HSBC Life, AIA among major Hong Kong insurers seeing strong sales growth as Omicron wave raises health awareness, boosts digital shift

Name: Hong Kong businesses and facilities reopen as many Covid-19 restrictions lifted
Uploaded: 2022-05-15T04:30:14.000Z
Duration: 4 min 10 s
Description: Hong Kong businesses and facilities reopen as many Covid-19 restrictions lifted

HSBC Life saw a 38 per cent year-on-year increase in the value of new business in the first three months of 2022

Manulife, the second-biggest insurer in Hong Kong, saw sales of medical policies rise 16 per cent from a year ago

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Canadian insurer Manulife, the second-biggest in Hong Kong, saw sales of medical policies rise 16 per cent from a year ago. Photo: Shutterstock

Enoch Yiu

Published: 12:30pm, 15 May 2022

Hong Kong’s fearsome fifth wave of Covid-19 has not been bad for every business sector. Some of the city’s biggest insurers have enjoyed surging sales thanks to their digital offerings and a heightened public awareness of the need for medical cover.

HSBC Life experienced a 38 per cent year-on-year increase in the value of new business in the first three months of 2022, even though its parent bank had to temporarily close most of its branches in early March as the pandemic peaked.

“The fifth wave forced, amongst other things, widespread branch closures across Hong Kong which would normally have hindered our ability to serve our customers,” said Edward Moncreiffe, chief executive of HSBC Life in Hong Kong.

“However, in the last two years we have advanced our digital sales capabilities.

“We have just lived through a once-in-a-century global pandemic. We see significantly higher awareness among our customer base of the need to protect their health and to safeguard their family’s future.”

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Hong Kong businesses and facilities reopen as many Covid-19 restrictions lifted

HSBC Life introduced video meetings between its financial advisers and customers in 2020 when Covid-19 first appeared in the city. Those virtual meetings led to about 40 per cent of new sales in the first quarter, as total sales returned to pre-pandemic levels.