Insurance complaints jump by 33 percent to 857 cases, ICB reports

The Insurance Complaints Bureau (ICB) received 857 complaint cases last year, a year-on-year increase of approximately 32.7 percent, with disputes most commonly arising from hospitalization/medical and travel insurance policies.

The ICB's Insurance Claims Complaints Panel said Tuesday (Apr 14) that of the 447 cases it concluded, 124 complainants received compensation from their insurance companies, involving a total payout of HK$13.6 million.

Orchis Li, a member of the Complaints Panel, suggested the rise in complaints was due to growing public recognition of the panel's work, leading more individuals to use the mechanism to resolve disputes. 

She emphasized that the number of withdrawn and rejected applications had also seen a significant increase. The panel also noted that it has not yet received any insurance-related complaints concerning the Wang Fuk Court fire.

Michael Tsui Fuk-sun, chairman of the Panel, stated that over the past year, 11 cases were ruled in favor of the complainant, while the insurer's original decision was upheld in 45 cases.

The highest single-case payout was approximately HK$820,000, which involved a man who passed away from a severe head injury after slipping and falling on a rainy day. 

The death certificate listed "traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, recent stroke, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and a fall due to a misstep" as the causes of death.

The insurance company initially rejected the accidental death claim filed by the deceased's daughter, arguing that the death was not caused solely by the accident. 

However, the Panel overturned the decision and determined the insurer should pay the accidental death benefit. It ruled that since the man died within 12 hours of the fall, there was a clear causal link, and the primary cause of death was the accidental fall.