Like Tree16Likes

Home Insurance

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
  1. #1

    Home Insurance

    Hello,

    can anyone help with advice on home insurance in Hong Kong?

    I received quotes from two banks but they seem very expensive. What is the most common way to get a good quote for home insurance in Hong Kong?

    Or am I having wrong expectations. Is home insurance simply quite expensive compared to the UK, Canada, US, Australia etc.?

    I would be grateful for any kind of advice.

    Thanks,

    Herbert


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    薄扶林
    Posts
    47,965

    Home insurance is brain dead simple in HK primarily as it is low value and the insurance sales guys or brokers hav higher value products to flog.

    What banks did you get quotes from? Without specifics this just sounds like the start of an insurance spam
    Posted via Mobile Device

    Herbert Walter likes this.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    115

    Herbert - there are 2 types of "home insurance"

    1) Fire insurance
    In a nutshell, this insurance covers your apartment itself - the four walls and ceiling and floor, and anything built in and fixed to it. Covers damage to it, mainly via "fire and water", the usual causes of damage to a building.

    2) Home contents insurance
    Anything else, including furniture, appliances, your belongings, are covered under this. In a nutshell, this is everything "movable" inside your apartment.
    Sometimes you may already have Personal insurance which could have duplicate coverage, so check.

    It depends on how much coverage you are looking at, and the address that needs coverage (because it depends on the location, the age of the building, etc.)

    For 1), I arranged it via an associated insurer with DBS Bank, becos my mortgage is with them and so I get a discount. I am paying about HKD2500 for 2 years (usually it is HKD2500 for 1 year) for a coverage of HD2.2m.

    For 2) I use Hang Seng bank myself - admittedly I did not quote with many companies as I prefer buying it via a bank than an agent, and within the major banks this is cheapest. My coverage amount is HKD1m, and I am paying HKd500 a year.

    Last edited by ALAU; 25-05-2010 at 05:02 PM. Reason: Typo
    Herbert Walter likes this.

  4. #4

    As ALAU says there's 2 types:

    1) Fire insurance
    Premium depends on a number of factors but you should be able to get close to a ratio of coverage $1million to $1,000 premium.

    2) Home contents insurance
    Insurers use one of two methods for calculating premium
    i) based on flat's square footage
    ii) value of contents you're insuring

    However, read the excesses! Some insurers have low premiums but high excesses, which in some cases, makes them not worth it, and then there's some with higher premiums but more reasonable excesses. You need to read the small print on these things.

    Without knowing the details I wouldn't be able to comment as to whether your bank quotes are expensive or not.

    Herbert Walter likes this.

  5. #5

    many thanks for your replies.

    To be more specific, I was getting a quote of 4900 dollars per year for one bedroom flat in Kowloon, about 60 square meters for a product combining home contents and fire insurance.

    I thought it is expensive compared to the UK. What do you think is the best way to find the right insurance? I didn't find much on the internet. Do people in Hong Kong not use online sites to get their quotes?

    Any feedback welcome.

    Thanks


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    薄扶林
    Posts
    47,965

    What bank gave you that quote? That is seriously overinflated...

    HSBC comes in at $185 a month for the basic home insurance package

    SCB ( Insurance - Home Content Insurance - Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited ) and most other banks have online quotes...

    Here's AXA .. http://www.axa-insurance.com.hk/inde...rthome#premium

    Here are AIA's brochures... http://www.aia.com.hk/en/your-needs/building-brochure

    Or get your Manulife quote from this guy .. http://www.geoexpat.com/resources/Detailed/10139.php

    Last edited by shri; 27-05-2010 at 04:31 PM.
    Herbert Walter likes this.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    Agreed - a basic HSBC Home Contents package costs well under $HK200/month.

    Herbert Walter likes this.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    7,517

    The fire insurance will bump up the price a lot. Often the insurance provider is dictated by the mortgage provider.

    Herbert Walter likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    Actually yes, the price including fire insurance doesn't seem too bad - HSBC's fire insurance on my place costs ~$3500 per year.

    Herbert Walter likes this.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    115

    Herbert - forgot to ask you a most basic question first - why do you even need insurance? Are you looking to buy an apartment?

    If you are only renting, you only need to buy the home content insurance - which is the cheaper of the two and covers everything in the apartment even furniture (if it is yours), but if you have any individual item that is over a certain price (usually HKD20k), you have to pay extra if you wanna insure that too. By home content insurance is not expensive.

    Building (Fire) insurance should be covered by the landlord. Ask him if he has it. If not, should the apartment be damaged by causes other than your own neglect, the landlord has to make sure the apartment is inhabitable anyway or he has to waive the rent until it is.

    solus and Herbert Walter like this.

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast