Marriage not only symbolizes the sublimation of love, but also the embodiment of responsibility and commitment. However, marital life is inevitably characterized by various risks and uncertainties, such as financial pressures, health problems and family changes, which may have an impact on the marital relationship.

Against this background, Hong Kong insurance provides a solid line of defense for marriages by virtue of its well-established product system, stringent regulation and supervision, and the advantages of globalized asset allocation.

01

Matrimonial property regime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, for historical reasons, follows the English common law system, which respects individual property. The property regime between husband and wife does not differentiate between pre-marital or post-marital property, nor does it have a post-marital regime of community of property for husband and wife; instead, it adopts a regime of separate property for husband and wife.

Unless the contrary can be proved, it is usually the case that property registered in the husband's name belongs to the husband and property registered in the wife's name belongs to the wife.

According to the Status of Married Persons Ordinance of the laws of Hong Kong, even after a man and a woman are married, during the period of their relationship, each spouse manages and disposes of his or her own property, and each spouse's property is independent of the other, and each spouse settles his or her own debts, and there is no requirement that one of the spouses should be jointly responsible for the debts of the other spouse.

The Marriage Law of the Mainland adopts the system of common property of husband and wife: property acquired by husband and wife during the marriage shall be jointly owned by husband and wife unless otherwise agreed by both parties, and husband and wife shall have equal rights to possess, use, gain and dispose of the jointly owned property under the property system.

02

Are Hong Kong insurance policies joint property of husband and wife?

The policy I am insured under

Whether a Hong Kong policy taken out by me is the joint property of the couple depends mainly on whether the policy was taken out before marriage or after marriage:

① Pre-marital insurance: If a life insurance policy was taken out before marriage, then the insurance benefits obtained from this policy belong to the individual even after the divorce.

② Marital insurance: If it is a life policy taken out after marriage, such as the popular savings insurance, annuity insurance, participating insurance, the proceeds of the policy after marriage is considered joint property of the couple.

In other words, if joint property is used to insure one of the parties during the marriage, then in the absence of law, special provisions, or special agreement between the spouses, all benefits arising from the policy, such as cash value, survivor's benefits, and dividend income, should be considered as joint property of the spouses.

Parents' insurance policies

Where a parent is the policyholder and the insured is a child, in this case, if the child receives a portion of the policy proceeds, is the portion received a marital asset? Will it be divided as a result of the children's divorce?

There is some controversy about this issue, with two prevailing views:

① This policy should be considered as a separate gift from the parents to the children individually and will not be divided even in the event of a marriage;

② If the proceeds received by the child exceed the amount of premiums paid, the proceeds are considered investment income and belong to the joint property of the couple, and are therefore subject to division.

As Hong Kong participating insurance is a medium to long-term financial product, the time for capital return is generally slower, taking at least eight years.

In this case, in the event of a dispute, it will generally be enforced in accordance with point 2 above, that is, in accordance with the property class of assets.

Therefore, if you want to circumvent this situation, parents can simply set up a withdrawal account when they insure their children as well.

The parents receive the proceeds in lieu of the children first, and since the children themselves do not have the right to receive and own the proceeds, the proceeds received in this case will not be divided.

Policies taken out by grandparents

Intergenerational insurance is likewise a popular one at the moment.

This type of policy, with the insured being the parent and the beneficiary being the child, completely isolates the "person" and naturally provides a more secure segregation of marital assets.

03

How to protect personal assets with a Hong Kong policy?

1️⃣ Designated Beneficiaries

Many savings and critical illness insurance products in Hong Kong can protect the rights and interests of one party by appointing a beneficiary, which can transfer the property rights and interests directionally to an individual's name.

In addition, most people's insurance policies are not only to prevent property losses caused by the breakdown of marriage. The more important reason for high-income people to pay attention to Hong Kong insurance policies is still for the purpose of asset preservation, reasonable tax savings, wealth transfer, etc., which can effectively avoid disputes within the family.

According to the Insurance Law, no organization or individual has the right to preserve or freeze insurance funds. In other words, beneficiaries receiving insurance benefits are protected by law, and insurance funds cannot be set off against debts.

2️⃣ Insured's rights are supreme, no third party interests

In Hong Kong, the rights of insurance policyholders are paramount, and the concepts of holder and no third party rights and interests are clearly stipulated in the terms and conditions of Hong Kong insurance policies.

This means that the policyholder is the only person entitled to exercise any of the rights or benefits we provide under the policy and no third party not party to the policy (including a court of law, for example) can enforce any of the terms of the policy.

04

Hong Kong insurance is more private and protective

The legal system of Hong Kong is very sound and its strict legal system ensures social stability and order.

First of all, Hong Kong has inherited the common law system, which maximizes the protection of private property.

Secondly, Hong Kong is a region that attaches great importance to the protection of personal privacy.

Hong Kong has implemented a law to protect personal privacy, namely the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Cap. 486. Under this Ordinance, any person convicted of breaching the legislation by disclosing the privacy of another person or revealing personal information is liable to a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and may face imprisonment for two years.

In addition, Hong Kong has the only organization in Asia that focuses on personal data privacy protection: the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong.

The Agency was established on August 1, 1996 with the primary responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

With its diversified insurance products, stringent regulations and supervision and globalized asset allocation advantages, Hong Kong insurance has constructed a solid protection line for marriage from various dimensions such as economic risk prevention, property planning and inheritance, and the fulfillment of marital agreements.

If you are interested in Hong Kong insurance, please contact Timeless Group.