business · Bastillepost

Lee urges cross-border insurance for Greater Bay Area residents

about 2 hours ago2 MIN
Lee urges cross-border insurance for Greater Bay Area residents

Summary

Chief Executive John Lee said Hong Kong wants insurers to create cross-border elderly care and medical insurance products that better serve Greater Bay Area residents . He said the government will continue coordinating with mainland departments to strengthen after-sales support for holders of Hong Kong insurance policies and promote closer integration between the two markets .

Key Points

  • Lee made the remarks while addressing an insurance industry event, outlining policy support for products serving residents across the Greater Bay Area .
  • He said Hong Kong will maintain close communication with mainland authorities to improve after-sales services for residents holding Hong Kong insurance policies .
  • Lee said a dedicated regulatory regime and subsidy scheme for insurance-linked securities have helped facilitate seven catastrophe bond issuances worth about HK$6.2 billion .
  • He said the issuances support risk management for both mainland China and global markets, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role in specialist insurance finance .
  • Lee added that an independent marine risk pool has insured more than 800 vessels from Hong Kong and the mainland, leveraging the city’s shipping centre status .

Why It Matters

The remarks signal that Hong Kong is trying to expand beyond traditional insurance sales into cross-border retirement, healthcare, catastrophe risk and marine coverage, while tying its financial services more closely to mainland demand . Lee’s emphasis on AI, insurtech, captive insurers and responsible innovation also suggests the government wants the sector to modernise and attract more overseas and mainland firms to base specialist insurance operations in Hong Kong .