Bowtie Takes Lead in Responding to HKFI's "Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization"

Upholding the “Meet-or-Better-Off” Principle:
Extending Upgrades to Not Only New Policies But Also Existing Customers

HONG KONG, Aug. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited (“Bowtie”), Hong Kong’s first virtual insurer^[1], today announced that it will fully adopt the “Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization” launched by the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (“HKFI”). Effective 1 September 2026, Bowtie will not only apply these standardized definitions to new policies but also proactively extend the coverage to all existing customers across its entire “Bowtie Term Critical Illness Products”^[2], without any impact on renewal premiums.

HKFI’s initiative on launching “Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization” aims to enhance industry transparency through standardization. Currently, critical illness products across the market feature varying disease definitions and claim thresholds. Therefore, identical medical conditions can yield different claim outcomes across insurers, which creates unnecessary stress for insured persons.

Although the HKFI’s initiative in principle applies only to new policies issued on or after 1 September 2026, Bowtie has chosen to go a step further, proactively extending the same arrangement to existing customers as well. For every covered critical illness and surgical procedure, Bowtie will adopt the “Meet-or-Better-Off” principle: assessing claims by comparing Bowtie’s existing terms against HKFI’s standardized definitions. Subject to satisfying relevant policy terms, claim requirements, and necessary supporting documentation, claims will always be processed based on the definition more favorable to the customer. This arrangement will only maintain or expand coverage, and will never reduce existing benefits.

Take a claim for “End-Stage Liver Disease” as an example: if a patient presents with symptoms such as ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, esophageal and gastric varices, but lacks persistent jaundice:

Under Bowtie’s original definition: all three symptoms (ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and permanent jaundice) must be present; therefore, the claim would not qualify;
Under “Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization”: only three out of four symptoms need to be met for claim to be eligible.

Under the “Meet-or-Better-Off” principle, Bowtie will assess this case in accordance with the “Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization”, significantly narrowing the grey areas in clinical claims assessment.

“Critical illness insurance was originally designed to provide immediate financial support to insured persons at the point of diagnosis. Yet differences in disease thresholds between insurers have often left patients uncertain at a time when they can least afford it. Taking another common critical illness, ‘Major Head Trauma,’ as an example, Bowtie and the HKFI standard apply two entirely different assessment bases — one clinical, one based on activities of daily living. Under our ‘Meet-or-Better-Off’ principle, patients only need to meet one of the two standards to be eligible for a claim, ensuring the outcome better aligns with patient needs. Unifying core definitions across the industry significantly reduces interpretation gaps between clinical diagnoses and insurance terms, allowing patients to focus on recovery without added worry.” said Jacky Lio, Chief Medical Officer of Bowtie.

“The ‘Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization’ shares a similar spirit with the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme — representing another major industry milestone in boosting transparency and protecting consumer rights. Bowtie has always upheld the principle of ‘paying all legitimate claims’. Choosing to extend these new definitions to existing customers without extra cost, reflects our commitment to acting as a true safety net and delivering on our customer-first philosophy.” said Fred Ngan, Co-founder of Bowtie.

Bowtie will notify affected customers regarding the detailed amendments to the critical illness definitions via email. Customers with enquiries may call the customer service hotline at 3008 8123, or visit the Critical Illness Insurance product page for more details.

About Bowtie

Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited is an authorized life insurance company and Hong Kong’s very first virtual insurer authorized by the Insurance Authority under the fast track pilot scheme. It’s vision is to bridge the health protection gap and transform the way people access healthcare in Asia. Through digital technology, Bowtie makes health insurance more affordable and accessible for individuals and small-medium enterprises.

To date, Bowtie has raised over HK$1.2 billion from Sun Life Financial and Mitsui & Co., providing over HK$150 billion in protection amount to families. Learn more at www.bowtie.com.hk.

^[1] Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited is Hong Kong’s very first virtual insurer authorized by the Insurance Authority under the fast track pilot scheme.

^[2] Applicable products include Bowtie Term CI, Bowtie Term CI – Multiple Cover, and Bowtie Term CI – Early Stage and Multiple Cover.

Bowtie Takes Lead in Responding to HKFI’s “Best Practice on Critical Illness Definitions Standardization”

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