What Relocation Cover Should You Take?

Relocating your home has always carried risks. Whether you are relocating on a domestic, or international basis, there is always a concern that something can and will go wrong.

In the modern world, especially in recent years, these risks have grown. What may have been a simple move from one country to another in 2018 is, now in 2022, a complex logistical exercise with many moving parts, and many things that can go wrong.

While there are no off-the-shelf solutions for relocation insurance, there are many types of insurance which could be very useful to any individual planning a move away from Hong Kong this year.

Travel Insurance

The first type of coverage you may wish to consider in relation to any trip outside of Hong Kong is Travel Insurance. This also holds true if you are permanently moving away from the city. Travel Insurance is a flexible form of coverage that provides protection against myriad risks which are commonly encountered by international travelers.

With short term medical protection in the event that you require hospitalization, and the availability of Personal Accident cover should you find yourself seriously injured, Travel Insurance offers a simple “one-size-fits-all” solution to ensuring that you are able to receive medical assistance while outside your country of residence. In addition to the physical protection you receive under travel insurance, it is also common for travel policies to bundle coverage for your personal property and even your actual travel plans.

From lost luggage and passports to having your flight delayed, Travel Insurance is a simple way to mitigate a variety of commonly encountered problems when traveling.

However, the simplicity of travel insurance is also its drawback. Travel insurance, generally, offers low levels of coverage – especially when compared to covering similar risks on an stand-alone basis. Travel Insurance is usually a cost-effective solution to short term risks, but the low cost also comes tied to relatively low overall levels of protection.

Travel insurance is timed to the specific duration of your journey. Which is one of the reasons it is so cost-effective. The policy has a start and end date. Once the policy has elapsed, no cover will be provided, leaving the policyholder exposed to any risks they may encounter.

Simply put, while travel insurance is a convenient way to cover risks while overseas, this type of insurance tends to not be overly comprehensive – higher levels of protection (at a higher cost) can be achieved by taking a specific policy for any risk that you may be overly concerned with.

International Health Insurance

One of the most pressing global concerns at the moment is the ongoing issue of Covid-19. However, other medical threats haven’t disappeared, and requiring medical treatment in most countries where you are a non-resident can be expensive.

International Health Insurance is specifically designed to provide coverage against the costs of any medical treatment you may need, on a global basis. As an annual policy, the coverage limits associated with an international health insurance policy are much higher than those of a travel insurance plan. However, the premium (or the cost) of an international health insurance policy will also be higher than that of a travel insurance plan.

Health insurance provides ongoing coverage as needed, giving you much more protection for long-term care in a serious medical emergency. This can be vital when you are overseas in a foreign country, and are unfamiliar with the local medical system. International health insurance providers are able to ensure that policyholders always have access to the best medical care, with the possibility of covered emergency medical evacuations to locations where they may be able to provide better treatment.

Extremely flexible, international health insurance options will normally start with in-patient protection but allow you to select the coverage benefits you need from out-patient, dental, maternity, and even (on some rare occasions) pre-existing medical conditions. International health insurance products provide truly worldwide protection, giving you the assurance that you will always have the medical assistance you need, no matter where you may be traveling.

In addition to this, and in stark contrast to Travel Insurance, you are normally able to renew your annual health insurance policy and continue receiving coverage for as long as you wish.

International Cargo Insurance

If you’re relocating away from Hong Kong you are going to be moving more than just your person, your household is also going to be relocating.

Cargo Insurance is generally taken out by businesses, for products they are shipping around the world, but can also be purchased by private individuals who are looking to protect any goods they may be sending overseas. Whether your possessions are traveling by Land, Sea, or Air, Cargo insurance products are designed to provide a comprehensive level of protection against an extensive range of risks from point A to point B.

From fires, to acts of God causing your specific shipping container to get swept off the ship and be lost at sea, Cargo insurance ensures that you are able to replace your personal possessions if they get lost or go missing in transit.

This type of insurance will normally have its premium calculated based on the total value of the cargo being transported, the length of the journey, and the risks of delivering the cargo to its destination. Routine relocations to Singapore, Thailand, or Indonesia are relatively low cost and can provide an extra level of protection for your prized possessions while they are in transit.

Home Insurance during a relocation

Home insurance is probably the surprise inclusion on this list, but the worldwide all risks coverage available on many contents’ insurance plans means that when it comes to protecting your personal possessions overseas, there may actually be a more convenient solution for individual policyholders than Cargo Insurance.

While you need an address in Hong Kong to have a valid Home Contents Insurance policy, there are some Home Insurance products which will allow you to cover multiple properties under a single policy. If you already have a property that you are relocating to overseas, in some instances it may actually be possible to add that property to your home insurance plan. Doing so would give you the ease of using a single policy to cover your personal possessions during a relocation.

Home Contents insurance as a relocation risk management tool can be more complicated to fully utilize than Cargo insurance, despite the relative convenience of having an existing policy do the work for you. It is due to this that we recommend anyone using their home insurance policy as a tool for their relocation risks talk to a qualified broker to ensure there are no gaps in your coverage.

Insure your relocation today

If you are considering relocating away from Hong Kong and would like to discuss how insurance may be able to cover your risks, please Contact Us Today to arrange a free, no-risk, no-obligation consultation with an expert CCW Global Insurance broker.

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