【Diversified Family】Insurance Company Expands Rainbow Family Protection Insured to Same-sex Couples and Adopted Children

Written by: Claudia

Text Editor: Cindy

Although Hong Kong does not yet have a same-sex marriage or civil union system, as more and more Hong Kong people accept same-sex relationships, many gender/gender minorities choose to get married overseas. The insurance industry has seen this social trend and has begun to pay attention to rainbow families. Insurance needs, such as covering same-sex partners, married spouses, adopted children as insured and beneficiaries; when applying for mortgage or mortgage insurance, the bank will treat same-sex partners as relatives who can be guarantors, etc. In order to facilitate everyone to understand the services of different insurance companies, G point has compiled the plans and guarantees provided by major insurance companies on the market in recent years for rainbow families.

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Prudential, Manulife, HSBC Life beneficiaries cover same-sex couples and spouses

Life insurance is one of the most common insurance plans purchased by Hong Kong people. If the insured dies unfortunately, family members or dependants can get certain financial protection. With the increasing diversification of family composition, some insurance companies have also expanded the recognized beneficiaries of insurance products to same-sex couples or married spouses to cover different family members other than immediate blood relatives. According to the data, Prudential, Manulife and HSBC Insurance all provide relevant protection.

Prudential announced at the end of 2021 that the beneficiaries of all life insurance products can cover more diverse family members, including same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples and married spouses , to meet the protection needs of diverse families. If the beneficiary is a fiancé/wife, the policyholder needs to provide the beneficiary's ID number in the application; if the beneficiary is a married same-sex spouse, a marriage certificate is required when claiming.

In response to customer and market needs, Manulife has also expanded group life insurance beneficiaries to same-sex couples. HSBC Life also expanded the definition of beneficiaries for its life insurance products in 2018 to cover multiple relationships such as cohabiting or non-cohabiting partners and same-sex partners .

It is worth noting that there must be an "insurable interest" between the policyholder and the beneficiary, that is, the death of the policyholder will cause the beneficiary to suffer economic or emotional losses. For example, if the beneficiary is a common-law partner, some insurance companies will require the policyholder to declare that the two parties have maintained a public commitment relationship for at least 6 months; married same-sex spouses generally need to submit a certificate of civil union or marriage. Each insurance company has different policies and definitions, so be sure to understand the relevant terms before applying for insurance.

Same-sex couples benefiting from group health insurance in Zurich and Manulife

At present, the group medical insurance plans of many large companies all cover the spouse or partner of the employee, and some are not limited to the gender and marital status of the other half. Take Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong) as an example, as long as the employee can prove that he has lived with his partner for at least 3 years, even if he is not married, his partner can enjoy medical insurance regardless of gender or nationality , and the coverage is no different from that of a married spouse.

In response to the G-point inquiry, Manulife pointed out that their group health insurance plan can cover same-sex couples as insured persons at the request of employers. After the policy was launched, they received an average of 10 to 15 group insurances with same-sex couples as insured persons each year. The application reflects the market’s demand for safeguarding diverse relationships. In the medical insurance application form provided by Bupa, the insured also allows the insured to fill in the same-sex spouse, civil union or same-sex partner living together with the insured in the "Spouse/Common-Law Partner" information column , as long as the two parties are within a period of " In a continuous, loyal and unique” relationship.

In recent years, many companies have actively promoted a diverse and inclusive work environment to boost employee morale and attract local and overseas talents. Manulife, which was selected as one of the "Hong Kong Top 10 Gay Inclusive Employers" in 2021, has extended employee protection to its partners and adopted children since April 2018, regardless of the same sex or opposite sex, allowing rainbow families to enjoy group medical care, spousal group life, Benefits such as rent allowances, adoption leave, and the employee’s partner are also covered under Compassionate Leave. Manulife said that after the introduction of the measures, employees responded positively. So far, more than 200 employees have registered their opposite-sex or same-sex partners as insured persons, and some have included their adopted children in the employee medical insurance plan. From April 2022, Manulife has also added "gender re-confirmation protection" to its employee medical insurance plan to further support diversity and inclusion.

Banks accept same-sex couples' mortgage applications as guarantors

When most Hong Kong people buy a property, they need to apply to the bank for a mortgage or mortgage insurance with a higher percentage (commonly known as mortgage insurance). Banks generally accept close relatives as "guarantors", such as parents, siblings, husband and wife, etc. However, according to people familiar with banking business , banks generally accept applications from same-sex couples for mortgages and mortgage insurance. , fill in the relationship as spouse, fiancé/wife, same-sex couples will be regarded as immediate family members, and can jointly apply for mortgage and insurance, or act as a "guarantor".

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However, when applying for a high-percentage mortgage, the bank will more strictly examine the relationship between the applicant and the "guarantor", and the mortgage approval will also take into account factors such as property valuation and credit rating, and it is difficult to generalize.

Insurance industry research strengthens protection for transgender and HIV-infected people

Although same-sex marriage has not been legalized in Hong Kong, the equal rights of same-sex spouses and partners are increasingly being valued . The insurance industry also hopes to provide specific protection and flexible plans for diverse families more closely to the needs of customers.

Alex See, a fellow Prudential broker, said that he had communicated with many insurance companies before joining the insurance industry, and believed that many insurance companies were concerned about gender/gender minority issues and would be willing to discuss gender/gender minority friendly policies. He believes that for the gender/gender minority, more flexible and inclusive products are one of the considerations when choosing an insurance plan. As far as he knows, the insurance industry is also trying to promote other diversification policies, such as strengthening protection for transgender people and people living with HIV. In fact, HIV-infected people are not limited to gender/gender minority groups. It can be seen that the changes in the industry are not only targeting gender/gender minority groups, but also expanding the protection of neglected groups in the current system as much as possible.

Further reading: [Ultimate finishing] An article on 10 legal protections for same-sex couples/spouses in Hong Kong

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