Motorists who cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) can first purchase cross-border auto insurance from their local insurance company to cover them in all three cities upon initial operation of the bridge, it was stated at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Insurance Forum held in Zhuhai on July 20.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved Guangdong's implementation of an electronic insurance policy designed for inbound vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao.

Meanwhile, insurance companies that have branches in the cities involved have joined in researching and developing innovative insurance products to meet the needs of cross-border travelers, as required by the Guangdong Insurance Regulatory Bureau.

HZMB spanning the Lingding Sea [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

China Taiping Insurance, for example, has a special product library benefiting 201 Macao and Hong Kong car owners who take road trips across the border. The project has underwritten 201 compulsory liability insurance policies covering traffic accidents and 89 commercial policies valued at 1.34 million yuan ($209,700).

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority will continue to cooperate in facilitating the purchase of automobile insurance, according to Su Yi, assistant director.

The initiating Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Insurance Forum was sponsored by China Insurance News and the Insurance Society of China. It addressed insurance issues arising from travel on the world's largest sea bridge, which is soon to open.