Chinese New Year 2024 - Travel Insurance

Lunar New Year is traditionally a time of travel for the Chinese community around the world. However, over the last four years, Hong Kong has been dealing with the Covid-19 situation which has muted celebrations and restricted people’s ability to participate in traditional travel arrangements at this time of year.

This year the number of travelers is expected to surge past pre-pandemic levels as individuals and families take advantage of the relaxed restrictions (compared to previous years), and travel overseas. However, it is important to remember that any overseas travel carries with it a degree of risk, especially with uncertain weather, overcrowded airports, and a general sense of uncertainty around the world.

As such, if you are heading out of Hong Kong this Chinese New Year, make sure you’ve remembered to protect yourself and your loved ones against the risks you’ll encounter on your travels with a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

Hong Kong Travel Insurance

Traveling in the modern world is far easier than it has been in the past, but still comes with some uncertainty – especially when planes themselves are increasingly encountering technical issues which could significantly disrupt your journey.

Travel insurance is a versatile form of coverage incorporating limited protections from a variety of disparate policy types under a single convenient umbrella of an individual plan. This form of insurance can be very affordable, and will be able to offer significant support in stressful emergencies while you are overseas.

Buying Travel insurance in Hong Kong

If you’re considering Travel insurance for any upcoming lunar new year journeys, then it is critical to purchase your policy before you start your trip. This is due to the fact that taking out travel insurance once you are already overseas on holiday can be a headache, and will leave you with exclusions and restrictions on the plan that you would not have encountered with a pre-purchase.

When you actually go to buy a travel insurance policy you will encounter a choice as to the type of plan you want: Single Trip Travel Insurance or Annual Travel Insurance.

Single trip travel insurance is designed, as the name suggests, to provide insurance coverage against the risks you may encounter on a single journey overseas. The policy will start on the date you depart Hong Kong, and will continue until the date you return to Hong Kong, or arrive in your final destination. Both departure and arrival dates are counted as “travel dates” under the policy and will be priced into the final premium you will pay. This is important, because the cost of a single trip travel insurance plan will depend on the length of the journey you will be making – a trip of 10 days in duration will be less expensive to insure than one which lasts 20 days.

Conversely, an annual travel insurance plan will cover as many trips overseas as you may make in the course of any given policy year, but the duration of each individual journey is usually capped – 30 days is a common length for many annual travel insurance plans. This means that journeys in excess of the limit will not be covered under an annual travel insurance policy, and a single trip plan may be more applicable. However, if you are taking multiple short trips overseas every year, then an annual travel insurance plan may be of more use to you – and work out to be less expensive that the overall cost of each single travel insurance you take out every time you travel.

Annual travel insurance is generally priced on a fixed rate, based on the age of the policyholder – so older individuals can expect to pay more than younger people.

Travel Insurance Protection

When it comes to obtaining Travel Insurance in Hong Kong, it is important to understand that you have a wide range of choice from many different competing insurance companies. Not all travel insurance products will offer the same coverage – some are extremely specialized, offering only certain protections, like Health Insurance. But if you are looking for a flexible form of coverage against a wide range of potential eventualities, then it is going to be wise to consider a generalized travel insurance policy.

Most of the common travel insurance choices will include coverage against a variety of risks.

Travel Health Insurance

Most travel insurance plans worth buying will include some form of health insurance protection. In the event that you suffer an accident, illness, or injury whilst overseas the insurance will provide financial support for the costs of your treatment. It should be noted that for many travel insurance products from Hong Kong insurance companies, the health insurance portion of the protection is fairly limited – normally capped between HK$ 1,000,000 to HK$ 2,000,000 per claim.

The coverage provided under most travel insurance policies will, however, allow for emergency medical evacuation, and even repatriation, if there are no suitable centers of medical excellence able to supply you with a competent standard of treatment.

For more focused, and long-term healthcare support under a travel insurance policy it is generally wise to purchase a dedicated international health insurance policy, but this will incur a substantially higher cost.

Baggage, Effects, and Journey Interruption

Outside of your healthcare needs following an accident or illness, and unavailable from many specialized medical travel insurance plans, is the ability to insure the things you are bringing on your trip, as well as the vacation itself.

From your bags being delayed and not showing up at your destination (forcing you to go and purchase temporary clothes, at resort prices, from your hotel), through to you being the victim of a robbery in a remote location, Travel Insurance means that you will have the funds and support you need to replace your possessions, or purchase new ones.

Similarly, having your flight canceled or delayed can cause myriad knock-on issues for the rest of your trip. If you are flying to Australia for a cruise, and a delayed flight leaving Hong Kong means a late arrival in Sydney, then it is highly possible that you may end up missing your boat through no fault of your own. Travel insurance means receiving reimbursement on pre-paid deposits, and assistance with alternative routings to get you to your end destination on time. While we never want things to go wrong, the simple truth is that many people will be traveling at this time of year, and it is quite likely that a plane will get delayed, and bags will go missing, and without travel insurance supporting you, it could be you who experiences a complete loss.

Hong Kong Insurance Support

CCW Global is an independent insurance broker able to offer in-depth advice and assistance with any travel insurance queries in Hong Kong. Our expert advisors can provide no-cost, no-obligation consultations to give you a comprehensive overview of the travel insurance options best suited to meet your specific requirements.

For more information, or to request a free quote today, Contact CCW Global.

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