with hospitalisation can easily cost hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, or even exceed HK$1,000,000. In such cases, you must choose a plan with medical cover of at least HK$1,000,000, or even above HK$2,000,000, to avoid having to pay the huge shortfall yourself due to insufficient cover.

In addition, you should also check whether the policy includes emergency medical evacuation services and whether there is a cap on the cover amount, as if helicopter rescue in a remote area or a medical flight back to Hong Kong is required, the cost is often astronomical. Only evacuation cover with "unlimited" benefits can give you complete peace of mind. 

Most standard travel insurance policies classify “Pre-existing Conditions” as an exclusion. This means that if you already had a long-term condition such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes before departure, and you require medical treatment during your trip because such an existing condition recurs, the insurer is entitled to رفض reimbursement of the related expenses.

“Pre-existing” does not refer only to diagnosed illnesses; it also includes situations where symptoms had already appeared before taking out the policy, but no medical consultation had been sought. Although a small number of travel insurance products covering chronic conditions have recently become available in the market, the premiums are usually higher and the underwriting requirements are stricter. Therefore, policyholders with long-term illnesses must honestly disclose their medical history before purchasing insurance, and carefully enquire about the insurer’s specific definition of recurrence of an existing condition. Never take a chance and conceal your condition; otherwise, you may only discover that the policy is invalid when you need assistance most, with disastrous consequences. 

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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.