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Hospital Cash Benefit Extended to Community Isolation Facilities! Free Telemedicine Included! Extra COVID-19 Benefits from Hong Kong Insurers (Updated April 2022)

2022-04-04 7min read
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With the Omicron variant bringing the fifth and most severe wave of the pandemic across Hong Kong, the cumulative number of confirmed cases has now exceeded a million. Currently, some insurers in Hong Kong are still offering extra coronavirus specific benefits including hospital cash, quarantine cash, telemedicine, death benefit and others. However, a few insurers including Prudential, Hang Seng, Well Link and YF Life have withdrawn their offers.

The following is a summary of the offers (as of 1st Apr 2022) from AXA, Blue Cross, Bupa, Cigna, FTLife, Manulife, Sun Life and Tahoe. 10Life has compared the extra COVID-19 benefits and analysed the usefulness.

Table: COVID-19 Extra Protection

Insurer
 
AXABlue CrossBupaCigna
Eligible ProductsGroup MedicalIndemnity hospital,
VHIS and group Medical
 
Individual/ Medical/ 
Bupa Hang Seng
Designated
Products
Eligible CustomersInsured employees
and  dependents
of eligible
Employee Benefits
hospitalisation policies
Insured MembersNew/ ExistingNew/ Existing
Coverage PeriodFrom now until 
further notice
From now until 
30 Jun 2022
From now until 
31 Dec 2022
From now until 
30 Jun 2022
Death Benefit----
Hospital Cash$700 per day$800 per day$800 per day-
Maximum
Hospital Period
45 days45 days45 days-
Quarantine Benefit---$2000 per day
(home/specified facility/
hospital, up to 14 days)
for Cigna HealthFirst Elite only
 
Telemedicine
 
--From 1 April to 30 June 2022,
Bupa offers 2 free video
consultations services.
Consultation fee, basic
medication fee and medication
delivery charges will be waived.1
Cigna waives medication 
delivery charges and copays
(if applicable)
for customers of designated
products using Cigna
Telehealth Service.2
Waiting PeriodWaived---
Express Claims-PriorityPriorityPriority


 

InsurerFT LifeManulifeSun LifeTahoe Life 
Eligible ProductsMediGold Plus
Insurance Plan
Individual Financial/
Group Medical
Designated Medical
Plans
All 
Eligible CustomersNew/ Existing
 
New/ Existing3New/ ExistingExisting 
Coverage PeriodPer policy yearFrom now until
30 Jun 2022
From now until
30 Jun 2022
From now
until 30 Jun 2022
 
Death Benefit--
 
$100,0005- 
Hospital Cash-Extended coverage for
 hospitalization in
designated  community
treatment facilities4
Extended coverage for
 hospitalization in
designated community 
treatment facilities6,7
$800 per day 
Maximum
Hospital Period
-
 
Depend on
policies
 
Depend on
policies
50 days 
Quarantine Benefit$2,000 per day for worldwide
or worldwide excl. US plan
 and $1,200 per day for Asia plan
 (home/specific facility, 
up to 15 days per policy year)
--- 
Telemedicine
 
---- 
Waiting PeriodShortens to 3 days
if the policy is approved on
or before 31 May 2022
--Waived 
Express Claims---1 day 

Remarks:

  1. For existing Bupa members who test positive for COVID-19 and are symptomatic only.
  2. Medical insurance plans include Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan, Cigna HealthFirst Choice Medical Plan, Cigna Plus Medical Plan, Cigna HealthFirst TopUp Medical Plan, and Cigna HealthFirst DiaMedic Medical Plan under Cigna HealthFirst Medical Plan Series and Standard Plan, Flexi Plan (SMM), Flexi Plan (Superior) under Cigna VHIS Series. Inclusive of Cigna CareChoice Group Plan and Cigna StartEasy Group Plan under Cigna SME Series.
  3. Insured under an individual financial product policy with a hospital cash for confinement in a general ward of a government hospital/daily cash benefit, or covered member (including his/her covered dependant(s)) under a group medical insurance policy with a hospital cash for confinement in a general ward of a government hospital.
  4. Designated community treatment facilities include AsiaWorld-Expo and Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre.
  5. Only applicable to the insured(s) of WeHealth Preferred, WeHealth Prestige or SunHealth LovePromise. If an Insured Person / insured unfortunately passes away due to COVID-19, in addition of the death benefit under his/her policies, Sun Life will pay an extra HKD100,000 death benefit.
  6. Only applicable to the insured(s) of SunHealth Medical Premier, SunHealth Medical Essential, SunHealth Medical Care, Hospital Income Insurance Plan, SunHealth Medical Fit and Bright Superb Health.
  7. Designated community treatment facilities include Asia World-Expo, North Lantau Hospital HK Infection Control Center, Penny’s Bay Quarantine Center, community isolation facility in Tsing Yi, community isolation facility in San Tin, community isolation facility in Fanling, and community isolation facility on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge.


 

Hospital cash benefit up to $40,000
 

In Hong Kong most people buy medical insurance to get quick and comfortable treatment services at private hospitals. Given COVID-19 patients are being treated in public hospitals which are virtually free of charge, the common medical insurance products offer limited protection on this commutable disease. 

In response many insurance companies in Hong Kong have launched additional free coverage on COVID-19. One key feature is hospital cash benefits, so the insured can still enjoy cash subsidies from even when admitted to a public hospital. The coronavirus hospital cash benefit is usually on a daily (or weekly) basis, with an overall limit on the total value and/or benefit period. As the treatment and observation time on confirmed COVID-19 cases can still be uncertain, a longer benefit period would be beneficial to the customer. 

Tahoe offers daily cash benefit of $800 and a maximum of 50 days (i.e. $40,000), but it is available to existing customers only.

Given the latest situation, Manulife and Sun Life have extended the hospital cash benefit of designated policies to community treatment facilities, including Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo and Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre. Sun Life also covers North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre and 4 other community isolation facilities (Tsing Yi, San Tin, Fanling and Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao Bridge). 

Some quarantine cash benefits cover home quarantine
 

Only Cigna and FTLife are still offering quarantine cash benefits. Cigna provides daily cash of $2000 for up to 14 days (for Cigna HealthFirst Elite). 

FTLife offers a daily cash of HK$2,000 (for MediGold Plus worldwide or worldwide excluding US) or HK$1,200 (for MediGold Plus Asia) for up to 15 days per policy year. 

These quarantine cash benefits are offered in lieu of hospital cash benefits when the insured is isolated involuntarily at a specified quarantine facility or hospital due to coronavirus. Some plans also cover mandatory home quarantine (for Cigna HealthFirst Elite and FT Life MediGold Plus customers).

Telemedical and death benefit
 

Bupa offers 2 free video consultations services for existing members who test positive for COVID-19 and are symptomatic. From 1 April to 30 June 2022, its members can consult our selected general practitioners via video call, and the consultation fee, basic medication fee and medication delivery charges will be waived. This free benefit will be provided regardless of whether the member currently has any clinical coverage.

Cigna waives medication delivery charges and copays (if applicable) for customers of designated products using Cigna Telehealth Service.

Also, Sun Life provides a death benefit due to coronavirus of $100,000 for clients of designated products. 

Other special COVID-19 related offers include wavier of waiting period so that new customers can also get coronavirus coverage immediately, and express claims processing as fast as 1 day. Most insurers are offering these coronavirus benefits as extra free coverage to both existing and new customers. Some insurers offer certain benefits only to new customers to drive sales.

Choose the products which meet your needs

Although some of these free extra benefits have limited actual dollar value and coverage period, they can be considered as a nice gesture from the insurer to the customer. While this COVID-19 crisis has prompt us to think about our protection gap, we should choose insurance products based on overall personal needs, not only the coronavirus coverage. The coverage against COVID-19 is limited for most insurance products in Hong Kong.

  • Medical Insurance: As diagnosed COVID-19 cases are being treated in public rather than private hospitals, the coverage amount is limited. However, it should be considered if you want coverage for medical cases (other than commutable diseases) at private hospitals.
  • Critical Illness Insurance: COVID-19 is not yet a specified disease covered. However, if the coronavirus leads to other complications (e.g. chronic lung disease, stroke, heart attack) or ICU stay, it can be covered under some products.
  • Life Insurance: If the insured dies from COVID-19 the beneficiary will be compensated. In particular, term life insurance offers relatively high coverage at low cost, making it a good protection option during times of uncertainty. [Read more]

Insurance is a risk transfer tool and you get compensations from the insurer when the risk event occurs. However, we can all do our share by observing personal hygiene and practising social distancing, thereby minimising the risks for our community.   

Further Reading:

Comparing Free COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Insurance

Note: 
 

1. This article is provided by 10Life. All information is for reference only. The article does not take into account any personal needs and suitability, and do not constitute any sales advice. You should seek independent advice from licensed insurance advisors before purchasing any insurance products. Latest information from insurance companies shall prevail.

2. The above information is updated as of April 1, 2022. 

10Life Editorial Team

Our team of professional content researchers focussing on insurance

10Life Editorial Team

Our team of professional content researchers focussing on insurance

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