4 Ways to Achieve Healthy Living

COVID-19 not only increases our health awareness, but also leads us to re-evaluating if our current health protection is sufficient. In addition to adopting healthy living habits, it is also important to plan and choose the appropriate medical insurance products for health protection. Learn more on how to live healthier with the following 4 tips.

Developing good habits is crucial to building a strong foundation to a healthy life. Here are 5 key points suggested by HKSAR Department of Health as reference:

Exercise regularly

Exercise can help control weight, strengthen bones, muscles and joints, and help reduce the risk of developing various chronic illnesses.

Maintain personal hygiene

Good personal hygiene can effectively prevent diseases and reduce the chance of bacterial and viral infections.

Maintain a balanced and nutritious diet

Our body is unable to get all the nutrients from one single source, which makes it important to maintain a balanced diet so that we can acquire all the required nutrients.

Get enough good quality sleep

Adults (including the elderly) should sleep for about 7 to 8 hours a day. Sleeping less than 7 hours or poor sleep quality will increase the risk of developing various diseases such as diabetes.

Relax and stay positive

Mental and spiritual health are also important parts of living a healthy life. Practicing the ideas of "sharing", "mind" and "enjoyment" may also improve mental and spiritual health.

Regular body checks may help detect early-stage illness and reduce the risk before taking a turn for the worse. However, getting a body check in Hong Kong can be quite expensive. The costs¹ of getting a health checkup in private hospitals below as reference only.

• Comprehensive Health Check Up (for male and female), ranging approximately from HKD1,300 to HKD8,000
• Men Health Checkup, ranging approximately from HKD2,400 to HKD9,400
• Women Health Checkup, ranging approximately from HKD2,900 to HKD11,000

Some Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) flexi plans in the market provide body check coverage, allowing the insured to keep track of their health condition every year. Alternatively, you can also leverage credit card promotions to conduct discounted health checks at designated clinics.

Apart from physical health, mental and spiritual health are as equally important. Metropolitans are usually under a lot of mental stress and prone to developing emotional illness, while negative emotions and stress can increase the risk of inducing other physical illness.

Unlike medical insurance products in the past, inpatient psychiatric treatments are now covered in basic VHIS Plans. Some VHIS plans even provide personalised emotional support and face-to-face counselling services, while some would provide optional clinical benefits designed to include coverage for psychiatric-related treatments and psychological counselling.

These health lifestyle tips are more of preventive measures, but illness is always unpredictable, making it important to plan ahead for protection. In case you are diagnosed with a serious illness, related insurance may help ease your financial burden caused by medical expenses and reduce psychological pressure, allowing you to concentrate on recovery.

A certified VHIS standard plan includes:

• basic medical coverage, including but not limited to room and board, surgeon’s fee, outpatient expenses
• coverage for unknown pre-existing conditions, subject to the policy's General Exclusions

If you need more comprehensive medical insurance, you may consider the VHIS Flexi Plan with comprehensive coverage:


• offers more extensive options on benefit limit, benefit items, ward class, etc.
• Hospitalisation charges and surgical expenses are also covered in full, so that you and your family do not need to worry about the medical expenses incurred during hospitalisation on your road to recovery.

Apart from VHIS, there are also other types of insurance plans, such as insurance for cancer, one of the main causes of death in Hong Kong. In case the insured is diagnosed with cancer, a standard cancer insurance plan would provide a one-off lump sum to cover cancer treatment and daily expenses. Some cancer insurance plans will even allow you to share all the cancer benefits for free with your children under the age of 18.

As a general rule of thumb, the sooner you purchase a medical insurance, the better. If you try to take out a new policy with pre-existing conditions, the insurer may charge additional premium, impose exclusions, or even decline the application.

Before you purchase a medical insurance plan, it is important to first learn about the plan’s coverage levels, claim procedures, benefit limits, etc. You should also take factors like your age, health condition, and financial situation into consideration before deciding which plan would best suit your needs.