Hong Kong consumers are traditionally loyal to their insurance agents and tend to trust their advice. Remember, insurance agents receive commission from their company, funded by policyholders' premiums. If your policy is 'twisted', that is, you surrender an existing life policy and take out a new one with your agent's new employer, you will be financially worse off. Commissions are mostly collected in the first two years of your policy, so starting again means paying again.
An agent's primary responsibility is to look after a client's financial needs which will not be served by twisting a policy. The agent benefits, not you.
Many of Hong Kong's insurers are part of global groups, with large asset backing and a long trading history. Check Standard & Poor's company credit ratings if in doubt. For example, the August 3 S&P ratings give AXA China Region an 'Api' rating, showing 'strong financial security characteristics'. Pacific Century Insurance received 'Bpi' - indicating 'weak financial structure'. Make sure the new insurer can match the old one's credit rating - they will be paying your claim in 40 years.
New policies usually have a waiting or exclusion period before full benefits apply. With a 'twisted' policy, the cover may not be continuous and you may have to wait before you can make a claim.
Most existing SAR policies have guaranteed financial returns, set when global interest rates were much higher than at present. The new policy should offer the same guarantee. (Remember, investment-linked policies offer no guarantee.)
Many Hong Kong policies offer guaranteed surrender values. A new one may not offer such guarantees. If they do, they should be equal to, or better than your existing one.