Insurance concerns over war and terrorism
Concerns have risen over the issue of insurance cover in the event of war or terrorist attack.
Included in this (October) issue of CHOICE is a comprehensive article to heighten consumers' awareness and understanding of the issue.
Generally speaking, the insurance industry makes a distinction between terrorism and war. As far as terrorism is concerned, the vast majority of General Insurance policies will not exclude loss or injury or death arising out of terrorist acts.
Certain types of insurance (such as property insurance) and policies (as found in a personal accident rider), however, may contain Terrorism Exclusion Clause.
On the other hand, War Exclusion Clauses are common in General Insurance such as personal accident, medical and health, travel and property. Some clauses exclude all loss arising out of war while some exclude only if the insured has active participation in war.
The definition of war is generally taken to mean war like operations or foreign enemy operations regardless whether or not war has been declared.
For life insurance, it generally does not contain Terrorism Exclusion Clause and War Exclusion Clause, but riders on personal accident, medical and hospitalization that are governed by separate terms and conditions may contain war or terrorism exclusion clauses.
The scope of insurance coverage varies substantially from one policy to another. Consumers should enquire with their insurers and study the terms and conditions of an insurance policy, and if necessary take out additional cover on areas which are excluded in the policy.
Beware of falling light bulbs; test shows nearly 1/3 tested models are liable
Imagine the glass shell of a light bulb being detached from its cap and taking a free fall from the lamp holder above.
The hazard of a light bulb plunging down was reported in at least 37 cases of complaints to the Consumer Council during the period between January 1997 and September this year.
The complaints were about defective light bulbs with detached, loosen or damaged glass shells. There was fortunately no report of casualties in these cases.
In a safety performance test on 28 models of light bulbs, with rated power from 25W to 100W, the Consumer Council has found 10 models to exhibit signs of defect of detachment or damage to the glass shells.
In accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard, the samples were heat treated or accelerated to operate to the end of their life span, and their safety examined.
Consumers are advised that the potential hazard of detached light bulbs could be considerably reduced, if not completely preventable, by taking some simple precautions.
Users should observe if there is, on the packaging of light bulb, any operation-position-limitation symbol (
), which depicts the correct position for mounting the bulb - whether in the cap-up or cap-down position.
Mounting the bulb in the cap-up position to some conventional luminaries could lead to excessive temperature rise at the lamp cap, hence the increased risk of damage to the bulb.
Manufacturers are urged to clearly print the symbol on the packaging of operation-position-limited light bulbs for the information of consumers. Manufacturers of luminaries should also provide sufficient instruction and marking of maximum rated wattage to each lamp holder.
Consumers are advised to pay heed to the proper procedures to follow should the glass shell of a bulb be found to be detached from the lamp cap. They should switch off both the lamp and the mains, carefully clear up any broken glass pieces and take out the remaining lamp cap from the lamp holder by a suitable pair of pliers with insulated handle. Then replace the light bulb and switch on again.
Substantial discrepancy found in exhaustion flow rate of cooker hoods
A Consumer Council test on household cooker hoods has revealed substantial deviation between the measured and claimed values of their exhaustion flow rate. Some of the measured values were found to be less than the claimed values by as much as over 50%.
As the exhaustion flow rate is a key indicator of performance, consumers should take into account this discrepancy in such claims.
According to the test, the claims of all the 12 models of cooker hoods included in the test were found, without exception, to be of a higher exhaustion flow rate than is the case when measured with reference to the IEC standard.
The deviation could be due to the use of different national or regional standards by manufacturers of cooker hoods to determine their claimed exhaustion flow rate.
It may also be due to the use of different testing methods in that the airflow outlet of the cooker hoods were set at very low resistance when the measurements were taken. However, this cannot reflect a realistic situation of actual usage when an exhaust duct is fitted to the cooker hood. The Council's test, however, compares performance of all samples under same testing conditions.
As far as odour exhaustion is concerned, all samples were found to be satisfactory when tested according to the IEC standard.
Significant difference was also detected in the energy consumption of the samples, with the worst performer consuming over 3 times the amount of electricity than the most energy efficient sample.
On safety, the live parts on the lamp cap of the bulb, in 8 samples, were found to be accessible by the test finger before the bulb was fully screwed into the lamp holder.
Consumers are advised to switch off and if possible unplug the cooker hood before changing the bulb or carrying out cleaning or maintenance. To minimise the risk of fire hazards, consumers should also heed the following:
- There should be a minimum distance of 60 cm between the cooker hood and the stove to avoid the flame from direct contact with the grease accumulated on the hood surface.
- Clean the cooker hood frequently to avoid the accumulation of grease.
- Always put a pan or pot on top of a burning stove. Do not allow naked flame to be directly extracted by the cooker hood.
On a related issue, the fumes emitted from heated cooking oil have been suspected to contain harmful chemicals that may increase the risks of cancer or other health problems. The risks may depend on the type of cooking oil and food, the heating speed and temperature, the shape and size of the cooking utensil, the ventilation of the kitchen, etc.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has put forward the following recommendations:
- Kitchens should have exhaust ventilation to remove odours and excess moisture associated with cooking. Range hood is the most common.
- A range hood should be used to capture the combustion products and vented to the outside. These range hoods should be sized correctly.
- Choose a quiet fan so noise does not keep you from using the range hood.
Council examines health claims of noni juice
The Consumer Council is continuing its vigilance on products marketed as health food.
The Council's latest effort was focused on the product, noni juice, following numerous enquiries from consumers.
Through a myriad of promotional literature and materials distributed by their sales personnel and collected by the Council, noni juice products have been found to advertise a diverse range of health claims that include: lower blood sugar, prevent and control diabetes, prevent and slower tumour growth, strengthen immune system, pain relief and detoxification.
Further, they are purportedly: anti-wrinkles, anti-aging, able to reduce hair loss, improve mental function, weight loss, and assist normal hormone functions. Some claims even go on to say: increase in vitality and a feeling of well-being.
What is the secret to this seemingly miracle drink? According to the promotional materials, drinking noni juice could induce the production of a compound in the body, identified as "xeronine", which is responsible for the beneficial effects of these products.
The Council has sought substantiation of these claims from the agents of 6 brands of noni juice included in the test.
It transpired that the majority of such health claims made reference, in varying degrees, to the work of an individual researcher in Hawaii, where noni is the name of the fruit of a plant (Morinda Citrifolia L.)
Second, the existence of the compound xeronine was in fact proposed by the author who also gave xeronine its name.
Third, the author went on to propose the primary function for xeronine and list the possible applications or benefits to its users. However, such words as "propose" and "possible" are conspicuously absent in most health claims on noni juice products.
In the course of its research, the Council has been informed by some agents that they do not promote any curative effect of the products nor do they believe that noni juice can cure cancer.
Experts' opinions from the fields of nutrition and pharmacy have pointed out that it is scientifically unsound to claim that certain diseases are linked to the lack of this compound of xeronine. Claims that some people suffering from various diseases have "experienced improvement" after drinking noni juice, are also medically unsound as "improvement" of specific diseases is notdefined.
The Council has forwarded some advertising materials of noni juice to the Department of Health for investigation for possible contravention of the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance.
This has led to warning letters from the Department to the concerned parties to delete the claims in question, and to refrain from making medical claims on food products. A Council's survey last month has shown improvement in that some of the health claims previously promoted on noni juice are no longer found on the products.
In the test, the Council has also examined their content of Vitamin C, sugar and preservatives.
3 out of the 6 samples were found to show deviation on the content of Vitamin C and/or sugar from the labelled amount by over 20%.
2 samples were detected of the preservative benzoic acid in excess of the maximum permitted limit specified in the Preservatives in Food Regulations. The Council has referred the findings to the Food Environmental Hygiene Department for further action deemed necessary.
As consumers become health conscious these days, the Council wishes to issue a general advice that consumers should carefully evaluate whether the health claims made on so-called health products are well substantiated, and whether it is worth the large sum of money spent on products whose efficacy is not well proven.
Clearing the way for wheelchair users' access to public transport
Are our public transport of easy access to disabled persons on wheelchairs?
To investigate the accessibility of the various modes of public transport to wheelchair users, the Consumer Council has sent out a questionnaire to 10 transport service providers including buses, ferries, railways and even rehabilitation coaches.
The major area of investigation is the size and weight of a wheelchair a public transport can allow, and whether there are special facilities to assist wheelchair users.
Opinions from the disabled were also collected with the help of the Hong Kong Occupational Therapy Association.
The survey is a follow-up effort of the Council which tested and published a report on 12 models of wheelchairs in June 2000.
The result is generally reassuring: with reference to the size and weight of the wheelchair models the Council tested last year, manual wheelchairs should be able to access most of the public transport vehicles without great difficulties.
But it needs to be stressed that this estimation of accessibility is based on the models included in the Council's test. There are now many other models, especially the electric wheelchairs, which are of different size and weight. Consumers will do well to seek professional advice in choosing wheelchairs.
Transport service providers are urged to continue improving their services and to provide more facilities to assist wheelchair users in accessing their vehicles and relevant premises. If necessary, they should appoint more staff to give assistance to wheelchair users and to collect opinions from disabled persons.
Global survey finds Hong Kong internet on-line shopping comparable in service
The service of Hong Kong Internet traders offering online shopping is comparable to those around the world.
This was borne out in a Consumer Council survey and an international study of online shopping by the Consumers International (CI), a global federation of more than 260 consumer organisations in 120 countries.
In the Hong Kong survey, 19 shopping sites and 4 hotel agent sites were included. Highlights of the results show that :
- Among the 19 items of goods ordered, 2 failed to arrive. In one case, refund was obtained after contacting the company concerned. In the other, payment was to be effected by cash on delivery so no loss was suffered.
- In all cases, the money charged was exactly the same as originally agreed.
- 85% of sites delivered goods on time, 41% provided dispatch notice and 76% sent receipt with the goods.
Highlights of the CI international survey show that among 340 goods ordered, 20 (5.9%) failed to arrive; and 9% charged differently.
Compared with the CI survey results, the Hong Kong sites seem to fare reasonably well in information disclosure in respect of privacy policy, returns policy and estimated delivery time.
But there were more restrictions on the returns policy in the Hong Kong sites as only damaged or defective goods can be returned and in some cases only exchange of goods rather than monetary refund is entertained.
In addition, fewer Hong Kong sites provided the opportunity for the shoppers to review all main aspects of the order before it was placed, as well as provided dispatch notice and receipts to consumers.