A second-hand car is not simply a cheaper version of a new one, and used car insurance Hong Kong buyers arrange is not simply a cheaper version of a new car’s policy. Several things behave differently, and every one of them behaves differently in the same direction: against you.
None of that makes buying second-hand a mistake. Most of the sensible motoring in Hong Kong is done in cars somebody else registered first. But the assumptions people carry over from a new car — that a claim restores what they had, that the discount survives a knock, that the policy simply renews — stop being true at specific, documented points. This guide sets out where those points are, using the insurers’ own published wordings and the Government’s own examination rules.
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For what the compulsory layer does and does not reach, third-party liability on Hong Kong motor insurance sets out the statutory floor. Car insurance cost in Hong Kong for 2026 works through the numbers. Our motor insurance page sets out what we arrange.
In this article
- Market value, and why it decides everything
- Depreciation, and the five-year cliff
- Comprehensive or third party on an older car
- The no-claim discount, and what one claim costs
- Excess, and how it stacks
- The six-year gate
- Seven checks before you buy
- How this plays out in practice
- what comprehensive cover includes beyond third party, the fuller policy tier a second-hand car owner often steps up to.
Used Car Insurance Hong Kong Buyers Start With Market Value
On a new car people talk about the sum insured. On a second-hand car, most Hong Kong motor policies do not really work that way at all, and the reason matters.
AXA sets out the logic plainly in its own iMotor documentation. Asked why it does not ask for a sum insured, the answer is that it uses market value instead: “The Market Value of a car represents the amount it would take to replace your car with one of the same make and model, of similar condition, specification and age as your car”[7]. The consequence is stated just as plainly: “When you have an accident, we will calculate the indemnity of your loss or damage based on the Market Value of your car right before the accident”[7].
That single sentence is what makes used car insurance Hong Kong drivers buy behave differently from cover on a new car. Read it against what you paid and the gap becomes obvious. The policy is not insuring your purchase price, your loan balance, or what the car is worth to you. It is insuring what an equivalent car of the same age and condition would cost on the day of the accident. On a car that is depreciating, that figure moves downward every month you own it, and it does so whether or not anyone tells you.
The contrast at the new end of the market makes the point sharper. On a car under a year old, MSIG describes a settlement in which “the policy would not deduct any amount for depreciation, providing cash compensation or replacement with a new vehicle of the same model”[15]. That is the new-for-old world. Second-hand buyers are not in it, and no amount of paying for comprehensive cover puts them back in it.
| On a total loss, what decides the cheque | New car, under a year old | Second-hand car |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of settlement | Can be new-for-old replacement | Market value immediately before the accident |
| What you paid for it | Broadly tracks it | Irrelevant |
| Depreciation on replacement parts | May be waived | Applied, at your cost |
| Third party injury limit | HK$100,000,000 | HK$100,000,000, identical |
| Annual examination before relicensing | Not until 6 years | Every year once 6 years old |
The statutory injury limit is the one line that does not care how old your car is[2][7][15].
Depreciation, and the Five-Year Cliff
Depreciation is not only a valuation idea. It is a live deduction from a repair cheque, and MSIG publishes a claim case that shows it arriving.
Mr Lee’s car sustained minor damage and was repaired with new parts. He claimed HK$50,000. On top of his HK$10,000 policy excess, he was required to pay a further HK$5,000 for depreciation. The reasoning is the ordinary market position: “New parts are used to replace/repair damaged items, so depreciation is applied to the claim, unless used parts are specifically requested”, the policy excluding “liability in respect of depreciation and wear and tear”[12]. His car was three years old at the time[12].
Three years old. Not fifteen. The deduction starts early, and it grows with the car.
Some insurers soften it, and this is where the age of a second-hand car bites in a way almost nobody checks at the point of sale. AXA offers up to HK$3,000 towards the depreciation on a repair carried out at one of its premium workshops. The condition attached is explicit: the benefit applies only if “the loss occurs within five years of the first registration of the insured car with the Transport Department”[7].
So there is a cliff, and it is dated from first registration rather than from your purchase. Buy a four-year-old car and you have roughly one year of that allowance left. Buy a six-year-old car and it was gone before you saw the advertisement. Nothing on the forecourt tells you this, and it is not a defect in the policy — it is simply a term that is doing its work quietly in the background of every used purchase.
A published claim, line by line
A three-year-old car, minor damage, new parts fitted. The owner carried HK$15,000 of a HK$50,000 repair. The excess was on the schedule; the depreciation was in the wording[12].
The practical instruction MSIG draws from its own case is the one worth acting on: because depreciation affects what a car is worth, owners are advised “to review the market value of their vehicles annually to ensure the sum insured accurately reflects its current value”[12]. On a used car that review is not administrative housekeeping. It is the difference between a settlement that buys a replacement and one that does not.
Comprehensive or Third Party Motor Cover on an Older Car
This is the decision the whole article turns on, and on a second-hand car it is genuinely open in a way it rarely is on a new one.
Start from the fact that the compulsory layer does not change. Third-party cover is required by statute for any vehicle used on a road[1][3], and the minimum for third-party death or bodily injury is HK$100 million arising out of one event[2][3]. A twelve-year-old hatchback carries exactly the same injury protection for other people as a new saloon. Nothing you decide below reduces it.
What is genuinely in play is whether to insure the car itself. Allianz states the ordinary market view in one line: “for older vehicles with high mileage, third-party insurance is often a cost-effective choice”, while a newer car or a need for broader protection points the other way[16].
The arithmetic is not complicated, and it is worth doing properly rather than by instinct. Take the comprehensive premium, add the general excess you would actually bear, and set the total against the car’s realistic market value. On a car worth HK$40,000 with a HK$10,000 excess, a comprehensive premium of any size is buying a maximum recovery of HK$30,000 in the worst case — and the worst case is the only case comprehensive is being bought for.
| Where a second-hand buyer usually lands | The usual answer |
|---|---|
| Older car, low market value, no finance on it | Third party, plus personal accident for the driver |
| Recent used car still worth a meaningful sum | Comprehensive, with the excess checked before you sign |
| Bought on finance or a lease | Comprehensive is usually required by the lender, not optional |
| Parked on the street overnight | Comprehensive earns its keep; nothing else answers for your own car |
| A driver under 25 or newly licensed in the household | Price both, because the stacked excesses change the maths |
Indicative starting points, not recommendations. Which one fits depends on the car, the drivers and what a total loss would actually pay.
The No-Claim Discount, and What One Claim Costs Your Premium
On a used car the no-claim discount is often worth more than the repair you are thinking of claiming for, which makes it the single most useful number to know before you pick up the phone.
The scale is published and consistent across the market. AXA’s runs 20% after one claim-free year, 30% after two, 40% after three, 50% after four and 60% after five or more consecutive years[7]; MSIG publishes the same ladder[11].
What is much less well known is how it falls. AXA sets out the mechanics precisely: if you claim while entitled to an NCD of 40% or less, “your NCD will be forfeited and go back to 0% at the next renewal of your policy”. At 50% or 60% it is not wiped but stepped down, “reduced to 20% or 30% (respectively)” — and “if you make more than one claim, your NCD will be forfeited and go back to 0%”[7].
| Claim-free years | Discount | After one claim |
|---|---|---|
| One year | 20% | Back to 0% |
| Two years | 30% | Back to 0% |
| Three years | 40% | Back to 0% |
| Four years | 50% | Stepped down to 20% |
| Five or more | 60% | Stepped down to 30% |
One insurer’s published ladder and its published fall. More than one claim in a year returns the discount to 0% at any level[7].
NCD protection exists, and it is worth asking for by name, but it is a comprehensive-plan feature with conditions rather than a blanket shield. AXA’s applies where the sum of all claims in the period does not exceed “HKD60,000 or 20% of the your car’s reasonable market value (whichever is the lesser)”[7]. MSIG’s is drawn slightly differently, at “HK$60,000 or 15% of the sum insured (whichever is the less)”, and adds a hard condition — “no third party bodily injury is involved in the claim”[10].
Notice what the percentage test does on a second-hand car. Twenty per cent of the market value of a HK$60,000 car is HK$12,000, so the protection engages on a far smaller claim than the headline HK$60,000 suggests. The cheaper the car, the narrower the shield.
Excess, and How It Stacks for Your Vehicle
An excess is, in MSIG’s own words, “simply a deduction of an agreed amount from the payment which the insurer is obliged to make to indemnify the insured”[14]. On a used car with a modest market value, the excess is a much larger share of any realistic claim, which is why it deserves reading rather than skimming.
They also arrive in layers. AXA lists a General Excess for damage to the insured car under comprehensive cover, a Third Party Property Excess, a Young Driver Excess where the driver is under 25, an Inexperienced Driver Excess where the driver has held a licence “for a period less than 2 years”, an Unnamed Driver Excess for an authorised but unnamed driver, and a Theft Loss Excess on theft claims[7].
The excesses that can apply to one claim
Damage to your own car, comprehensive only
Any claim against you for damage to their property
Driver under 25 at the time of the accident
Licence held less than two years
Authorised to drive, but not named on the schedule
Theft or attempted theft of the car
Where a driver is under 25, licensed under two years and unnamed, three of these apply at once and are “calculated cumulatively in addition to General Excess or Third Party Property Excess whichever is applicable”[7].
That cumulative wording is the sentence to take away. It is not a worst-case reading invented by a broker; it is the insurer’s own published description of how the layers combine. On an older car with a low market value, a stacked excess can exceed anything the claim could ever return.
One related point in your favour, since excess is usually explained only in the direction that costs you money. Where you are the innocent party claiming against somebody else’s insurer, that insurer generally cannot refuse you because its own policyholder has not paid their excess: in a published case the insurer was found to have no right to decline on that basis unless the policy expressly makes payment of the excess a condition precedent to payment[14].
The Six-Year Premium Gate
This one sits outside used car insurance Hong Kong buyers arrange altogether, which is exactly why they miss it, and it arrives on a fixed schedule.
Private cars in Hong Kong that were “manufactured for 6 years or more” must pass an examination before the vehicle licence can be renewed[4]. The Transport Department puts the same requirement as a licensing condition: all private cars manufactured not less than six years before licensing are required to receive an annual examination and be issued a Certificate of Roadworthiness for the renewal of licence[5][6].
The certificate then has its own clock. On passing, the owner receives “a Certificate of Roadworthiness; or a Certificate of Fitness” which “will be valid for 4 months”, and it must still be valid on the effective date of the renewed licence or the vehicle has to be examined again[4].
Two consequences for a buyer. First, a car at or approaching six years carries a recurring annual cost and an annual pass-or-fail risk that a three-year-old car does not, and that belongs in your running-cost estimate rather than as a surprise. Second, timing matters: a certificate obtained too early can expire before the licence takes effect, which turns one appointment into two.
Seven Checks Before You Buy
Everything above resolves into a short list to run before you commit to a second-hand car and arrange the cover for it. None of it requires specialist knowledge, and all of it is easier before the money moves than after.
Before you commit
1Find the first registration date, not the model year. Depreciation allowances and the examination clock both run from registration.
2Get a realistic market value for that exact age and specification, then decide whether comprehensive is buying enough to be worth it.
3Total the excesses that could apply, including every driver in the household who would realistically drive it.
4Ask what your no-claim discount is worth in dollars, and whether it moves with you to a different car and insurer.
5Check whether the car is past six years, and budget the annual examination accordingly.
6Name every regular driver on the policy from day one, rather than after something happens.
7Decide about personal accident cover for yourself, which the compulsory layer never provides at any vehicle age.
On naming drivers, there is usually more room than people assume: AXA allows up to four drivers on a policy, “one main driver plus 3 other drivers”[7]. And personal accident cover is not confined to comprehensive plans. Taken as an add-on to a third party only policy it applies to all named drivers “aged between 18 and 70 years old”[7], which is precisely the combination that suits an older, lower-value car.
Two Things to Do the Day Something Happens
Both are documented failure points, and both are free to avoid.
Report it immediately, however small. Motor policies require the insured to give written notice with full particulars immediately after an accident. In a published case, a driver whose car was only lightly scratched and whose third party said nothing at the time did not report it. A third-party property claim arrived a year later, and his own claim was rejected, the delay having “prejudiced the insurance company’s right to collect loss circumstances and evidence for defending claims from a third party”[13].
Do not commit to a workshop before speaking to the insurer. Policies carry a right of veto: “the insurer may exercise the right of veto given under the policy and object to the customer’s chosen workshop, if the practices/procedures of the workshop deviate significantly from accepted market standards”[9]. The objection is usually to workshops that take deposits before work or will not give a full quotation up front[9] — and on a used car, where the repair bill is being weighed against the car’s whole value, that quotation is the number the decision rests on.
How This Plays Out in Practice
The people below are invented. The situations are real, they are the kinds of thing we see every week, but the individuals are not, and we would never tell a client’s story in a way that could identify them.
Paid comprehensive on a car that could not repay it — Terence*
*Fictitious persona based on situations we see regularly. We never reveal client information.
Terence is 47 and had carried comprehensive cover out of habit on a nine-year-old car worth about HK$35,000, with a HK$10,000 excess. He had never claimed. On the numbers, the most the policy could return on a total loss was HK$25,000, against a premium he had paid every year for six years. We moved him to third party with personal accident cover added for himself, which was the protection he had actually been missing.
Claimed for a scrape and lost more than the repair — Ada*
*Fictitious persona based on situations we see regularly. We never reveal client information.
Ada is 39, four claim-free years into a 50% discount, and had a scraped wing quoted at a little over her excess. Claiming would have returned a few thousand dollars and stepped her discount down. Once the discount was expressed in dollars rather than a percentage, the arithmetic answered itself and she paid for the repair. The value of that conversation was entirely in having it before the claim, not after.
Bought at five and a half years — Marcus*
*Fictitious persona based on situations we see regularly. We never reveal client information.
Marcus is 52 and found a well-kept car at a good price, five and a half years from first registration. Nothing was wrong with it. What he had not priced in was that the annual examination began within months, and that the depreciation allowance tied to the first five years had already lapsed. He still bought the car, which was the right call on the price. He bought it knowing the running cost, which was the point.
How You Get the Right Cover on a Second-Hand Car
Most of this is decided by two numbers: what the car is realistically worth, and what you would actually carry on a claim. Give us those and the rest follows quickly. It is a short conversation, and it is a much better one before you buy than after a knock.
We pin down the age and the value
First registration date, specification, condition and a realistic market value. That one date decides the examination clock and several policy benefits.
We price both levels side by side
Third party and comprehensive against what a total loss would really pay, with every excess that could apply to your drivers totalled rather than listed.
We close the gap and stay with you
Usually personal accident for the driver, and the right named drivers from day one. Then we are here at renewal, and at claim time.
Tell us the car, and we will tell you the honest answer
Send us the year, the model and the price you are paying. We will come back with both levels of cover priced properly, and we will say plainly when comprehensive is not worth buying on that car. No pressure, and no obligation.
Speak with us today
No pushy sales. Just honest advice from a licensed Hong Kong broker.
Phone: +852 3563 9771
Email: [email protected]
Office: Suite 701, Connaught Commercial Building, 185 Wan Chai Rd, Wan Chai, HK
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Frequently asked questions
Is used car insurance Hong Kong drivers buy more expensive than cover on a new car?
Usually less, because the biggest single factor in a comprehensive premium is the value of the car being insured, and a second-hand car is worth less. The compulsory third-party element does not change with age at all: the statutory minimum is HK$100 million arising out of one event whatever you drive[2][3].
How is my car valued if it is written off?
On market value, not on what you paid. Market value is “the amount it would take to replace your car with one of the same make and model, of similar condition, specification and age as your car”, and the indemnity is calculated on that value “right before the accident”[7]. It is worth reviewing that figure annually as the car ages[12].
Will depreciation be deducted from my repair claim?
Usually, where new parts are fitted. In a published case a HK$50,000 repair on a three-year-old car carried a HK$10,000 excess plus a further HK$5,000 for depreciation, on the basis that “new parts are used to replace/repair damaged items, so depreciation is applied to the claim, unless used parts are specifically requested”[12]. Some insurers offer an allowance against it, but it can be limited to the first five years from first registration[7].
Is comprehensive cover worth it on an older car?
It is arithmetic, not principle. Set the comprehensive premium plus the excess you would bear against the car’s realistic market value. Allianz puts the general position as “for older vehicles with high mileage, third-party insurance is often a cost-effective choice”, while a newer car points the other way[16]. If the car is financed or leased, the lender usually settles the question for you.
What happens to my no-claim discount if I claim?
It depends where on the ladder you are. On one published scale, a claim while entitled to 40% or less means the discount “will be forfeited and go back to 0% at the next renewal”; at 50% or 60% it is “reduced to 20% or 30% (respectively)”; and more than one claim returns it to 0% at any level[7]. Express it in dollars before deciding whether to claim.
Does my car need an annual examination?
Once it is old enough, yes. Private cars “manufactured for 6 years or more” must be examined before the vehicle licence is renewed[4][5]. The resulting Certificate of Roadworthiness “will be valid for 4 months” and must still be valid on the effective date of the renewed licence[4].
How many drivers can I put on the policy?
More than most people assume. One published policy allows up to four, “one main driver plus 3 other drivers”[7]. Name everyone who drives regularly at the outset: an authorised but unnamed driver attracts its own excess, and on the wrong facts several excesses apply together[7].
Do I have to report a very minor accident?
Yes, and immediately. A driver whose car was only lightly scratched did not report it; a third-party claim arrived a year later and his own claim was rejected because the delay “prejudiced the insurance company’s right to collect loss circumstances and evidence for defending claims from a third party”[13]. Reporting is not the same as claiming.
Can I choose my own repair workshop?
Within limits. Policies carry a right of veto, and “the insurer may exercise the right of veto given under the policy and object to the customer’s chosen workshop, if the practices/procedures of the workshop deviate significantly from accepted market standards” — typically where a workshop wants a deposit before starting or will not give a full quotation up front[9]. Speak to the insurer before committing.
Can I get personal accident cover on a third party only policy?
Yes, as an add-on, and it is the combination we most often recommend on an older car. On one published policy the add-on applies to all named drivers “aged between 18 and 70 years old”[7]. The compulsory layer never covers the driver’s own injury, at any vehicle age.
Expat Insurance Editorial Team
Our articles are prepared by the Expat Insurance editorial team, drawing on the day-to-day casework of our licensed brokers and insurance specialists in Wan Chai. Between them, our advisors bring more than 60 years of combined experience arranging medical, life, business and personal insurance for expatriates and local families across Hong Kong.
Sources & references
- Hong Kong e-Legislation, Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance, Cap. 272: section 4 makes it unlawful to use, or to cause or permit another to use, a motor vehicle on a road without an in-force third-party policy, whatever the age of the vehicle; contravention carries a fine of HK$10,000 and imprisonment for 12 months.
- Hong Kong e-Legislation, Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Regulations, Cap. 272A: section 27 sets the minimum third-party liability cover at HK$100 million arising out of one event — the figure cited above as the one line on a certificate that does not move with the age of the car.
- Community Legal Information Centre, F. Motor Insurance: confirms that section 4(1) “obliges any person using (and any person permitting others to use) a motor vehicle on a road” to hold cover, that the section 27 minimum is HK$100 million, and that the duty of disclosure runs to any fact affecting “whether to accept the risks, set premium or other terms of the policy” — the basis for naming every regular driver at the outset.
- 1823, Government of the HKSAR, Which types of vehicle are required to be examined for the purpose of vehicle licence renewal?: the six-year rule in the Government’s own words — private cars “manufactured for 6 years or more” must be examined before licence renewal — and the certificate’s shelf life, a Certificate of Roadworthiness or Certificate of Fitness that “will be valid for 4 months” and must still be valid on the effective date of the renewed licence or the vehicle is re-examined.
- Transport Department, Vehicle Examination: the Department’s own examination framework, listing private cars and light goods vehicles not exceeding 1.9 tonnes as a class subject to annual examination, with the examination standards, fees and the network of designated car testing centres set out beneath it.
- Transport Department, Private cars: annual vehicle examination requirements: states the licensing condition directly — all private cars manufactured not less than six years before licensing are required to receive an annual vehicle examination and be issued a Certificate of Roadworthiness for the renewal of licence.
- AXA Hong Kong, AXA iMotor: Frequently Asked Questions: the richest source here and the origin of most of the specifics above. Defines market value as “the amount it would take to replace your car with one of the same make and model, of similar condition, specification and age as your car”, settled “right before the accident”. Publishes the NCD ladder and how it falls — forfeited “back to 0%” from 40% or less, “reduced to 20% or 30% (respectively)” from 50% or 60%. Names six excess types and states that three can apply “calculated cumulatively in addition to General Excess or Third Party Property Excess”. Caps the depreciation-on-repair allowance at HKD3,000 and only where “the loss occurs within five years of the first registration of the insured car with the Transport Department” — the five-year cliff this article turns on.
- AXA Hong Kong, AXA iMotor Insurance: the product page carrying the limits the FAQ operates within — third party legal liability for death or bodily injury “up to HKD 100,000,000 and damage to other people’s property up to HKD 2,000,000” — and the Third Party column recording “Your Car — Not applicable” and “Medical Expenses — Not applicable”.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Motor insurance: right of veto: establishes that “the insurer may exercise the right of veto given under the policy and object to the customer’s chosen workshop, if the practices/procedures of the workshop deviate significantly from accepted market standards”, with the usual grounds being a workshop that demands a deposit before work or “may not provide a full quotation before starting work”.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Private Motor Car: a second panel schedule for comparison against AXA’s. Third party property damage “up to HK$2,000,000”; personal accident of “HK$100,000… for you or any named driver”; medical expenses capped at “a maximum of HK$5,000”; and an NCD Protector drawn differently again, holding the discount only where “the claim amount does not exceed HK$60,000 or 15% of the sum insured (whichever is the less); and no third party bodily injury is involved in the claim”.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Everything you need to know about no-claims discounts: the same published ladder from a second insurer — 20% after one claim-free year rising to 60% after “5 or more consecutive years” — confirming the scale used above is market practice rather than one insurer’s house rule.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Motor car depreciation: the worked claim quoted above. A HK$50,000 repair on a car “manufactured 3 years ago” carried the HK$10,000 policy excess plus a further HK$5,000 for depreciation, because “new parts are used to replace/repair damaged items, so depreciation is applied to the claim, unless used parts are specifically requested” and the policy excludes “liability in respect of depreciation and wear and tear”. Closes with the instruction to “review the market value of their vehicles annually”.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Late notification of traffic accident: the case behind the reporting advice. A driver whose car was lightly scratched did not report it; a third-party property claim arrived a year later and his claim was rejected, the delay having “prejudiced the insurance company’s right to collect loss circumstances and evidence for defending claims from a third party”.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Third party property damage excess in a motor insurance policy: defines the excess as “simply a deduction of an agreed amount from the payment which the insurer is obliged to make to indemnify the insured”, and holds that an insurer had no right to decline an innocent third party’s claim merely because its own policyholder had not paid the excess, absent an express condition precedent.
- MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong), Demystifying comprehensive and third party liability insurance for motor vehicles: the new-car contrast used above — on a vehicle under one year old “the policy would not deduct any amount for depreciation, providing cash compensation or replacement with a new vehicle of the same model”. Also confirms third-party cover “does not cover the driver for death and injury, or for damage to the insured vehicle”.
- Allianz Hong Kong, Comparison of comprehensive and third-party insurance: a third panel insurer stating the selection rule quoted above — “for older vehicles with high mileage, third-party insurance is often a cost-effective choice”, while a new car or a need for broader protection points to comprehensive — and that third-party cover “does not offer protection for the drivers or their vehicle”.
- Expat Insurance motor placement records (2026): the source of the observations about how often second-hand buyers carry comprehensive cover that cannot repay its own premium and excess, and how rarely the first registration date is checked before purchase. Client confidential information. Our policy and pricing documents are shown to clients in full during the advisory process, so you see every option we put in front of you.
Disclaimer: insurance products, benefit schedules, statutory figures, examination requirements and the rules governing them in Hong Kong change from time to time, and linked content may be updated or become out of date after publication. This article is general information only and is not personal financial, insurance, legal or tax advice.
Benefit limits, excesses and discounts quoted are taken from insurers’ published materials at the time of writing, differ between insurers and plans, and are indicative of the market rather than an offer. What is right for you depends entirely on your own circumstances, your vehicle and how you use it. Our policy and pricing documents are client-confidential and are shown to clients in full during the advisory process, so you see every option we put in front of you. Please contact us, call +852 3563 9771 or request a quote before making any decision.
