Your contract entitles you to reimbursement of medical insurance of up to $1,400 per year if you are single or $5,400 per year if you are married. Hong Kong has a comprehensive public health system. Emergency treatment at accident and emergency wards, non-emergency hospital treatment and G.P. consultations carry only a nominal cost. However, while many people comment favourably on their experiences of Hong Kong's public hospitals, non-emergency patients at public hospitals and clinics sometimes have to wait a long time for treatment and some people have reservations about the standard of the public health service here. General wards are Spartan at best and hospital catering is extremely basic. It is however basically comparable to the UK's National Health Service and can be used as such, so if this type of service is acceptable to you then private medical insurance is not required at all.

When you take out health insurance in Hong Kong you should be careful to check how comprehensive the cover is since many policies will only cover the cost of certain types of treatment up to a fairly low limit and will have a large number of exclusions. In non-emergency cases it is also important to get an estimate from a hospital and to double check with your insurer that the treatment you intend to receive is covered before being admitted. Also, make sure you know how much the hospital charges for 'extras'. Some private hospitals in Hong Kong will even charge you for tissue paper!

Several NETs have complained that despite having insurance they were left seriously out of pocket after routine hospital treatment. This is an area where it is best to be forewarned and to exercise caution.