The Hong Kong government will take over handling insurance claims related to the Wang Fuk Court fire once it completes its buyout of the fire-ravaged Tai Po residential estate, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said on Saturday.
Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Mak said the authorities first needed to determine whether compensation would be payable and, if so, how much could be recovered.
She noted that insurers must assess liability and determine whether any criminal activity was involved before settling claims, making the process complex. Mak added that homeowners would still retain the right to pursue claims under other policies, including third-party liability insurance.
Her comments came a week after Hop On, the government-appointed property management company overseeing the estate, held a six-hour extraordinary general meeting where homeowners sought greater clarity on the condition of their flats.
Residents also called for the release of a government inspection report on the estate after a fire last November engulfed seven of its eight residential towers, killing 168 people.
Mak said many of the issues raised by homeowners fell outside Hop On’s statutory responsibilities but that the company had agreed to refer them to the relevant government departments.
“The company has stated that it will forward these concerns to the relevant departments. It has fulfilled its duties as the property manager,” she said.
She said Hop On was continuing to process more than 800,000 documents inherited from the estate’s former management company while handling maintenance fee refunds and other contractual matters. The administrator has so far returned more than HK$100m (US$12.7m) to owners, South China Morning Post reported.
As of February, Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority said insurers had settled around 85% of claims arising from the Wang Fuk Court fire. A total of 1,032 claims had been resolved, with payouts approaching HK$510m.
The fire broke out on 26 November at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po and rapidly spread through seven of its eight 31-storey towers.
From a commercial insurance perspective, China Taiping Insurance (HK) was the sole carrier for the estate’s key building insurance policies, including its contractors’ all-risks (CAR) policy for ongoing building renovations. Taiping Re, China Re, and Qianhai Re were among the reinsurers that (Re)in Asia identified as providing coverage for the building.
