Driving in Hong Kong Without Motor Insurance

According to the Hong Kong Police Force’s records, there have been 6,456 road accidents throughout the country since January 2015. And while it is required by law to have the Motor Insurance before you are allowed to drive a vehicle, 11% of motorists, including expats, still don’t have the proper insurance to protect them when an accident happens. Licensing of vehicles used on roads in Hong Kong requires a valid third party risk insurance.

These figures are from the Transport Department of Hong Kong:

Village Insurance Direct can provide expats with a list of options from accredited providers of Motor Insurance. You can request for a quote here: Motor Insurance Quote

You need a Third Party Insurance Plan

The minimum legal requirement set by the Hong Kong Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance is to cover legal liabilities towards third parties with respect to injury or death. It is important to note however that policies in Hong Kong will almost always include cover for damage to third party property (meaning their vehicle and some of its contents).

The Repercussions

You can be fined up to HK$3600 for driving uninsured in Hong Kong. This is on top of getting your license suspended or depending on the incidents’ severity, jail time.  If you didn’t cause the accident meaning you are not at fault  and an insured driver hit you, you can claim monetary damages from their insurance company. If an uninsured driver hit you, on the other hand, you have the option to press charges and demand for compensation on any damage or injury they caused.

Why people don’t get insurance

The usual argument is that no one can really estimate the cost of an accident because there are too many uncontrolled and unknown factors. They say “You can’t save for an accident so why spend money on insurance if you could be paying almost the same amount?”

Drivers in an accident can pay an average of HK$9,000 for a single motor accident and that does not include possible hospital bills in case of injury. Paying an average premium of HK$980 annually is certainly a lot cheaper than paying for damages out-of-pocket.

There are ways to save money on Motor Insurance. If you own a home, then combining auto insurance with Home Insurance can save you money. Most companies will give you a 10% discount on your entire policy. You can also check your other plans such as Health Insurance and see if you might be redundantly subscribed to a plan that covers the same risks. Review this and cancel what’s not necessary.

Sources:

http://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/09_statistics/tapi_tcpr_2015.html

http://www.oci.gov.hk/faq/#q7