Group Medical Insurance
Group Medical Insurance
From AI to talent: Bowtie and our corporate partners explore the future of work
Author
Bowtie Team
Updated on
2026-11-11
Every year-end, corporate gifts pile up on HR desks. This year, we wanted to thank our clients differently, by meeting business leaders and HR professionals in person and really listening to what they had to say.
On 27 October 2026, Bowtie hosted its Group Medical VIP Luncheon at The Park Lane Hong Kong, bringing together HR leaders and business owners from our corporate clients, along with partners and friends from the industry, to share perspectives on the future of work. There were no product presentations and no sales pitches. The focus was on thanking our clients and having honest conversations about AI, talent and employee benefits.
A difficult question, and why every renewal counts
Opening the event, Bowtie Co-Founder Fred Ngan took the room back to our early days. Virtual insurance was still new in Hong Kong back then, so choosing a start-up insurer with no agents and no paperwork took real foresight from the companies that came on board early.
Many HR leaders had to explain to their management why they picked Bowtie over a large, traditional insurer. Fred said, “You answered that question for us, with your trust. I know it wasn’t easy.” He was candid that keeping clients is harder than winning new ones. “Renewing with us year after year is the greatest recognition we could ask for.”
Today, Bowtie Group Medical Insurance is trusted by more than 500 companies across Hong Kong. Across the business as a whole, Bowtie has a client retention rate above 93% and a customer satisfaction score of 91%, and in mid-2026 our annual revenue passed US$100 million. But the number Fred cares about most is a different one, the 218,914 claims approved to date. He said, “Behind every one of them is someone who fell ill or ended up in hospital, at the moment they needed the money most.”
For group medical insurance, renewal is an annual review. Every detail, from claims and administration to day-to-day support, gets assessed again. When clients keep choosing to renew, that’s the most meaningful recognition our team can receive.
Building better products with customer feedback
Bowtie’s service runs mainly online. From enrolment and policy management to claims, our platform is what clients use every day. That’s why, alongside our full Group Medical team, the engineers and product designers who build the platform joined us too, sitting down to lunch with our clients.
Fred joked in his speech that Bowtie might be the only company in Hong Kong to bring its engineers to an event. For an engineer who build our platform, hearing a client say “this helps” or “this doesn’t” in person means more than any data reports. He encouraged guests to give the engineers honest criticism, and not to hold back on praise either.
Over lunch, clients shared what works well on the platform, what could be better, and what real employee care looks like to them. This first-hand feedback is the most direct input we have for improving our products and service.
Our team also hand-wrote a thank-you card for every guest. As a digital insurer, we know efficiency comes from technology, but trust is earned through care in every interaction. Behind every claim and every policy is an employee’s health and a company’s commitment to looking after its people, and that’s something we never lose sight of.
Four conversations, built around the future of work
The programme was designed around what matters most to our guests. We invited speakers from business, sport and HR for four conversations on the issues shaping the future of work, hoping everyone would leave with ideas they could apply to their business and teams.
Tech in the workplace: how technology reshapes the way teams work
Moderated by Bowtie Health Advisor Elaine Chan, this panel brought together Arthur Shek, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Hong Kong office, Nick Chiu, Head of SME & Growth, Hong Kong at Airwallex, and Henson Tsai, Founder and CEO of SleekFlow. They discussed how companies going through digital transformation can make technology part of their teams’ everyday work and culture, turning a one-off system upgrade into a lasting competitive advantage.
On stage, from left: Elaine Chan, Health Advisor, Bowtie; Arthur Shek, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Hong Kong office; Nick Chiu, Head of SME & Growth, Hong Kong, Airwallex; and Henson Tsai, Founder and CEO, SleekFlow
Lessons from sport: setbacks, leadership and lifelong learning
Moderated by Catherine So, former CEO of the South China Morning Post, this panel featured Hong Kong women’s high jump record holder Cecilia Yeung, Jessica Ng, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Solutions at EDPS Systems Limited and Kitchee Group, and John Tsang, former Financial Secretary, Bowtie Senior Advisor and a fencing coach of more than 50 years.
The three speakers come from very different worlds, yet each was answering the same question of how to keep going through the highs and lows. For Cecilia, it starts with accepting failure. Every high jump competition ends with the bar coming down, so what counts is how you adjust and jump again. Since setbacks are inevitable, Jessica focuses on how a team gets through them together. She shared her experience of leading a football club through wins and losses, and how she brings the same mindset to running a business. For John, staying the course comes down to curiosity. The world is changing fast, and the only way to keep improving is to keep learning and stay open to trying new things.
Together, their stories cover the individual, the team and the long game, and each lesson applies just as well at work. When change is the norm, companies don’t need teams that never stumble. They need teams that get back up and never stop learning.
Speakers on the second panel, from left: Catherine So, former CEO, South China Morning Post; Cecilia Yeung, Hong Kong women’s high jump record holder; Jessica Ng, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Solutions, EDPS Systems Limited and Kitchee Group; and John Tsang, former Financial Secretary and Bowtie Senior Advisor
Business communication: building trust through honesty
Moderated by Fred himself, this conversation brought together YouTuber, director and digital entrepreneur Ming Jai (Tommy Leung) and Bowtie Chief Commercial Officer Gabriel Kung. They explored how companies can move beyond corporate speak and communicate with clients and teams in an honest, human way that builds trust. As Ming Jai put it, good communication isn’t about what you want to say, but what the other person wants to hear.
In an age of information overload, the companies that listen first tend to win the trust of clients and employees more easily. It’s a principle the Bowtie team has always held to. As a service provider, we can only get better by listening closely to our clients first.
HR in the age of AI: transformation, talent and employee health
Moderated by Josie Ho, Senior Group Solutions Manager at Bowtie, this panel featured Kenneth She, Chief Transformation Officer at HKBN Group, Becky Mak, Head of Human Resources at Max Mara Fashion Group, and Kei Chow, General Manager of iFAST Global Markets (HK) Limited. They discussed how HR is changing with the rise of AI, how to develop talent, and why companies should treat employee health as a long-term investment.
Coming from telecoms, fashion retail and finance, the three speakers each approach AI differently, from clearing workflow bottlenecks and helping employees play to their strengths to understanding customers more deeply. Yet they all made the same point. For AI to truly work, you first need to understand people. Tools will keep changing, but people who keep learning and can build trust will always be a company’s most valuable asset.
The four conversations covered different ground, but reached much the same conclusion. However fast technology moves, a company’s competitiveness ultimately comes down to its people, and no system can replace trust and care. As an insurer, Bowtie deals with policies and claims every day, but we believe that what group medical insurance really stands for is a company’s long-term commitment to its team’s health.
More than group insurance: a shared responsibility for your people
In his closing remarks, Bowtie Chief Group Solutions Officer Tommy Shum said, “What moves our team most has never been how good the numbers look. It’s seeing you go from choosing Bowtie under pressure to genuinely feeling that Bowtie helps.”
For Bowtie, group insurance is more than a policy. It’s a responsibility we share with our clients for looking after their people. That’s why we’ve always held to one principle, “Digital where it counts, human where it matters.” Routine administration and claims processing are handed over to technology as much as possible, saving HR time. Where communication and judgement matter, from enrolment and renewals to supporting employees when they fall ill, our team works closely with HR and follows up personally, so that every insured member gets the best possible service.
Looking ahead, Tommy made a simple promise. “We’ll keep taking the harder road, improving our products and technology so we can be the best possible support for you.” He also hopes that one day, job seekers will see “employee benefits by Bowtie” as the mark of an employer worth being proud of.
Every guest made a difference
For every guest who attended, Bowtie is donating HK$50 to Dialogue in the Dark (Hong Kong) Foundation to support its work promoting social inclusion and employment for people with visual impairments. Members of the Foundation’s team also joined the luncheon and spent time with our guests.
Thank you for growing with us
Thank you to every guest, speaker, moderator and partner who took the time to join us. We chose The Park Lane partly because the hotel is itself a Bowtie client, so the day was also a chance to thank them. The feedback we heard will help shape how we improve our products and service in the year ahead, and we’ll keep working to earn every client’s trust with better service.
About Bowtie Group Medical Insurance
If you’re looking for the right medical cover for your team, take a look at Bowtie’s Group Medical Insurance. Trusted by more than 500 companies across Hong Kong, it covers hospitalisation, outpatient, dental, surgery and health check-ups to meet the different needs of your employees. We can also design employee wellness activities around your company’s needs, with a focus on prevention, to help colleagues build healthy habits while bringing your team closer together. Get in touch to find out more.
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