Prudential “Health Awareness Study”:
GBA residents are health conscious but slow to act;
33% of Hongkongers fail to turn awareness into action

(5 November 2024, Hong Kong) Health awareness among residents of Hong Kong and Macau is significantly lower compared to those living in the other parts of the Greater Bay Area (GBA). According to a new study released today by Prudential Hong Kong Limited (“Prudential”), one third of Hongkongers fail to convert their health awareness into actionable steps. The study aims to bridge the gap between perception and actions by examining the attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of GBA residents towards their health.

Prudential’s new Health Awareness Study¹ (the “Study”) shows that GBA respondents score an average 83.2 for their health awareness. However, mainland GBA residents score 88.2, well above their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macau, who score 79.8 and 79.4 respectively. Notably, four times as many Hong Kong residents (20%) rated their health awareness as medium to low (0-69 points) compared to their mainland GBA peers (5%), a disparity that suggests immediate attention is needed. 

Health awareness is based on the respondents’ health-related attitudes, knowledge and behaviour. Across the GBA, health awareness correlates closely with a proactive attitude to “willing to put in effort to stay healthy”. It drives mainland GBA residents to exercise regularly (91%), while those in Hong Kong prioritise keeping a good body shape (80%). Additionally, residents in both regions actively seek out health information (mainland GBA 87%; Hong Kong 65%) to boost their health literacy.

Attitude-vs-action gap hinders pursuit of better health, notably among singles and low-earners

While the vast majority (82%) of respondents expressed a readiness to “make an effort” to stay healthy, their actions do not always match their words. For example, 79% of GBA residents said they believe in the health benefits of natural / organic food, but only 54% had consumed such food in the past month – a gap of 25 percentage points. The gap grows to 32 percentage points in Hong Kong. Similarly, while 82% of GBA respondents recognise the importance of good social connections for mental health, only 67% of Hong Kong respondents regularly have social gatherings with friends. This highlights a significant disconnect between respondents' health beliefs and their actual behavior.

Interestingly, the gap between health attitudes and behaviour shrinks as health awareness rises among respondents. For instance, the group scoring highest in self-assessed health awareness (90-100 points) saw a difference of just seven percentage points between those who believe “exercise is good for my health” and those who “exercise regularly”. In contrast, for the group with medium-to-low health awareness scores (0-69 points), this gap widens to 28 percentage points.

The survey also shows that those with lower household incomes and those who are single are less health conscious, scoring just 80.5 and 79.5 respectively compared to the overall average of 83.2. As well, these two groups display a larger gap between their health attitudes and actions, with a 22-percentage and 19-percentage point gap between acknowledging “exercise is good for my health” and actually “exercising regularly” respectively, markedly higher than the overall gap for all respondents of 12 percentage points.

Candy Au Yeung, Chief Customer Operations and Health Officer at Prudential Hong Kong Limited, said: “The Prudential ‘Health Awareness Survey’ reveals that despite the majority of GBA residents having an interest in their health, this often doesn’t convert into concrete actions. Overall, just 72% of respondents admit to taking tangible steps to maintain their health, a proportion that shrinks to 67% among Hong Kong residents. This reinforces the pressing need for the public to build healthy habits into daily routines and recognise the importance of consistent action to achieve a genuinely healthy lifestyle.”

Prudential Claims Report sheds light on medical trends; minor ailments should not be overlooked

As part of its ongoing drive to help customers assess and plan their medical protection, an essential element in pursuing healthy lifestyle, Prudential has launched its latest “2024 H1 Individual Life Claims Report” (the “Claims Report”). The report examines customer claims data across three major categories – Critical Illness, Hospitalisation and Death – while featuring an in-depth study on the main health issues that affect the public today to help individuals better understand and evaluate their own health protection needs.

The report shows that critical illness cases accounted for nearly half of Prudential's claims payouts in Hong Kong in the first half of this year. Among these, 49% of the policyholders were aged between 31 and 50, reflecting the acute need for critical illness coverage among the middle-aged. Cancer was the main cause of critical illness claims (61%).

However, the Health Awareness Study showed that nearly three out of five (59%) Hongkongers have yet to purchase any critical illness insurance, and an overwhelming majority (82%) have not arranged any cancer insurance.

The Claims Report also highlights that digestive diseases were the leading cause of claims submitted through Prudential’s Medical Expenses Direct Billing Service and hospitalisation claims during the first half of this year, representing 40% and 22% of the total, respectively. Yet the Study found that only 55% of Hong Kong respondents expressed concern about liver / digestive system health, suggesting that many Hong Kong residents downplay the severity of minor ailments.

Prudential handled over 66,000 claims cases in 1H 2024, up 7% year-on-year. Claims cases for the medical expenses direct billing service rose by 38%, while hospitalisation claims surged dramatically by around 60%. Yet despite the continuous rise in claims, the average processing time is significantly shorter, with the average handling time for critical illness and death claims being cut by nearly 28%.

“Prudential is committed to listening to and understanding market needs through various channels. By publishing claims reports on a regular basis, we not only help the public understand the latest medical trends and personal health protection, assisting them to plan ahead, but also equip the Prudential team with deeper insights into our customers' actual needs,” said Candy Au Yeung. “This is crucial in our ongoing efforts to enhance our products, services and customer experience. Driven by a ‘customer-first’ approach, our life insurance claims report reflects Prudential's expertise in health data research and claims, which helps bring to life our service promise.”

¹ Prudential conducted a survey in August 2024 through online questionnaires and street interviews among 1,700 individuals aged between 18 and 60, including 700 respondents from Hong Kong, 700 from mainland Greater Bay Area cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, and 300 from Macau.

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About Prudential Hong Kong Limited

Prudential has been serving the people of Hong Kong since 1964. Through Prudential Hong Kong Limited and Prudential General Insurance Hong Kong Limited, we provide a range of financial planning services and products including individual life insurance, investment-linked insurance, retirement solutions, health and medical protection, general insurance, and employee benefits to protect over 1.3 million customers in Hong Kong. In 2023, Prudential established its Macau branch to offer health insurance and financial solutions for the Macau community, completing its footprint in the Greater Bay Area.

Please visit www.prudential.com.hk for more information.