Equip insurance agents to be the first line support in critical illness

Following the launch of the pioneering cancer and rehabilitation planning consultation service earlier this year, FWD Hong Kong ("FWD") and HKSH Medical Group (“HKSH”) have recently extended their collaboration to the next level. Designed by HKSH doctors, a market first, highly structured and comprehensive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme focusing on critical illness is launched to facilitate FWD agents in supporting customers who are in their fight with life-changing diseases.   

According to the latest cancer statistics released by the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, more than 34,000 new cancer cases were recorded in 2018 in Hong Kong. There were 93 people and 40 people respectively diagnosed with or died of cancer each day on average in the same period, hitting a historical high, spurring demand for more medical or critical illness insurance coverage and the first line advisory and support from insurance agents.    

Jeff Wong, Chief Agency Officer, FWD Hong Kong & Macau, highlighted “Insurance agents are often the first line of support for contact or advice when customers encounter health challenges that hit the whole family with unexpected financial burden. In fact, most patients tend to feel vulnerable and miserable when they are first diagnosed with cancer as they can hardly navigate the whole journey without concrete ideas on the treatment process and the roadmap to recovery. This collaboration with HKSH to organise a market’s first critical illness CPD training programme showcases our customer-led approach. This equips FWD’s agents with comprehensive medical knowledge on cancer, as well as post-stroke and heart disease rehabilitation information so that we can serve our customers with all-rounded support and create more tailored customer experiences.” 

The training programme is designed and delivered by HKSH doctors covering three major aspects of cancer – diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. Agents will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the training programme totaling around 6 hours, which help boost customers’ confidence on their professional service.  

Dr. Alex Chow, Director of HKSH Rehabilitation Centre, said:” Cancer is a complicated disease and patients have varying needs in different stages, from diagnosis, treatment to recovery. It is important that they can get professional and accurate information of treatment and rehabilitation as early as possible so that they can get better prepared for the challenges to come. This collaboration with the insurance sector to share knowledge and concept of oncology rehabilitation will enable patients to receive professional and timely support which is much needed when they fall sick.”

Since the launch of critical illness CPD training programme, FWD has received overwhelming response from the agents as the first round of 400 training quotas were filled in a noticeably short time. 

The training programme is comprised of three major modules, namely:

Module	Topic	Content
Module 1	Importance of early cancer detection	Includes the definition of cancer, recent trends of cancer in Hong Kong, cancer screening and diagnostic tests, etc.
Module 2	Cancer treatment	Covers an array of cancer treatments, including the latest drugs and nuclear medicine treatment plans
Module 3	Critical illness rehabilitation	Explains in detail the importance of stroke, heart and cancer rehabilitation and various recovery plans

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