We accept Sum Insured from HKD 500,000 to HKD 50,000,000. Please refer to this FAQ for more on Sum Insured: How do I determine the Sum Insured for my policy?

What is the minimum and maximum Sum Insured?

OneDegree Fire Insurance only covers residential properties for now. However, we have plans to introduce different types of insurance protection in the future. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook for our latest updates.     

Can I purchase coverage for commercial property?

OneDegree Fire Insurance only covers residential properties for now. However, we have plans to introduce different types of insurance protection in the future. Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook for our latest updates.

If you wish to transfer your existing fire insurance policy (issued by another insurance company) to  OneDegree for your fire insurance protection: 

For the application of a new fire insurance policy with OneDegree, we will notify your mortgage bank and submit the new policy documents. 

Please note that we are unable to represent you in making inquiries or cancellations of your existing fire insurance policy with the mortgage bank or other insurance company. If you wish to cancel the renewal of your existing fire insurance policy or apply for a premium refund, you will need to follow up with the relevant parties directly. 

Regarding our current list of banks/companies that accept mortgage customers for OneDegree fire insurance, please refer to the information below: 

Do all banks in Hong Kong accept OneDegree Fire Insurance? 
 

Do I need to notify my mortgage bank after purchasing a OneDegree Fire Insurance policy?

No, we will take care of that for you. After your OneDegree Fire Insurance policy is issued, we will send a hard copy to your mortgage bank.

If you're buying a home in a newer residential development, it's likely that fire coverage is included in the management fee and you won't need to purchase a separate fire insurance policy. While your mortgage bank should be aware which developments have master fire insurance, it doesn't hurt to confirm with them to ensure you're not paying for coverage you don't need.

If fire insurance is included in my building's management fee, do I need to inform my mortgage bank?

Yes, we don't have a property age limit. You can apply for coverage as long as your property is residential.

My property is more than 40 years old. Is it eligible for coverage?

The policy effective date must be any day within 10 to 180 days after the insurance is purchased.

If you do not specify the policy effective date at the time of purchase, we will set it as 28 days after the policy purchase by default. If you need to change the policy effective date after the purchase, please email care@onedegree.hk within 48 hours of purchase and clearly state the new policy effective date and policy number, and we will make the necessary amendment. Any change requests made after this deadline will incur an administration fee of HK$300 per request.

When will the Fire insurance become effective after submitting the application? Can I choose the effective date for my fire insurance policy?

The policy start date must be within the period from 10 to 180 days after your purchase. 

If you did not specify, the default start date will be 28 days from your purchase date. You may change the policy start date by emailing us at care@onedegree.hk within 24 hours after purchase - please state the desired policy start date and your policy number for the process.

Applicable to policies purchased on or before 20 November 2023:

We will send you a renewal notice by email or SMS 90 days and 30 days before the end of the current Period of Insurance. After receiving the notification, please log in to your OneDegree account to accept the policy renewal and manage your renewal options.

Applicable to policies purchased on or after 21 November 2023:

Your Fire policy will be automatically renewed after each Period of Insurance. We will send you a renewal notice via email 90 days and 30 days before the end of the current Period of Insurance. At that time, please log in to your OneDegree account to manage your renewal options.

Please note that the policy will be renewed 20 days before the end of the current Period of Insurance to allow time for the Policy Administration department to arrange for the policy documents and receipts to be sent to the mortgage lender (if any).

If you wish to confirm the renewal immediately, you can click "Pay Now" on the “Manage Renewal” page, and we will collect the premium from the credit card registered for the policy instantly. Upon successful payment, the policy documents will be sent to the email registered for the policy, while the original policy document and receipt will be sent to the designated mortgage lender (if any) within 6-7 working days.

*If you need to adjust/ decrease the sum insured during the renewal period, please first enquire with your bank and obtain confirmation from them. Then, update the sum insured via “Manage Renewal” page. If you wish to make changes to the policy details, please contact us at care@onedegree.hk within 48 hours. Any changes requested after this 48-hour deadline will incur an administration fee of HKD 300 per request. The sum insured cannot be adjusted after the policy is issued. If the sum insured is insufficient, please purchase an additional policy.

How do I renew my fire insurance policy?

We will send you a reminder by email or SMS 3 months before your policy end date. To prevent any lapse in coverage, please complete the policy renewal via the designated link shared in the renewal notice.

Yes. You can now manage your Fire insurance policy and view policy documents through your OneDegree online account*.

Should you have any inquiries, please contact us at care@onedegree.hk.

*Access to policy documents on online account is only available for policies purchased or renewed on or after 31 October 2024. If you purchased or renewed your policy before the mentioned date, please refer to the confirmation email from the Policy Administration department to view the policy documents.

Can I view and manage my fire insurance policy through my OneDegree online account?

Not at this time. Please contact us at care@onedegree.hk if you need support or have any questions.

Can I view and manage my Fire insurance policy through my OneDegree online account?

After the Fire insurance policy is successfully confirmed, the policy documents will be sent to the email registered for the policy immediately. At the same time, you can manage your Fire policy and view the policy documents through your OneDegree online account. Subsequently, the Policy Administration department will send the original policy documents to your designated mortgage lender (if any) within 6-7 working days.



** For privacy reasons, mortgage lenders will not disclose client details, including but not limited to the fire policy assessment results, the current mortgage loan value, the required sum insured, etc., to any third parties. If you have any questions regarding the assessment status of your policy, you may contact your mortgage lender a few days after the policy documents are couriered.

For the same reasons, we are not able to enquire about the existing Fire policy with the mortgage lenders or other insurers on behalf of our customers. If you need to enquire about or cancel your existing fire policy, please contact them directly.

The sum insured requirement varies among mortgage lender, therefore customers are encouraged to confirm the exact sum insured required with their mortgagee before applying. This can save your time and prevent assessment delays. The policy assessment is subject to the decisions of the mortgage lender, which shall be final and binding.

How would you handle my Fire policy after a successful submission?

We will work through the following procedures after receiving your application. Firstly, we will examine if the submitted details correspond to the uploaded documents ...

 
   - War and related perils
   - Fire and explosion if it results from an earthquake, volcanic eruption or other natural disaster (unless otherwise specified in Policy Schedule)
   - Spontaneous fermentation or heating of any part of your property or any damage resulting from the application of heat
   - Riot, civil commotion, strikers or locked out workers (unless otherwise specified in Policy Schedule)
   - Theft during or after a fire
   - Damage to any electrical machine or apparatus arising from its own over running, excessive pressure, short circuiting, self heating , arcing or leakage of electricity
   - Damage to a property covered by another insurance policy
   - Goods held in trust or on commission (unless you are legally liable for them)
   - Consequential loss or damage of any kind or description
    
For more details, refer to our insurance policy wording.

Is there any exclusion?

We don’t cover you for:
- War and related perils
- Fire and explosion if it results from an earthquake, volcanic eruption or other natural disaster (unless otherwise specified in Policy Schedule)
- Spontaneous fermentation or heating of any part of your property or any damage resulting from the application of heat
- Riot, civil commotion, strikers or locked out workers (unless otherwise specified in Policy Schedule)
- Theft during or after a fire
- Damage to any electrical machine or apparatus arising from its own over running, excessive pressure, short circuiting, self heating , arcing or leakage of electricity
- Damage to a property covered by another insurance policy
- Goods held in trust or on commission (unless you are legally liable for them)
- Consequential loss or damage of any kind or description
 
For more details, refer to our insurance policy wording.

You can choose one of the following to be your policy's Sum Insured:


2) the cost of your property reinstatement;

3) your current mortgage loan value.
 
If you choose your Sum Insured to be the cost of rebuilding your property, a property valuation must be conducted annually and the Sum Insured may change year to year depending on the valuation.

Many homeowners choose a Sum Insured equal to their current mortgage loan value. However, a mortgage loan's value drops over time, which means the Sum Insured will also decrease. If you have any doubt, you may check with your mortgage bank for the exact Sum Insured required.

How do I determine the Sum Insured for my Fire insurance policy?

You can choose one of the following to be your policy's Sum Insured: 1) Your original mortgage loan value; 2) the cost of your property reinstatement; 3) your current mortgage loan value. 

If you choose your Sum Insured to be the cost of rebuilding your property, a property valuation must be conducted annually and the Sum Insured may change year to year depending on the valuation. 

Many homeowners choose a Sum Insured equal to their current mortgage loan value. However, a mortgage loan's value drops over time, which means the Sum Insured will also decrease. If you have any doubt, you may check with your mortgage bank for the exact Sum Insured required.

Annual policy premiums range from 0.042% to 0.15% of your Sum insured, depending on your insurer’s terms. For example, for a policy with HK$ 4,500,000 Sum insured, you may pay between HK$ 1,890 (HK$ 4,500,000 x 0.042%) and HK$ 6,750 (HK$ 4,500,000 x 0.15%) each year.

OneDegree offers 0.042% premium rate, which is the lowest in town. Get a quote for your property here.

How much does a fire insurance policy cost?

OneDegree Fire Insurance premiums are fixed at 0.042% of the Sum Insured. The rate is applicable to residential properties of all types and all ages. Get a quote for your property here.
   
When purchasing fire insurance from a bank, the premium rate may depend on your property's type and valuation. For example, village houses and older buildings will tend to cost more to insure than private housing estates and newer buildings. The rates offered by banks generally range from 0.042% to 0.15%.

Are premiums higher for certain property types?

OneDegree Fire Insurance premiums are fixed at  0.042% for the first year of the Sum Insured. The rate is applicable to residential properties of all types and all ages. Get a quote for your property here.

When purchasing fire insurance from a bank, the premium rate may depend on your property's type and valuation. For example, village houses and older buildings will tend to cost more to insure than private housing estates and newer buildings. The rates offered by banks generally range from 0.034% to 0.15%.

Yes, Buildings Insurance is also commonly known as Fire Insurance. It covers a property's structure if there is damage caused by events including fire, typhoons/windstorms, and explosions. Many homebuyers looking to take out a mortgage need to buy fire insurance, as it is required by banks before they will approve a home loan. 
       

Is Building Insurance same as “Fire Insurance”?

Yes, Buildings Insurance is also commonly known as Fire Insurance. It covers a property's structure if there is damage caused by events including fire, typhoons/windstorms, and explosions. Many homebuyers looking to take out a mortgage need to buy fire insurance, as it is required by banks before they will approve a home loan.

Home Insurance and Fire Insurance are different, but complementary. Home Insurance covers the content in your home, such as furniture, electrical appliances, refurbishments, and personal belongings.
   
Fire Insurance covers the building structure, including walls, windows, ceiling, floor, pipes and the property's original fixtures and fittings. When these are damaged by fire, typhoons/windstorms, explosions, or other covered events, your fire policy will help cover the repair costs. 
   
Having both types of insurance will give your home comprehensive protection.

I already have a Home Insurance Policy, do I still need the Fire Insurance?

Home Insurance and Fire Insurance are different, but complementary. Home Insurance covers the content in your home, such as furniture, electrical appliances, refurbishments, and personal belongings.

Fire Insurance covers the building structure, including walls, windows, ceiling, floor, pipes and the property's original fixtures and fittings. When these are damaged by fire, typhoons/windstorms, explosions, or other covered events, your fire policy will help cover the repair costs. 

Having both types of insurance will give your home comprehensive protection.

If you need to cancel your fire insurance policy and have not made any successful claims, you can fill out the Fire Insurance Policy Cancellation Form and follow the steps below to upload the required documents to your member portal to arrange for the policy cancellation:

1. Log in to your account: Login | OneDegree

Once we receive your completed cancellation form, the Policy Administration Team will send an email to your registered email address for follow up. Please follow the instructions in that email to provide the required information.

How to cancel a Fire Insurance Policy?

The fire insurance policy includes a 7-day cooling-off period. If the policy is canceled within the first 7 days, we will refund the full premium you paid. If you cancel the policy after the cooling-off period, the refund will be calculated based on the table below.

If the calculated refund results in the total premium we retain being less than HKD 400, we will charge a minimum premium of HKD 400 and only refund the portion exceeding HKD 400.

Is there any service charge for cancellation on Fire Insurance?

A fire insurance policy typically covers only the building structure and does not include the household contents within the premises.

If you require coverage for household contents, such as jewelry and artwork, we recommend our Home Insurance, which provides coverage for Valuables.

Does fire insurance cover jewelry and art pieces?

If the insured property has been fully paid off and is no longer under a mortgage, the customer may choose to use the property's reconstruction cost as the sum insured for fire insurance.  The reconstruction cost refers to the expenses required to restore the insured property to its original condition prior to any damage, excluding the value of the building foundation and the land.

Please note that the cost of rebuilding the property can be influenced by various factors, including the scope and extent of repairs, the size of the building, the condition of maintenance, material choices, and market conditions. Therefore,  when customers choose to insure based on the rebuilding cost, the property should be re-evaluated annually, and the sum insured should be adjusted accordingly. If the sum insured is insufficient, it may affect the compensation amount provided by the fire insurance.

What is reinstatement cost?

We understand you’re facing technical issues when using OneDegree website. 

First, please try to using Google Chrome - Incognito browser to perform the same action when you get the error message. If the issue persists, please share the following details with us for case investigation, it will enable us detecting and tackling the problem efficiently:

1. Screen capture of the full page showing the action or click before you get the error message, and the screen capture of the full page when the error messages appear

2. Device currently in use(desktop / mobile / laptop / tablet, etc)

4. The Operating System of your device(Windows / macOS / iOS / Android / Linux, etc)

To check on the exact version of your browser in current use, you may simply visit https://www.whatismybrowser.com . 

And, please approach us by diverse channels (https://www.onedegree.hk/en-us/contact-us) at your convenience. 

What do I need to provide for reporting a technical issue?

Pet, Critical Illness and Home* policy holders can handily access to their online OneDegree account both by computer and mobile browsers (such as, Google Chrome/Edge/Safari, etc); whilst, online account management is not yet extended to other insurance products. Policy holders can simply login at www.onedegree.hk by inputting their registered email address and with One Time Password (OTP).

* Home policyholders who purchase their policies on or after 22 December 2022.

If you face problem to login your account, please check if:

OTP will be sent while Microsoft on behalf of OneDegree Hong Kong Limited <msonlineservicesteam@microsoftonline.com>, and the code will be valid for 5 minutes only. If you have not entered the OTP in time, you would need to request a new OTP again. At the same time, if you repeatedly request a OTP, the previously requested password will become invalid after a repeat request.

If you are using Google Chrome browser, please check if you have already allowed cookies and have not pre-set us (www.onedegree.hk) as one of your unaccepting websites in “Setting” page. Please be aware: 

o        Block third-party cookies 

o        Block all cookies (not recommended) 

o        our website (www.onedegree.hk) in “Sites that can never use cookies”

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You may also try if able to access through Incognito Window (below image as reference).

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In case, you have already gone through all our above suggestions and the problem persists, please refer to our guide at What do I need to provide for reporting a technical issue? . Then, contact with us with the necessary details sharing, we will be best to assist accordingly. 

You may contact us through diverse channels (https://www.onedegree.hk/en-us/contact-us ).

Why am I not able to login my OneDegree account?

If your property suffers from damage, please immediately:

- Report to the Police in the event of deliberate or malicious damage.

- Reach out to the claims department as soon as possible.

In Addition, you need to submit your claim application and supporting documents in writing through the member portal within 30 days of the incident or discovery of the loss.

1.Pictures of damaged items and scene of incident

2.Claimed item’s purchase invoices/receipts and replacement invoices/receipts (if unrepairable)

3.Quotations/invoices/receipts from contractors

4.Police report/police statement/witness statement if applicable

5.Building management office’s incident report if applicable

Should you require additional information or documentation, our claims team will reach out to you. For any supplementary information, please send it to claims@onedegree.hk.

How do I file a fire insurance claim?

Currently, we accept mortgage customers of the following banks/companies to apply for our Fire Insurance,

- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC)

- Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited

- China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited

- China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd., Hong Kong Branch

- The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMCorp)

Do all banks in Hong Kong accept OneDegree Fire Insurance?

Fire Insurance

Get answers fast on our FAQ page, where we address questions you may have about OneDegree and our plans.