The government and Hong Kong insurers have stepped up efforts to encourage Hong Kong travellers to take out insurance with a series of warnings, horror stories and even a pretty face.
The deaths of 14 Hong Kong tourists and injuries to another 30 in a bus crash near the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egypt, in January sparked the campaign.
The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which claimed several Hong Kong lives and caused many more injuries, pointed to the need for travel insurance but a high percentage of travellers continue to ignore the possibility of death or injury while abroad or in the mainland.
The horror stories include a boy who fell off a donkey in Spain and needed treatment for a broken thigh that cost $130,000; a mosquito bite that led to malaria and $180,000 of treatment; and an air ambulance rescue in South Africa that cost $250,000. Without insurance the unfortunate patient or family is left to foot the bill.
Although there are no official figures for the number of people who travel without insurance, travel experts believe the number is sufficiently high to cause concern. Following the tragedy in Egypt, the government has launched a series of TV announcements featuring actress Dodo Cheng Yu-ling who reminds people not to leave home without travel insurance.
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), the insurance industry watchdog, is worried by the number of people who travel without adequate insurance. Last week Commissioner of Insurance Richard Yuen Ming-fai announced the OCI had worked out new regulatory measures which would promote co-operation between the insurance industry and the travel industry.