Insurance Coverage

HKU has arranged a Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy and Group Travel Insurance Policy for all of its registered postgraduate and undergraduate students when they participate in activities or classes organized by HKU within or outside Hong Kong, such as field trips, project work, or site visits etc., in addition to the basic primary health care provided by HKU Health Service and the subsidized hospitalization (entitlements according to the student’s right of abode status in Hong Kong) provided by the public health care services of the Government.

The GPA insurance policy is to cover an Insured Person (HKU registered students) according to its Schedule of Benefits (medical expenses related only) against any accidental bodily injury sustained whilst participating in activities organized or arranged by HKU. These activities include, but not limited to field trip, internship, career placement, exchange programme, etc., whether conducted in Hong Kong or overseas, or when studying and/or attending any activities within HKU campus or other venues during the insured period. Details can be found in the Schedule of Benefits of the GPA Insurance Policy on the Finance and Enterprises Office (“FEO”) intranet homepage under “Personal Accident Insurance Details”.

The Travel Insurance policy is to cover an Insured Person (HKU registered students) according to its Schedule of Benefits whilst travelling outside Hong Kong only on a bonafide business trip organized or arranged by HKU in connection with HKU’s business during the insured period.  Coverage commences when an Insured Person leaves his/her place of residence to commence the trip directly to the immigration counter within 4 hours before his/her scheduled departure time of the carrier and shall continue until such time as he/she returns to his/her place of residence or place of regular employment in Hong Kong or within 4 hours after his/her scheduled arrival time of the carrier, or at the expiration of 183 day period beginning from the date such particular trip commenced, or the date on which the policy is terminated, whichever occurs first. 

A student who is with registered status at the time when he/she commences an authorized trip is covered until he/she returns to Hong Kong, even if his/her HKU student registered status is terminated for graduation reason during the trip period. However, students should note that the continuation of coverage under HKU’s travel insurance policy applies to activities organized or arranged by HKU. Any personal business or activities, such as weekend leisure trips, etc. would NOT be covered by HKU’s standard travel insurance policy under any circumstances. Students are strongly recommended to make their own additional travel insurance arrangements for their special needs, requirements or non-University business-related trips at their own cost. Details of coverage can be found in the Schedule of Benefits of the Travel Insurance Policy on the FEO intranet homepage under “Travel / Personal Accident Insurance Arrangement for Students”.

Claim submission should be made within 30 days for GPA Insurance policy and within 90 days for Travel Insurance policy from the date of incident or as soon as practical directly to the insurers. Any delay, subject to the policy terms and conditions, in notifying the insurer of the potential claim or failure to provide the information / documents as reasonably requested by the insurer may result in the subsequent declinature of the claim by the insurer. For reimbursement of medical expenses incurred, claimable amounts shall be subject to insurance policy terms. In addition, the insurer reserves the rights to request original documents if an individual case requires. Please refer to the FAQ and follow the guidelines provided in the Claim Form for the claim procedure, which can be downloaded after logging into the HKU Portal on the FEO Intranet.

SIS Menu -> Financial Services -> FEO Info and Hotlines -> Finance and Enterprises Office -> Insurance Information for Students -> Travel / Personal Accident Insurance Arrangement for Students

In the situation where a student requires emergency assistance such as emergency medical evacuation and/or repatriation services, need of immediate medical care and/or hospitalization due to bodily injury or sickness, advanced cash due to loss of money, financial / payments guarantee for medical treatments, or emergency rescue while staying overseas, the student should directly contact the insurance company by making a collect call to their 24-hour Emergency Assistance Service Hotline. The hotline phone number can be found via the HKU Portal as shown in the path below.

SIS Menu –> Financial Services –> FEO Info and Hotlines –> Finance and Enterprises Office –> Insurance Information for Students

In addition to the 24-hour Emergency Assistance Service Hotline provided by the insurance company, HKU has entered into a service agreement with a company (which is NOT an insurance company but specialized in travel health and safety assistance services) to provide worldwide 24/7 assistance services or travel advice to all HKU students. Students are required to register for these services. Detailed information can be found via the HKU Portal as shown in the path below.

SIS Menu –> Financial Services –> FEO Info and Hotlines –> Finance and Enterprises Office –> Insurance Information for Students –>  24/7 Global Travel Emergency Assistance Programme (“GTEA”)

Before the commencement of a trip, the service provider can provide students with advice and information on medical risk such as any outbreak of infectious diseases, and travel security risks such as riot, strike, robbery and natural disaster, enabling better travel planning. During the travel period, the service provider can provide instant assistance by phone on issues such as translation service for communication with local people, sickness, basic medical advice, and the location of nearby police stations, pharmacies, doctors, consulates, etc. To minimize medical and travel security risks as much as possible and for better travel planning, it is strongly recommended that students contact the service provider directly by phone or through their mobile app for advice on matters which travelers should pay special attention to when visiting a particular country.

For details on other non-insurance related emergency assistance, please visit CEDARS website as follows: cedars.hku.hk/overseasemergencyassistance