Spooked by a falling yuan, yield-seeking mainland Chinese scramble to buy insurance policies in Hong Kong
- Sales of insurance policies to mainland Chinese visitors hit HK$46.8 billion (US$6 billion) in the nine months to September, compared with HK$1 billion a year ago
- Manulife and Prudential are upbeat on policy sales in the fourth quarter amid rising demand from mainland Chinese visitors
Life insurance sales in Hong Kong to mainland Chinese visitors surged 46-fold in the first nine months of this year as they tucked into an array of insurance products seeking higher returns and as a hedge against a weakening yuan, according to data released by the Insurance Authority on Thursday.
Sales of policies to mainlanders hit HK$46.8 billion (US$6 billion) from January to September, compared with HK$1 billion a year earlier, representing 32 per cent of the total in Hong Kong during the period.
Sales also exceeded the HK$36 billion worth of life and medical policies bought by mainland Chinese visitors before the Covid-19 pandemic in same period of 2019, when they accounted for 25.8 per cent of total sales.
On a quarterly basis, sales from July to September to mainlanders stood at HK$15 billion, 33 per cent lower than the HK$22.28 billion in the second quarter but 56 per cent higher than the HK$9.6 billion in the first quarter.
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Overall new life insurance sales rose 30.6 per cent in the first nine months to HK$146.5 billion, from HK$112.2 billion a year earlier. This was also 4.8 per cent higher than the sales of HK$139.8 billion in the first nine months of 2019.
“The growth in sales reflects a continuous return of demand from mainland Chinese visitors since the reopening of the borders, as well as robust domestic sales,” said Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau.
Manulife, the largest pension provider in the city, reported double-digit percentage growth in the third quarter from a year ago thanks to strong demand from across the border.
Spurred by the robust demand, the Canadian insurer opened its second prestige business centre in the city in Tsim Sha Tsui in the third quarter, joining other major insurers such as HSBC Life, Prudential and Sun Life, which also opened additional sales centres recently to tap the growing demand from mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong.
Graham said these prestige centres also offer financial planning products to high-net-worth mainland Chinese visitors.
“With the total number of visitors to Hong Kong this year expected to rise to 30 million, we are optimistic about the growth opportunities,” he said. “Our commitment to providing solutions to target health, retirement and protection needs to both domestic and mainland Chinese customers will continue to drive sales momentum.”
Prudential’s overall new business sales in Asia and Africa in the first nine months rose 40 per cent year on year to US$4.42 billion, with Hong Kong-bound mainland visitors accounting for a major chunk.
“Looking ahead, we continue to see strong growth opportunities in Hong Kong to serve mainland Chinese visitor customers coming to the city for savings, health and other protection products,” Anil Wadhwani, CEO of Prudential said last week.
In the first nine months, more than 23 million travellers visited the city, including more than 18.7 million from mainland China, according to figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Last year a mere 604,564 people visited the city.
“As there were virtually no mainlanders visiting Hong Kong during the epidemic, the border reopening has seen a release of pent up demand,” said Kenrick Chung, director of Ben. Excellence Consultancy, an insurance broker in Hong Kong.
“In addition, the choice of currency and products offered by Hong Kong insurers are also attractive to them.”
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Many mainland Chinese citizens turned to higher-yielding bank deposits, insurance and investment products in Hong Kong amid a weakening yuan. The Chinese currency had lost as much as 16 per cent this year against the US dollar, but has since recovered, trimming its losses to 2.6 per cent.
“We see insurance products and services in Hong Kong offering unique value propositions to the mainland Chinese residents,” said Leon Qi, research head at Daiwa Capital Markets.
Their growing need for asset allocation diversification has led to a demand for savings products, while well-rounded and flexible insurance products cater to rising demand for medical and critical illness protection, he said
The border reopening also drove up travel insurance sales, with premiums of travel, accident and health insurance rising 13 per cent to HK$15.3 billion in the first nine months, Insurance Authority data showed.
