Child Accidental Insurance: Should parents buy Touchwood or VHIS for their children first?
What accidental risks do children face?
According to a study on child injuries by the University of Hong Kong, over 740,000 children received emergency services due to injuries in 11 years, with 64% of them being accidental injuries. It is evident that children are commonly injured due to accidents. What are some of the common accidents that children face?
Falls have been found to be the leading cause of injuries in children, according to a survey by the Health Bureau.
Children are naturally active and playful, and they run and climb everywhere, whether at home, school, or in the park. This increases the risk of falling from heights or tripping over objects, which can lead to injuries, and in severe cases, fractures.
Data from the Hospital Authority shows that public hospital emergency departments received 793 cases of accidental poisoning in children aged 14 or younger between 2011 and 2013. Children are naturally curious and like to put things in their mouths. If they accidentally ingest medicine, scented household items, or insecticides, they may be poisoned, which can be fatal in severe cases.
Burns and scalds are common problems among children. For example, parents may place hot soup or water in an easily accessible location for their children, which may be knocked over, or children may accidentally touch hot cooking utensils, resulting in burns.
Children of all ages are at risk of choking. For example, babies may choke when vomiting, or children may be affected by pillows while sleeping in a prone position. Older children may accidentally swallow foreign objects, put plastic bags over their heads, or be strangled by ropes around their necks, which can be dangerous or even fatal.
What insurance should parents buy for their children?
As a parent, if you are concerned about your child suffering from an accident, your first instinct may be to buy “accidental medical insurance” to compensate for medical expenses incurred due to accidents.
However, in fact, the primary insurance for children should be VHIS, because accidental medical insurance can only provide treatment costs caused by accidents, but when children are hospitalized for non-accidental conditions (such as illness), they cannot be covered.
As for the coverage of VHIS, it is much more comprehensive. It covers hospitalization expenses for the insured person due to accidental injuries and even provides compensation for surgical expenses if needed.
In addition, VHIS also provides protection for emergency room treatment for accidents. When the insured person seeks medical treatment at a hospital due to an accidental injury, the medical expenses for that emergency room visit can be compensated.
More importantly, VHIS also covers the cost of treatment caused by illness, which is more extensive than the coverage of accidental medical insurance. Therefore, parents can obtain more comprehensive protection for their children by purchasing VHIS.
Many parents want to provide their children with the best medical treatment and protection, so they may choose high-end medical insurance. On one hand, the benefit limit is higher than that of ordinary medical insurance, and on the other hand, when children need to be hospitalized, they can stay in a private room and receive care in a high-quality environment, which can give parents peace of mind.
Therefore, you may consider the Bowtie Pink which allows for semi-private room/private room accommodations and provides an annual benefit limit of HK$10 million (semi-private room) / HK$20 million (private room), and fully compensates for various medical expenses*. In addition, if you already have group medical insurance that covers your children, you can choose a plan with a higher deductible to further reduce the premium.
- *The Bowtie Pink Voluntary Health Insurance series fully covers eligible medical expenses such as diagnosis, hospitalisation, surgery, and prescribed non-surgical cancer treatments (except in the United States), and is subject to annual benefit limits and lifetime benefit limits. If the claim involves confinement in a Mainland China Hospital unlisted in / a High-end Mainland China Hospital listed in the "List of Designated Hospitals in Mainland China" / confinement in a room higher than the restricted ward class / a pre-existing condition, the relevant benefit payable may be adjusted.
If I have purchased Bowtie VHIS, do I still need to buy accidental insurance?
Bowtie Pink basically covers the scope of accidental insurance, so you do not need to purchase both products. However, if you value accidental coverage very much and want to increase the scope of protection for your children, such as accident outpatient and chiropractic treatment, you can consider purchasing accidental insurance.
In addition, in some rare cases (such as congenital diseases), children may not be able to pass the medical underwriting of VHIS. As a parent, you want to provide some protection for your child in any case. In this case, you can consider purchasing accidental insurance, which is less affected by health conditions and can cover the medical expenses required for accidents for your child.
