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| FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS |
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What
are the different types of insurers in Hong Kong? |
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Insurance
companies in Hong Kong are subject to the regulation
of Insurance Authority and they can be classified into
the following three categories: |
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Life
Insurance Company |
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General
Insurance Company |
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Composite
Insurance Company |
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How do I pick the right
insurer? |
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Looking
from the perspective of customer's interest, one should
choose the insurer who offers the lowest-price product
but with adequate cover. |
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The
real trick is how to measure the adequacy of insurance
cover. Most insurers in the market will not answer the
question for you but a dedicated broker will. |
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What
are the differences between insurance agent and insurance
broker? |
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Insurance
agents represent and act on the interest of the insurance
company. An insurance broker, on the other hand, are independent
party who are born to look after the interest of their
clients. |
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Under
Cap. 41 of the Insurance Companies Ordinance, it is
stipulated that an insurance intermediary must be registered
either as an agent or a broker. Agents can be registered
as an individual or a business entity whilst a broker
must be registered as a business entity. In the life
insurance sector, an "in-house" agent carries
the name card of the insurer and behave as if they are
employees. |
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Who
should I buy from? An agent or a broker? |
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There
is no fast and sharp rule. It depends on the type of
insurance and the price offered. |
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The
best buy may come from the agent who has been granted
the exclusive offer of certain product lines. However,
an agent can only represent four insurers and he or
she may be unable to present you with adequate array
of choices. |
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A
broker, on the other hand is free to shop around until
they find exactly what you need. |
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For
simple insurance products, such as travel insurance
or home insurance, it may be viable to go direct but
be sure that you fully understand the coverage of the
policies. Although it is true that some types of insurance
are becoming more like commodity with not much differentiation,
the process and manner in handling claims diverse amongst
insurers.
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For
more complex or large scale insurance policy, we highly
recommend you to consult with an agent or broker. |
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