Author
Bowtie Team
Updated on
2025-06-13
Disclaimer: This article is translated with the assistance of AI.
Hey, savvy shoppers! Before you buy, compare options to snag the most suitable and affordable products. In today’s digital world, online shopping reigns, and even insurance is a click away. Let Bowtie guide you on using the impartial 10Life platform to easily compare and pick the cheapest, best-fit VHIS for your needs!
What is 10Life?
10Life is an online insurance comparison platform, with a team including actuaries , data analysts, medical, legal, and insurance consultants. They analyze insurance products using professional knowledge and perspectives, provide ratings, and help Hong Kong people understand insurance in a simple, straightforward way, so they can choose the products that best suit their needs.
On this platform, there are over 1,000+ health , critical illness , savings, life and other products. If you want to compare Bowtie plans with those from other insurance companies, you can use the 10Life platform for an easy comparison.
10Life’s Rating for VHIS
10Life held the “ Five-Star Insurance Awards ” in 2022. Among many VHIS products, awards were given to 8 VHIS products, and Bowtie Pink VHIS was one of the winners.
All 8 products received a perfect score of 10 in medical coverage and have been verified by 10Life to withstand medical inflation .
10Life Insurance Rating Criteria: How to Qualify For Five-Star Ratings?
Among the many VHIS options, why did the 8 mentioned plans (including Bowtie Pink VHIS ) stand out? Let’s break down the 10Life insurance rating criteria and explore the three key conditions for earning five stars in VHIS.
Condition 1: Ensuring Adequate Medical Insurance Coverage
At 10Life, we’ve analyzed the medical costs for 12 common injury and disease scenarios to estimate what the public might have to pay, and then determine if medical insurance can cover these expenses.
| Injury/Disease Category | Injury/Disease Cases and Treatment |
| Cancer | Breast Cancer , mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy |
| Lung Cancer , lobectomy | |
| Colorectal cancer, requiring laparoscopic colectomy and Chemotherapy | |
| Liver Cancer , requiring surgery and targeted therapy | |
| Injury | Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery |
| Total Knee Replacement | |
| Vascular Diseases | Angioplasty , stent placement |
| Stroke | |
| Daytime hemodialysis (dialysis) | |
| Non-Severe Illnesses | Fever , requiring hospitalization |
| Hemorrhoidectomy | |
| Colonoscopy (day procedure) |
10Life first estimates medical expenses using the following methods
- Consult specialist doctors
- Refer to public information, including the Private Hospital website’s listed Common Surgery Reference Fees , reference fees for private medical services under the Hospital Authority, and claims data from the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers website (2015)
- Inquire with the claims departments of several insurance companies for an initial estimate of medical expenses
Ultimately, we arrive at the following figures:
| Category of Illness | Illness Cases and Treatment | Estimated Medical Expenses | ||
| General Ward | Semi-Private Room | Private Room | ||
| Cancer | Breast cancer, mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy | HK$799,978 | HK$949,037 | HK$1,240,755 |
| Lung cancer, lobectomy | HK$275,158 | HK$417,737 | HK$691,695 | |
| Colon cancer, requiring laparoscopic colectomy and chemotherapy | HK$348,984 | HK$470,076 | HK$697,860 | |
| Liver cancer, requiring surgery and targeted therapy | HK$482,700 | HK$600,650 | HK$830,150 | |
| Injury | Anterior cruciate ligament surgery | HK$106,900 | HK$158,650 | HK$259,750 |
| Total knee replacement | HK$196,200 | HK$294,700 | HK$486,900 | |
| Vascular Disease | Angioplasty with stent placement | HK$217,813 | HK$326,120 | HK$541,133 |
| Stroke | HK$95,600 | HK$123,100 | HK$174,100 | |
| Daytime hemodialysis (dialysis) | HK$316,000 | HK$316,000 | HK$316,000 | |
| Non-Severe Illness | Fever requiring hospitalization | HK$21,600 | HK$33,100 | HK$53,700 |
| Hemorrhoidectomy | HK$45,600 | HK$68,600 | HK$113,000 | |
| Colonoscopy (day treatment) | HK$18,100 | HK$26,350 | HK$42,850 | |
- * The coverage rate for the above illness cases is calculated based on the estimated medical expenses under normal circumstances, used to estimate the medical insurance and the approximate medical expenses consumers have to bear, for reference only. Users should not regard it as actual medical expenses; the severity of each illness case, required treatment, and the insurance company’s claims assessment may vary, all of which affect the actual compensation amount for the insured.
- * The above information is updated as of December 3, 2021.
- * For a fair comparison, 10Life assumes the insured is a non-smoker and the covered ward is in a private hospital in Hong Kong.
Subsequently, 10Life used the following method to calculate the compensation rate for each medical insurance
- First, utilize Health Insurance , along with the compensation limit for non-network doctors, to calculate the average coverage for each medical insurance
- Then, use the following formula to compute the “weighted average coverage rate”
Weighted average coverage rate ＝
Sum (estimated coverage rate for illness cases x estimated medical expenses / total estimated medical expenses)
Since 10 is the full score, 10Life then multiplies the weighted average coverage rate / 100% × 10 to ultimately derive the Five-star Insurance Award score for medical coverage in the awards.
In simple terms, the VHIS that scores a perfect 10 on 10Life’s medical coverage can cover treatments ranging from HK$10,000 to HK$1 million (of course, depending on whether the insured plan covers the room type).
Condition Two: Products with Features to Combat Medical Inflation
In addition to considering the estimated coverage rate, given that Hong Kong’s medical costs continue to rise, 10Life also factors in whether Health Insurance can combat medical inflation in the scoring.
As long as the following conditions are met, it means the VHIS can combat medical inflation:
- No sub-limits
- High annual policy compensation limit
- Standard ward: ≥HK$5,000,000
- Semi-private room: ≥HK$8,000,000
- Private room: ≥HK$20,000,000
- No lifetime compensation limit / guaranteed coverage does not decrease
In simple terms, achieving a 10/10 score for 10Life medical protection with VHIS is enough to combat medical inflation !
Third Condition: Products Offer Extra Coverage
If VHIS can provide the following extra coverage, it will result in a higher score for the product:
- Second medical opinion service
- Global medical assistance service
- Hospital cash , without reducing the level of accommodation in private hospital wards
- Post-hospitalization long-term outpatient coverage (180 days or more and at least 6 visits)
- End-of-life service coverage / palliative care coverage (lifetime compensation ≥ HK$80,000)
- Pregnancy complications coverage (annual compensation ≥ $100,000, or co-insurance not more than 20%)
- Short waiting period
- VHIS plan : 30 days or less, applicable to unknown pre-existing conditions
- Non-VHIS plan: 30 days or less for the general waiting period
- Waiver of deductible (for specified critical illnesses)
In simple terms, VHIS plans that score 10 points in 10Life’s medical protection rating all provide extra protection for consumers. VHIS
10life Rating Omissions: Premiums!
10life’s calculations are fair and balanced, but it admits that it hasn’t included deductible and premium in the rating considerations, because consumers can choose their own deductible to get a lower or higher premium, and these options along with the corresponding premiums are clearly visible before purchasing medical insurance . Insurance companies also don’t hide these details.
Furthermore, the deductible rarely changes the medical coverage within the plan, so 10Life focuses its ratings on potential coverage gaps in the products, treating plans with deductibles as if they have none for comparison purposes.
But in reality, consumers should definitely compare “premiums” before buying!
Because even if you get the maximum and best coverage, if the premium is too expensive to afford, it just adds an unnecessary burden for consumers or policyholders. So, smart shoppers should go for the cheapest option that still offers the best protection!
How to Choose the Best and Most Affordable Product?
Although 10Life doesn’t factor premiums into its ratings, the platform can still help you easily pick out the cheapest products with the best coverage.
- Select your gender, age, preferred room type, and coverage country
- Choose five-star products
- Then sort by “average annual premium (low to high)”
And the first result will be the most affordable and best product. As you can see from the screenshot below, Bowtie Pink VHIS is the cheapest among the 8 products.
Is Bowtie Pink affordable? Get a quote and find out!
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