Abstract
The horrific revealing of the adversity of the COVID-19 on live and limb of individuals are yet to be fully revealed to the general public. The economic and financial consequences that it had so far caused are also beyond human imagination. It is trite understanding of the developed communities that insurance is designed and meant to be a tool to spread risks to all. That begs the question of the scope and extent of such coverage: specifically, whether it is sufficient to allow the insured to meet such risks and whether any single underwriter can provide coverage to alleviate the hardships suffered by the insured. This article examines the various means adopted by the Hong Kong insurance industry which attempt to contain its own exposure to provide the necessary means to allow the insured to maintain a reasonable possibility to avoid going under. The writers are fully aware that these two objectives are incongruent to one another to the extent of direct confrontation. It is suspected that there may as well be a spectrum of possibilities whereby the underwriters and those insured may comfortably accept, within certain margins of tolerable irritations, without seriously jeopardizing very survival of both.
Chee Wai Terry Wong died before the publication of this book.
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Notes
- 1.
Szmigiera (2021).
- 2.
Howden Broking Group (2020).
- 3.
Keady and Zhuang (2020).
- 4.
The HKSAR Government Anti-epidemic Fund, see https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/anti-epidemic-fund.html.
- 5.
The HKSAR Government, Measures approved by the Anti-epidemic Fund Steering Committee, accessible at https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/anti-epidemic-fund-new16.html. Accessed 25 May 2021.
- 6.
An informative and detailed overview of economic measures taken by the Hong Kong Government is available on the website of accounting firm RSM Hong Kong at https://www.rsm.global/hongkong/en/insights/rsm-publications/hong-kong-government-relief-measures-response-covid-19 (accessed 19 Feb 2022).
- 7.
Keady and Zhuang (2020). See also IA circular of 25 May 2020 which is accessible at https://www.ia.org.hk/en/legislative_framework/circulars/reg_matters/files/Circular_25052020.pdf (accessed 18 Feb 2022).
- 8.
The Hong Kong Insurance Authority Guidelines can be accessed at https://www.ia.org.hk/en/legislative_framework/guidelines.php. Accessed 25 May 2021.
- 9.
Chan (2020).
- 10.
As advertised on their website https://www.manulife.com.hk/content/dam/insurance/hk/en/documents/products/coronavirus-arrangement.pdf (accessed 18 Feb 2022).
- 11.
AXA’ “Enhanced Policy Coverage and Preventive Measures” can be accessed at https://www.axa.com.hk/en/axa-novel-coronavirus-outbreak, accessed 18 Feb 20222.
- 12.
BUPA’S “Extended Coverage and Supportive Services for Coronavirus Disease” (from 24 Jan 2020 to 28 Feb 2021). https://www.bupa.com.hk/en/coronavirus. Accessed 25 May 2021.
- 13.
- 14.
Zambrano (2020).
- 15.
Chapter 1.2, Sūtra on the Collection of the Six Perfections (Liu Du Wuji **g, 六道量經 in Chinese).
- 16.
BBC News (2020).
- 17.
Spree (2010).
- 18.
Loomis (2002).
- 19.
KPMG (2021).
- 20.
Ibid.
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
Howden Broking Group (2020).
- 23.
Ibid.
- 24.
Ibid.
- 25.
Olano (2020).
- 26.
Yiu (2021).
- 27.
Yiu (2021).
- 28.
Notably, the O2 face masks used by many have been re-adapted for Asian uses by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
- 29.
- 30.
Harari (2020).
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Wong, C.W.T., Tsui, T.C. (2023). Hong Kong’s Insurance Industry in Response to COVID-19. In: Andenas, M., Heidemann, M. (eds) Quo vadis Commercial Contract?. LCF Studies in Commercial and Financial Law, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14105-8_9
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