Travel insurance: hong kong

Why do I need travel insurance for Hong Kong?

Protect yourself and your finances with travel insurance for Hong Kong, and enjoy peace of mind during your time in this exhilarating city. 

Travel insurance is designed to pay out if something goes wrong while you’re on holiday. From helping to cover the cost of any medical bills, to providing support and financial assistance if you lose your passport or your luggage, it offers valuable protection when you need it most.

What type of travel insurance do I need for Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is in Asia, so you will need worldwide cover to protect you during your time there. 

If your Hong Kong trip is the only one you have planned in the next 12 months, you can cover it with a single-trip travel insurance policy. This will protect you from when you take out your cover to when you return home. 

However if you’re planning multiple holidays throughout the year, an annual multi-trip policy may be a better bet – it will cover all the trips you take during the next 12 months.

If, meanwhile, Hong Kong is one of the places you plan to visit on an extended trip, backpacker travel insurance is often the best way to cover the entire trip. 

What should my travel insurance policy include for Hong Kong?

Your travel insurance policy for Hong Kong should include:

• Medical: Cover for medical treatment pays out if you need emergency care while on your travels, usually up to a limit of £5m. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, it’s important to tell your insurer to make sure you will be covered if you need assistance related to it while you’re away

• Repatriation: This covers you if you need to be brought home to the UK as a result of a medical emergency

• Cancellation: This covers you if you need to cancel your trip, or cut your holiday short, which is known as ‘curtailment’

• Travel delays and missed departures: This pays out if you miss your flight (through no fault of your own) or your travel plans are severely delayed 

• Baggage: This pays out if your belongings are lost or stolen during your trip. There will usually be a single item limit as well as a maximum amount you can claim overall 

• Cash: This covers you if your money is lost or stolen, again up to a set limit of usually about £300 

• Gadgets: This pays out if your mobile phone or laptop is stolen or damaged while you’re on holiday

• Travel abandonment: This pays out if your trip becomes unfeasible due to circumstances outside your control 

• Passport: This covers you if your passport is lost or stolen

• Personal liability: This covers you if you damage someone else or their possessions by accident while you’re away

Hong Kong travel insurance: Exclusions and what to watch out for

All travel insurance policies have exclusions, but there are extra types of cover you can bolt on to your policy to ensure it offers the protection you need. It will usually involve paying a bit more, but could be a wise investment in the long term if you need to make a claim that would not usually be covered by a standard policy. 

Things to consider when thinking about what cover you need include:

• Pre-existing condition travel insurance: If you live with a pre-existing medical condition, or have had treatment for one in recent years, you will often only be covered for any medical care you need as a result while you’re on holiday if you disclose the condition to your insurer – and usually pay extra to have it covered.  

• FCDO advice: Always check the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) travel advice before you go on holiday. Some insurers will invalidate your policy if you travel against government advice. For more information on how Covid-19 affects your travel plans, take a look at our guide on coronavirus and travel insurance.

• Sports and activities: Hong Kong is more of a shopping paradise than an extreme sport destination, but if you are planning on doing higher-risk activities while you’re there, adventure cover could be a good call. 

Is healthcare free in Hong Kong?

You will have to pay for any medical treatment you have while in Hong Kong, and the cost of that can quickly mount up – especially if you have to stay in hospital for one or more nights. So taking out travel insurance is the best way to avoid potentially enormous bills.  

Top tips for travelling to Hong Kong

Home to more skyscrapers than any other city in the world, Hong Kong is a fascinating mix of Chinese and British culture. The shopping is world class, and the city is blessed with many excellent restaurants and bars. Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo are the places to go for nightlife, while Victoria Peak is the best spot to take in the city’s impressive skyline, and a trip out to see the Tian Tan Buddha is a great way to escape the crowds for a day. 

Here are just a few things to note when travelling in Hong Kong: 

When to visit: For comfortable temperatures and reasonable accommodation costs, book your trip to Hong Kong in October, November, or December. 

Getting around: The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) is a fast, cheap way to get around the city, which is also well serviced by buses, ferries, and trams. Taxis are also widely available and are fairly cheap compared to UK standards. 

British influence: Hong Kong was a British colony for many years, and certain things – such as the street signs – will still look very familiar to visitors from the UK. One of the advantages of Hong Kong’s colonial history is that English is very widely spoken here – although knowing a bit of Cantonese is still a bonus.

Make like an Octopus: The pre-paid Octopus card is the easiest way to pay for travel on all types of public transport in Hong Kong, be it the MTR, the buses, the ferries or the trams. You can also use it at many shops, fast-food restaurants and even in vending machines. 

Avoid an awkward massage: Hong Kong is home to lots of massage parlours, where you can enjoy very reasonably priced massages and reflexology treatments. But beware: a neon sign showing a smiley face inside a foot means “extra services” are also on offer! 

Shop till you drop: Home to more skyscrapers than any other city in the world, Hong Kong is a fascinating mix of Chinese and British culture. The shopping is world class, and the city is blessed with many excellent restaurants and bars. Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo are the places to go for nightlife, while Victoria Peak is the best spot to take in the city’s impressive skyline, and a trip out to see the Tian Tan Buddha is a great way to escape the crowds for a day.