Major banks and insurers in Hong Kong including HSBC, Manulife and BOC Life are lining up plans to expand their services to elderly residents, a sizeable segment of the city’s population.
People aged 65 and above made up 22 per cent of the city’s 7.5 million residents last year, according to the statistics department. Since 1971, life expectancy in Hong Kong has increased to 82.5 years from 67.8 for men and to 88.1 from 75.3 for women in 2023.
BOC Life aims to widen its “RetireCation” programme launched last month, which allows policyholders to use the cash value of their retirement plans to pay for their stay in properties provided by its partners in major mainland cities. The insurer plans to widen its coverage to Southeast Asia and Japan next year.
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“In the past, insurance companies focused on offering protection to families when the breadwinners suddenly passed away,” Wilson Tang, CEO of BOC Life, said in an interview. “Now, there is increasing demand for retirement protection as people are living much longer. They need to start early on retirement planning.”
BOC Life CEO Wilson Tang on December 12, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=BOC Life CEO Wilson Tang on December 12, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong>
Tang said the firm will also work on products for high-net-worth customers, especially involving estate planning.
Edward Moncreiffe, CEO of global insurance at HSBC, said there was strong demand for products that allow families to pass on wealth to the next generation.
“In Hong Kong, there is a growing acceptance among the wealthy first generation in using insurance as a tool for estate planning, with flexibility as one of their top priorities,” he said. “Our savings products provide even greater flexibility to our clients in tailoring how their death benefits are paid to their loved ones, as well as the ability to appoint a trusted individual to manage their policy in the event of unforeseen circumstances.”
HSBC Life in January sold a world record US$250 million policy. This helped the group’s new insurance value grow 77 per cent in the first half to US$1.3 billion. Moncreiffe said there was strong demand from wealthy individuals for such jumbo estate planning policies.
Edward Moncreiffe, CEO of Global Insurance of HSBC, at HSBC Main Building in Central on August 26, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee alt=Edward Moncreiffe, CEO of Global Insurance of HSBC, at HSBC Main Building in Central on August 26, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee>