Month: May 2015

29May

A Poem About Insurance

It started the moment I came into this world

Loud, crying, kicking with nothing to my name

My stubby little fingers clenched and balled up

That hospital bill is certainly not anyone’s morning cup.

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With more zeroes my mother could wrap her head around

A full Maternity Insurance was nowhere to be found

Perhaps she should have been wiser and read the fine print

“Does not cover newborns” was an obvious hint

 

Soon I was off to primary school all happy and skipping

When that day my father came home with news of a job he was no longer keeping

“They laid me off” he said with worry in his tired eyes

An existent Employees’ Benefits Insurance would have been nice

 

And so we had nothing to do but try and move along

So we drove to our favorite diner to leave behind a day that’s too long

But of course it had to happen to us if anyone’s keeping score

The car crashed into a hydrant, leaving us with whiplashed necks so sore

 

With my little brother in tow we rushed to the emergency room

Just to make sure all our parts were still in tune

I said under my breath “public healthcare is both a blessing and a curse”

We’ve been here for 3 hours I’ve made friends with a nurse

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Good thing the damage were merely minor bruises

Sadly we had no Motor Insurance so the car no longer cruises

We took the bus home with spirits a little angry and broken

It’s a cliché to say but you really never know what could happen

On the computer, my father went straight

Typing away in a mad search to have some control over our fate

He was 32, unemployed with 2 kids and a busted car

He realized the truth that a good insurance plan can still get you far

 

Take this as a warning and a sad, truthful fact of life

Nobody likes thinking about insurance until you find out its might

It will save you in so many ways other than money

You get peace of mind and have a better chance of enjoying life’s journey.

 

To get started on enjoying your life’s journey, get a quote from us today.

If you need to ask us anything about insurance, feel free to contact us.

Follow @VillageInsureHK on Twitter and Facebook at http://facebook.com/Villageinsurancedirect

21May

The Need for Cyber Insurance

Technology is a double-edged sword. It increases efficiency yet creates a new entry point for risks. Just last year, Target Corporation had to pay $10M to settle a lawsuit brought about by a breach in their database exposing their consumer’s’ private information such as email and phone numbers. Sony Corp experienced the same exposure with their email system where private correspondences were uploaded to WikiLeaks late in 2014 and again this May.

This type of 21st century crime leaves businesses at a great risk. The security breaches from 2014 proved costly to the affected companies’ reputations and consumer trust was severely affected. Until last March of this year, there has not been an insurance policy that specifically protects companies from this type of threat.

CyberSecurity by Chubb Corp is the latest insurance policy  to address the problem with cyber extortion. Their policy aims to address the full scope of risks associated with doing business in a technology-driven market. Cybersecury’s features include:

  • Combining third-party (cyber liability) and first-party (cyber crime expense) coverages into one international policy.
  • Coverage for direct loss, legal liability and consequential loss resulting from cyber security breaches.
  • Integration with your existing insurance program from Chubb and provides options for enhancing your cyber coverage based on your needs.
  • Complete online network security risk assessment, resulting in a comprehensive report of your company’s exposures.

There are two general choices business are left with when under attack by hackers. Their first option is to delete their whole database which means restarting from the ground up to rebuild and secure vital information.

The second choice is to pay a ransom to pacify further damage. Whichever way a business chooses to deal with the extortion they will suffer a huge damage. What we, at Village Insurance Direct, try to advocate is that small companies are just as much at risk as big corporations and regardless of your company’s scale you need to be armed.

A study on cyber crime conducted by Ponemon Institute in 2014 implied 2 important details:

  1. Information technology assets are 39% more exposed than property assets on a relative value to insurance protection basis.
  2. Proliferation of mobile devices and Internet of Things (IOT) will send cyber risks skyrocketing over next five years.

To further stress the need for cyber protection, figures from Q2 of 2014 gathered by SafeNet show an alarming overview of the problem worldwide.

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This lack of investment in cyber insurance is due to the relatively new nature of the market. While policies regarding fires and damages have been around for years and have been perfected to offer several varying types of coverage, insurance policies for data are still works in progress but what we should draw from all this is that the initiative has begun and companies have an option.

Leave Village Insurance Direct a message for inquiries on Cyber Insurance and other Business Insurance Needs. You may also send us a Whatsapp message at +852-6532-4047 for quick questions about any other insurance policy.

7May

Types of Health Insurance Cover in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s public health care system covers expats with an identification card, children under the age of 11 with resident status and those approved by the Hospital Authority Chief Executive. The country has one of the best hospital facilities in Asia with highly reputable doctors. However, we as well as the government, encourage expats be privately insured to ensure a better care in case of unforeseen circumstances that cannot be easily resolved by the public healthcare system.

There are 3 types of Medical Insurance for expats in Hong Kong.

  • In patient cover – an insured person admitted to a hospital bed and out of medical necessity is required to stay for one or more nights. You’re also considered an inpatient when you’re formally admitted to the hospital with a doctor’s order. The day before you’re discharged is your last inpatient day.
  • Out patient cover – an insured person who receives treatment but who is not required to be admitted to a hospital bed.
  • Day patient cover – an insured person who is admitted to a hospital bed but does not remain in hospital overnight

Given that you’ve paid your deductible and coinsurance this how in patient cover will work in a hypothetical Emergency Room situation:ITA_-_table_2

In extremely critical emergency case when the hospital is unable to provide for your medical needs, there is Evacuation or Repatriation. This means moving you to another hospital which has the necessary medical facilities either in the country you are taken ill or another country nearby (evacuation) or bringing you back to your principal country of residence or your home country (repatriation). An International Health Insurance will generally cover your expenses if such a need arises. Make sure you know which countries are covered and which specific charges and fees can the policy pay for. Some Travel Insurancepolicies offer coverage for emergency evacuations so if you are staying in Hong Kong for a short period of time, we recommend you explore this option as well.

Feel free to send us your insurance questions or ask for a health insurance quote. If you have Whatsapp on your phone, you may also get answers to quick questions by sending a message to Village Insurance with this number: +852 6532 4047 (for Whatsapp Only).

4May

Infographic: How to Choose Your Health Insurance

How do you choose a health insurance policy? What should be your considerations? This infographic is an overview of the factors to consider when choosing a medical insurance policy.

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Got an insurance question? Now you can get quick answers from Mark Bromhead, Managing Director of Village Insurance Direct. Whatsapp him at +852-6532-4047. Please note that this is for Whatsapp ONLY.

4May

Mark Bromhead to Speak at Asian Club Managers’ Conference 2015

May 4-6, 2015 ,Hong Kong — Mark Bromhead, Founder and Managing Director of Village Insurance Direct, will one of the guest speakers for this year’s Asian Club Managers’ (ACM) Conference to be held at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre.12450903-acm-conference-2015

As an industry expert on insurance and its crucial role in the business and human resources, Bromhead will be discussing how clubs can use Health Insurance as a means for running an effective and successful business.

Themed “Food, Fun & Bubbles: Making Your Club THE Destination of Choice,” ACM 2015 is an 3-day action-packed programme encompassing 1.5 days Conference, Golf Day, Welcome Reception, Gala Dinner, HOFEX Show Visit, Clubs Tour, Cocktail Party and Happy Valley Horse Racing. Check out the brochure on the left for further information!

ACM is open to:

Club Managers and Executives
Club Industry practitioners
Researchers and Consultants in Club Industry
Tourism authorities and marketing organisations
Editors of tourism and hospitality-related journals

Other objectives of the conference is for attendees to expand their peer network through a series of networking events and meet people they can use as resource for innovative ideas and strategic insight.

For more information, you may visit http://acm-conference.com/registration/
Follow Mark Bromhead on Twitter at @BromheadMark and LinkedIn at http://hk.linkedin.com/in/markbromhead