Manulife’s GBA survey shows the need to close the ‘protection gap’

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John Cremer 

The experience of the past three years has shown the importance of taking a proactive approach towards health and wellness. That means making choices about diet, exercise and lifestyle, which enhances all-round fitness and makes it possible to get the most out of every day. 

But crucially, it also means planning ahead and making adequate provision for critical illnesses like cancer, heart disease and stroke which, if they happen, must somehow be dealt with.   

To get a better understanding of how people in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) view these risks and what most concerns them the most, leading insurance company Manulife decided the best way to find out was to ask directly.    

Therefore, they engaged NielsenIQ to question a sample size of 1,000 Hong Kong residents, 300 in Macau, and 225-300 in each of the nine mainland GBA cities. The fieldwork took place between December 16 and 30 last year, and the resultant findings of the first Manulife GBA Health Protection Survey have provided plenty of food for thought. 

In particular, it showed that consumers across the region are worried about the growing “protection gap” between ever-increasing medical costs associated with critical illnesses and how they will pay for them. Around two-thirds of respondents said they would like to do more to guard against these possibilities, but they need guidance on where to start.