Insurers bound to cope with ageing Chinese population

Ageing Chinese population is a real issue bothering local insurers who are required to cap admissibility age to health insurance at 100 years of age. Insurance contracts are also poised to cover common illnesses among elderly people such as cerebrovascular accidents, heart attacks and mental diseases.

According to Hong Kong’s daily “South China Morning”, 25% of people born today are likely to live 100 years. Progress in science and breakthroughs in medical treatment are helping people live longer and in better health.

For instance, life expectancy on birth for Hong Kong male population, estimated in 2016 at 81.3 years, is poised to go up to 87.1 years in 2066. Average female age will rise from 87.3 years in 2016 to93.1 years fifty years later. China counts today approximately 143 million people aged more than 65, that is an equivalent number to the overall Russian population and more than the population of Japan.

Longer life expectancy is not limited to China alone. The World Health Organization is expecting that on a global level, the number of people aged over 65 will rise from 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050.

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