Author
Bowtie Team
Updated on
2025-07-21
Disclaimer: This article is translated with the assistance of AI.
Over the past two years, Bowtie has stayed true to its founding mission: bridging Hong Kong’s massive insurance gap. In just around 700 days, our team of over 70 dedicated colleagues has worked tirelessly across roles to make this happen. We’re proud to have filled more than HK$20 billion in protection shortfalls – and we’re just getting started!
What is a Protection Gap?
What exactly do we mean by a protection gap? In fact, it can be divided into gaps related to mortality risks and those tied to health risks.
According to the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong 1 , the protection gap (mortality risk) equals protection needs minus available assets, or essentially the difference between available assets and life insurance requirements. In a 2017 study, the IA noted that Hong Kong’s protection gap (mortality risk) was about HK$6 trillion, with an average gap of HK$1.67 million per working individual—equivalent to 5.4 times their annual salary.
Meanwhile, Swiss Re explains 2 the protection gap (health risk) as out-of-pocket medical expenses causing family financial strain, plus the estimated cost of untreated conditions due to inability to pay. The firm estimated Hong Kong’s 2017 health protection gap at US$23 billion (equivalent to HK$179.4 billion).
Bowtie’s Mission: Bridging the Severe Protection Gap
Bowtie’s founding mission is to bridge Hong Kong’s serious protection gap. We aim to offer straightforward, affordable pure protection insurance products that most people can access. We direct as much of your premiums as possible straight into coverage.
Our entire product lineup—whether it’s VHIS , term life insurance , critical illness insurance , cancer insurance , or accident insurance —contains no investment components. Using technology, we’ve streamlined the traditional underwriting process, eliminating the need for intermediaries so we can deliver products directly to you. Just use your smartphone or computer to complete a simple health questionnaire, and you’re done in under 10 minutes.
Take a 30-year-old non-smoking male, for example: Insuring with Bowtie VHIS Flexi Regular costs HK$2,400 annually for HK$600,000 in yearly coverage—that’s a protection leverage of 250 times! This isn’t just a number; it represents the choice between private medical services or enduring long public hospital waits (and potentially missing optimal treatment windows). In this way, Bowtie provides not only protection but also the freedom to choose.
After two years of hard work, we’ve successfully bridged over HK$20 billion in protection gaps.
Prioritizing Billions in Protection Over Millions in Premiums
The number of policies, premium income, and growth in new business value are traditional indicators of an insurance company’s performance.
Rather than focusing on premium income, we prioritize protection for Hong Kong people, and more importantly, we’ve filled a protection gap exceeding HK$20 billion. What does HK$20 billion mean? This amount is enough to support 40,000 families who have lost their financial pillars.
Looking solely at VHIS products, our Bowtie VHIS Standard offers reasonable premiums. For example, for male and female clients aged 20, 40, and 60, our premiums 3 are 29.5% to 36.7% lower than the industry average. Affordable premiums have earned us support from clients across various sectors, including many young people and those from grassroots backgrounds—groups that were previously overlooked.
Seeing more Hong Kongers get protected is what we love, and it’s the result of leveraging technology to extend coverage. This is what the HK$20 billion in protection means to Bowtie : “We live our purpose; we keep our words; and we make insurance simple”.
Not Just Quantity: Quality Protection Comes First
Even as our policy numbers and premium income continue to grow—ranking second in the direct sales channel in 2020—some still question if Bowtie just uses low premiums to attract clients, worrying about our service and claims quality. In fact, the average payout ratio for Bowtie VHIS Flexi products is as high as 90% 4 . We absolutely won’t reduce payouts to clients just because premiums are affordable.
Over the past two years, some have thought that Bowtie’s no-intermediary sales model means no service at all. But the truth is, we have a professional customer service team whose high-quality service is highly recognized by clients, earning us a 4.6/5 star rating on Google Reviews—the highest in the industry.
Next Steps: 100 Billion in Protection is Achievable
While we’ve achieved HK$20 billion in protection, Bowtie isn’t resting on our laurels. For VHIS products, we haven’t increased premiums over the past two years, and recently, we’ve upgraded or added certain payout items. Plus, we’ve partnered with Gleneagles Hospital to launch full reimbursement 5 for specified medical packages with health protection—setting a new industry precedent.
Looking ahead, we believe providing HK$100 billion in protection isn’t a dream. As long as we keep improving—even just 1% each day—HK$100 billion in protection is within reach.
- 1 “Mortality Protection Gap Study” Insurance Authority, 2019
- 2 “Closing Asia’s USD 1.8 Trillion Health Protection Gap” Swiss Re, 2018
- 3 According to the premium data published by the Food and Health Bureau as of April 1, 2021, the premiums for Bowtie VHIS Standard are the lowest in the market for ages 0 to 75 (except for females aged 22-24, 35-36, and males aged 24)
- 5 Full reimbursement of designated medical package fees is subject to the annual benefit limit of the VHIS Flexi Plan
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