A recent survey has found that only 18% of Macau respondents have a critical illness insurance plan, which is much lower than in Hong Kong (53%) and mainland GBA cities (52%).
In case of a serious illness, 70% of Macau respondents said their family members would pay for medical expenses, compared to 28% in Hong Kong and 44% in mainland GBA cities.
According to the Manulife GBA Health Protection Survey, despite the differences, the high estimated cost of treatment highlights the size of the protection gap affecting consumers across the 11 cities in the GBA, which includes Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in mainland China. Macau respondents (47%) and mainland GBA respondents (45%) are more confident about covering the cost compared to just one-in-eight (12%) people in Hong Kong.
People in Macau who are confident about their personal finances cite having personal insurance (38%), a stable job (37%), enough savings (32%) and being healthy (32%) as reasons for the confidence.
Meanwhile, the survey revealed that GBA residents are most worried about cancer as a critical illness. There is, however, a wide disparity in the anticipated cost of treating critical illnesses across the GBA. Taking cancer as an example, Macau respondents expect to pay only around MOP468,000, or 15 months of their average personal income for the associated cost to treat cancer.
This is in stark contrast to the rest of the region, where in the mainland GBA cities, the estimate is as high as 51 months of the average monthly personal income (RMB698,000). In Hong Kong, respondents expect to spend around 35 months of their average personal income (HKD1.07million) in treating cancer.
“Concerns over ever-increasing medical expenses combined with inadequate financial planning present a protection gap challenge for the GBA. While the majority of the Macau respondents say their family will be a main source of funding for critical illness treatment, less than half are actually confident about paying for medical costs,” said Carrie Tong, Manulife’s chief strategy officer for Hong Kong and Macau and Head of Macau Branch.
Residents more worried over high blood pressure
They survey shows that in Macau, respondents are more worried about high blood pressure (29%) than cancer (27%), with liver disease (23%) more of a concern than heart disease and stroke (both 19%).
In Hong Kong it is cancer (65%), stroke (41%), and heart disease (35%); mainland GBA city respondents are worried about cancer (42%), heart disease (27%), and high blood pressure (25%).
In case of a medical event, around half of people in the GBA will use emergency savings (Macau: 52%; Hong Kong: 47%; mainland GBA 52%). If a person unfortunately suffers from a critical illness, 97% of people in Macau expect a family member to be a long-term caretaker compared to 79% in mainland GBA cities and 60% in Hong Kong.
28% of locals think they are overweight
Despite more than a quarter (28%) of people in Macau perceiving themselves to be overweight, 44% said they have good physical health compared to 46% in mainland GBA cities and only 9% in Hong Kong. In Macau, 39% said their health management action involved improving their diet, such as eating less salt and sugar. In addition, consumers in mainland GBA cities also say that maintaining good mental health (40%) is their main health goal, significantly higher than Macau (31%).
Growing appetite for insurance protection
There is a demand for critical illness protection among the population in the GBA, with people looking to do more to protect themselves, but they do not know where to start. Out of the respondents, people in Macau are the most eager (71%), followed by mainland GBA cities (69%) and then Hong Kong (62%). Many also expressed interest in buying new or additional health insurance if they can afford it. People in mainland GBA cities (85%) are the most interested, followed by Macau (80%) and then Hong Kong (65%).
