Exclusive | ‘Record-high’ HK$150,000 insurance premium for Hong Kong taxi is latest case marking soaring costs for an industry crying for surcharge, fare raise
- Insurers say increased premiums the result of taxi accidents, exorbitant compensation, legal claims
- Taxi operators want passengers to pay HK$6 ‘insurance surcharge’ to make up for soaring premiums
Taxi firm boss Chan Ming-sang’s jaw dropped when he received an insurance firm’s letter in March, setting the annual premium for one of the cabs in his company’s fleet at almost HK$150,000 (US$19,300).
“I was totally shocked,” he told the Post. “This was record-breaking. The whole taxi industry has never come across such a high premium.”
The taxi in question had been involved in an accident, and the 61-year-old driver who hired it was fined HK$1,000 for careless driving after hitting an elderly couple in Tuen Mun.
Insisting that was no reason for such a drastic premium rise, Chan said: “I can accept it being increased from HK$50,000 to HK$60,000. But almost HK$150,000 for an annual taxi premium is unreasonable.”
The case has put the spotlight on soaring insurance costs for taxis, with average annual premiums going up by more than a fifth from HK$28,050 in 2019 to HK$33,902 last year.
