[Voluntary Health Insurance] Which to choose: Ward or Semi-private plan? (with premium comparison from 8 insurers)

As waiting times in public hospitals in Hong Kong are long, with A&E departments often involving queues of several hours, and waiting times for follow-up appointments for some non-urgent cases even stretching into years, many people take out medical insurance so that, if they fall ill, they can be admitted to a private hospital and receive treatment as soon as possible. Among the many medical insurance options, many people would give priority to Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, as it is tax-deductible while providing protection. If the budget is limited, most people would choose an entry-level standard ward plan, or a mid-tier semi-private room plan. This time, 10Life has selected eight insurance companies and some of the more popular Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme plans to compare the premiums of VHIS standard ward plans and VHIS semi-private room plans, helping everyone make a smart consumer choice.

Based on the data in Table 1, assuming the policyholder is a 35-year-old man choosing a VHIS plan with a deductible of around HK$20,000, the premium for ordinary ward coverage ranges from HK$4,884 to HK$5,947, while the premium for semi-private room coverage ranges from HK$5,700 to HK$10,488. If comparing plans from the same insurer, the premium difference between the two room types ranges from 8.6% to 56.2%. Even for the same product, the annual benefit limit for semi-private room coverage is higher than that for ordinary ward coverage.

However, once people reach retirement age, the likelihood of illness increases and premiums also rise. Table 2 shows that, assuming a 65-year-old man takes out a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme plan, the annual premium for a standard ward ranges from HK$19,333 to HK$25,795; the premium for a semi-private ward also rises to between HK$24,792 and HK$43,446. Within the same insurer, the premium difference between the two ranges from 5.2% to 56.2%, and compared with age 35, this gap does not appear to widen significantly.

For many policyholders, when they are younger and have an income, they may consider that the actual premium difference between standard and semi-private wards is not large, and if they can afford it, they will opt for a semi-private plan, using a deductible in exchange for a lower premium and better protection, while also being able to use a semi-private ward with greater privacy when admitted to hospital. However, after retirement in later life, with no fixed income, the burden of premiums naturally cannot be ignored. Some customers are also not averse to “downshifting consumption” in order to reduce their premium burden. In fact, some medical insurance plans allow customers to downgrade, or to increase their co-payment, to lower premiums. Downgrading means moving from a semi-private ward to a standard ward, but it should be noted that this usually applies only within the same product. If in doubt, professional advice should be sought first.

In fact, the difference between a standard ward and a semi-private room in a private hospital is not just about how many beds there are in each room or how many patients stay there. It will also affect the actual medical expenses, because even if the same treatment or examination is received, the higher the ward class, the higher the operating theatre fee, physiotherapy fee, medicine cost and so on.

If a policyholder under a standard ward plan chooses to stay in a semi-private room for personal reasons, such as wanting more private space, they should be mentally prepared that the medical insurance reimbursement may not be enough to fully offset the medical expenses. This is because some insurers apply an Adjustment Factor when calculating the claim amount, which reduces the insured amount. For example, assuming the standard ward sum insured is HK$100,000, if the policyholder upgrades to a semi-private room and the relevant adjustment factor is 50%, the policyholder will only receive HK$50,000 in compensation. By contrast, if a policyholder under a semi-private room plan chooses to stay in a standard ward, some medical insurance plans will provide a cash benefit.

In addition to the medical insurance premium and claim limits, whether you already have company group medical insurance, medical inflation and so on should also be taken into consideration. If you would like to learn more about the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, please contact 10Life's insurance consultants to find the medical insurance product that suits you best.

Further reading:
【Which Voluntary Health Insurance is Best in 2026】Comparison of “5-star” plans — which one is the best choice for middle-class families?
【Medical Insurance】Can you claim twice? What is the claims process?
【Breaking down medical insurance vs critical illness insurance】 Mutual “protection” for peace of mind in the future
Is old-style medical insurance no longer enough? Three ways to cope with rising healthcare costs in Hong Kong

Last updated on: 15 April 2026
 

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.