Three Hong Kong-based insurance agents have caused controversy after running Facebook ads offering Pokémon Go insurance protection. The posts claim to offer coverage in the case of any accidents or deaths occurring as a result of the latest mobile craze. The agents, from three separate major insurance companies, made numerous posts on the social media site promoting accident insurance plans for Pokémon players. The adverts offered coverage of up to HK$400,000 (US$51,562) in the case of any accident or death.
One particular post by Jordan Sam, who claimed to be a manager at
Manulife in Macau, said: “Guaranteed protection for Pokémon trainers to catch Pokémon safely 365 days a year.”
Manulife made a quick response, with a spokeswoman stating that the organization does not offer any insurance products that contain the words Pokémon. The spokeswoman added: “We asked the agent concerned to remove the post to avoid creating the impression [that] we have such a product.”
The post was subsequently removed and Manulife claim to be investigating the situation further, although it’s not clear whether or not the agent in question has breached any internal compliance guidelines.
Further posts made by agents claiming to be attached to MassMutual Asia and Prudential in Hong Kong also surfaced on the site. Peter Yip, MassMutual Asia’s vice president of marketing, said: “We do not have any insurance plan specifically for Pokémon Go players.” Prudential has yet to respond.
A survey conducted by Hong Kong-based mobile research company, Red Ocean Solutions, found that of 150 respondents, 16% were playing Pokémon Go outside when Typhoon Nida hit Hong Kong on Monday night.
