Insurance Guide

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) has officially opened on the 24th of October this year, after nine years of construction. The cost of constructing the 55 km bridge, as well as its surrounding link roads and artificial islands, is about a whopping $20 billion in total, and stretches 22.9km over the sea with a 6.7km underwater tunnel. While the HZMB is the world’s longest sea crossing, the bridge is not served by any public transport. Instead, private shuttle buses will operate the cross-border route. If a Hong Kong private car driver needs to use this mega link, they must complete all the necessary formalities, obtain valid permits, and meet the insurance requirements by the relevant jurisdiction(s). Basically, there are three options for a Hong Kong private car owner applying to cross the ZHMB. What can be quite tricky, however, is that the application procedures are all different, and by no means simple and easy. To that end, Kwiksure has prepared this downloadable and printable infographic to illustrate how it works in a more easy-to-digest and concise manner.

Most Hong Kong drivers should have experienced difficulty with parking in this cramped city. Sometimes we may end up parking on slopes when there’s no level parking space around. However, a fatal traffic accident in North Point last Monday came as an alarming reminder of the importance of parking safety. The accident took place when a school minibus careened down the street after the driver had exited the vehicle, colliding with pedestrians down a narrow street before crashing into a storefront. The minibus driver tried to stop the vehicle from sliding but was hit and dragged for 20 meters. He and other three victims remained in critical condition at the hospital. The tragedy has claimed the lives of four people and injured nearly a dozen in total. At the time of writing, the police had found no problem with the braking system of the school van and thus are focusing their investigation on whether the driver has applied the handbrake properly. In light of the accident, this week Kwiksure will offer some practical safety tips for parking on slopes.

Just last week, a serious deadly crash took place in Hong Kong where a shuttle bus smashed into the back of a stationary taxi on a highway, injuring 32 people and killing six, including the drivers of both vehicles. It was the city’s second such road accident in 2018, following a tragic bus crash in Tai Po in February that claimed 19 lives. The police stated that the coach driver had already worked for 10 hours when the accident occurred, and would investigate whether he could have been overworked or tired. This begs the question of how the physical condition of drivers will affect motor insurance claims. In today’s Kwiksure article, we shed light on the impact of chronic illnesses on motor insurance claims and premiums in Hong Kong.

Like many moms-to-be, you might also be planning one last stress-free journey before baby arrives and turns your world upside down. Whether you are only flying overseas for a weekend getaway, or planning longer holidays by the beach, make sure that you have valid travel insurance in place. And while we all hope that our vacations will go smoothly, mishaps do happen and can potentially leave you with sky high medical bills, lost flights, and extra accommodation bills. According to the recent consumer research awareness initiative by Travel Insurance Explained, many clients lack the knowledge about rules and regulations regarding traveling while pregnant. Concerned about this finding, today’s Kwiksure article is aimed at answering the most common questions pregnant travelers might have.

Unlike vast countries such as the U.S. or Canada, Hong Kong is such a tiny little city and it is rather unlikely that we would squeeze everything in and overload our cars during long-haul travels. However, overloading is not unheard of among commercial vehicles such as minibusses and trucks. For example, this May, a 71-year-old female minibus driver was arrested for cramming 25 passengers into her 19-seat minibus when the police carried out an undercover operation in northern Hong Kong, the SCMP reports. While carrying more goods or passengers can certainly bring more profits to the driver, it also raises both safety and insurance issues. In this feature, Kwiksure will take a look at how overloading vehicles break the law, endanger other road users, and potentially invalidate your insurance.

While we Hongkongers can enjoy the convenient public transportation system here every day, it can be more challenging if we were to travel around without a car in foreign cities. Thanks to the increasing availability of cars and the advent of technologies such as global position systems and smartphones, gone are the days when we had to join tour groups and wake up at 6 am to explore a new city. Instead, it is very common nowadays to go on a self-drive tour where you can travel at your own pace and truly enjoy the sense of freedom. Nonetheless, even with help from the latest gadgets, driving in an exotic locale can still be nerve-wracking and challenging. If you haven’t secured proper insurance coverage before you get behind the wheel, your journey could end up a financial disaster. To this end, our specialists at Kwiksure have prepared this article to give you a few tips on self-drive travel and rental car insurance .

Tesla cars gained their popularity in Hong Kong and around the world thanks to their modern design, ecological electric engine, and - in the case of base models such as the Tesla 3 - a (relatively) consumer-friendly price tag. Future savings on fuel and protecting the environment we live in are yet more perks of owning these revolutionary vehicles. On top of this, buyers in Hong Kong could enjoy a new-vehicle registration tax waiver on Tesla car models, which could save them as much as HK$355,500 in taxes. Yet the registration figures of new Tesla cars in Hong Kong are dropping; but why?

Online car quote tools, or car insurance calculators are of utmost value to those who are looking for car insurance in Hong Kong. Not only will such tools allow you to obtain a free car insurance quote, but if you know how to maximize the potential of car insurance calculators, using them can help you save money, too! In today’s article, Kwiksure will explain step by step how using a car insurance calculator properly can spare you extra costs on your car insurance premiums.

Life insurance ’s primary purpose is to protect your loved ones financially if you were to die during the policy term. According to LIMRA research , one out of three households would have financial difficulty within one month of a primary wage earner passing. The death benefit helps to cover costs related to the funeral, mortgage, etc., and allows your family or other beneficiaries to retain the same standard of living as before. There are two main types of life insurance policies: term life insurance and permanent life insurance, which are different in a number of ways, and both have their pros and cons. Since we, at Kwiskure , know that choosing the right type of life insurance can be complicated, we have taken the liberty of comparing these two life insurance options for you in today’s article.

People in Hong Kong love their hobbies. After all, space is limited in the city, and rather than go stir crazy in our homes, it’s important that we distract ourselves with whatever it is that we’re interested in or passionate about. Being a developed city, it makes sense that people in Hong Kong can get involved in some rather expensive hobbies, and one of the most expensive such hobbies is cars. Regardless of the price tag, it’s undeniable that there are plenty of ‘gear heads’ and ‘grease monkeys’ out there that would rather spend their weekends getting dirty under the hood of their vehicle than go to the beach or play video games. If you are among this group in Hong Kong, you may be disappointed that there aren’t local car shows to go to on a weekly basis where you can not only show off your pride and joy but also scope out the awesome autos that your peers show off. All that means, then, is that you need to strike while the iron is hot when it comes to auto shows in Hong Kong, and make sure to get out to such events when they occur. Here, Kwiksure is happy to provide car lovers in Hong Kong with an overview of the city’s most popular annual automotive events.

Parking your car outside of your garage or driveway, (assuming you even have one in our tiny Hong Kong), can expose your vehicle to many types of damages. Whether your car insurance will cover damage to a parked car or not, depends on many factors, such as your motor insurance coverage, whether you parked in a legal spot, and if you can identify the perpetrator of the damage. A team of motor insurance experts form Kwiksure Hong Kong will explain in this post when car insurance in Hong Kong will cover damage costs in a parking collision.

When purchasing a motor insurance plan, you can name other drivers on the policy that will use the insured car. These so-called “named drivers” are people whom you can lend your car to, and have the same level of cover as you - the policyholder. This protects you from the high costs of unnamed driver excess/deductibles . However, if you add your 20 year old daughter or son to your policy, who just recently got their driving license, you will see your premiums increase. Also, adding high-risk named drivers - such as young/inexperienced drivers or those with an accident record - can be quite costly. As such, sometimes excluding drivers from your car insurance plan can be the answer if you’re looking for premium savings.