December 2013 Issue No. 207
2013 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) & Christmas Cocktail Party
As approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 13 December 2013, membership subscription fees next year will remain unchanged.
Following the EGM was our Christmas cocktail party. This year, we had over 100 guests and friends of the industry joining this year-end traditional gathering. They also witnessed the installation of the time capsule. At the 25th anniversary gala dinner held on 8 August 2013, six pieces of memorable items were placed in the time capsule to commemorate the silver jubilee of the HKFI and forecast the future of the insurance industry. The time capsule is now permanently installed at the HKFI conference room until it is reopened in 15 years time, i.e. 2028.
New Governing Committee Member and LIC By-election
Following the resignation of Mr Lennard Yong from the HKFI, the Life Insurance Council (LIC) nominated Mr Andy Robinson of Zurich International Life Ltd to join the Governing Committee. The LIC is now conducting a by-election to fill the casual vacancy. Mr David Wong of FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited is the only candidate. Authorized Representatives of Life Insurance Members are invited to send in their confirmation to our honorary auditor KPMG by 3 January 2014 (Circular Ref: Mv125/13).
Health Care Reform
A lot has happened on this subject in the past month. On 4 December 2013, we wrote to the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) reiterating our major concerns over the proposed Health Protection Scheme (HPS), i.e. Package Pricing / DRGs, guaranteed acceptance and the High Risk Pool, consumer choice, group plans.
On 6 December 2013, we organised a briefing to update Members on the latest development and gather their views. Over 100 representatives from 43 insurance companies were thoroughly briefed on an industry position put together by the Task Force on Health Care Reform headed by Mr David Alexander. With the support of our Members, we issued a media release entitled "The Effectiveness of the Proposed Health Protection Scheme is Highly Doubtful" (www.hkfi.org.hk/#!/media-release/262) on the same day focusing on two key messages:
- The introduction of HPS will only restrict consumers' choice and force them to pay 10% more for medical insurance. The insurance industry proposes that existing medical insurance products continue to be sold alongside the HPS to maintain consumer choice.
- Individuals with high risk will have no choice but to join the High Risk Pool and pay 3 times the premium or remain in the public system. However, in the existing market, they have the choice to buy a policy without loading but with an exclusion of a particular illness. They can utilize a private hospital for majority of the illnesses and the cost is covered by insurance except for those conditions being excluded.
At the meeting of the Legislative Council's Panel on Health Services held on 9 December 2013 and the TVB news programme "On the Record", the Hon K P Chan took the opportunity to explain the industry's position and concerns regarding the HPS. The messages were extensively reported in the media.
We at the HKFI would like to reiterate that the industry is committed to facilitating the provision of high quality and affordable healthcare services to the people of Hong Kong. However, with the HPS in its current proposed form, we are highly skeptical about its ability to achieve its goal of attracting more people to take out private medical insurance thus relieving the pressure on the existing public system.
Embracing Privacy and Data Protection Charter
The Privacy Commissioner's office is inviting the industry to pledge support the above Charter, which seeks commitment of insurance companies to support and implement the principles of the Privacy Management Programme. For those Member Companies interested in pursuing this further, we will arrange a briefing in January 2014 to hear directly from the Privacy Commissioner details of how they can support the Charter (Circular Ref: Mv123/13).
Mission Well Community Project
The Junior Financial Secretaries have started their Christmas break in a most memorable way.
On 20 December 2013, the JFS met the Hon John Tsang, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR, and expressed their views on the 2014/2015 budget. Accompanying them were HKFI Deputy Chairman
Mr Jimmy Poon and HKFI Chief Executive Mr Peter Tam. In addition to conveying their concerns to the Financial Secretary on the current issues, they also suggested solutions to increase the revenue of Hong Kong, address social problems related to housing, education, healthcare and environmental issues. For details of the JFS’ submission in Chinese, please visit http://www.hkfi.org.hk/jfs_ submission.pdf.
On the following day, they visited some singleton elders in the Shum Shui Po district and shared with them the festive seasons' warmth and joy.
Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau (ICCB)
The ICCB and HKFI had several rounds of unofficial exchange of ideas with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) lately on the dissimilarity and necessity of extending the scope of work of the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre to cover insurance claims. Since its establishment in 1990, the ICCB has been providing cost-effective and impartial dispute resolution services to the insuring public. Its terms of reference also has evolved over the years to meet the changing expectation of policyholders, including the revision of the claim amount from $250,000 to $800,000, extending service scope to non-Hong Kong residents, etc.
A joint task force co-chaired by the ICCB and HKFI Chairmen has been established to study the issue and engage the FSTB in formal discussion. When considering the way forward, we will look at what specific value any proposed changes will bring to consumers and their cost-effectiveness.
Visitors
We received two groups of visitors during the month. On 6 December 2013, four representatives from NKSJ Holdings Inc, Japan, visited HKFI. Mr Mike Lee, Chairman of LIC, shared with them the current market development and business environment of life
insurance in Hong Kong. A week later, we received a group of 20 representatives from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office under the State Council ( 國務院僑務辦公室 ). Mr Mike Lee and Mr Ronnie Ng, Chairman of LIC and Deputy Chairman of GIC respectively, gave a presentation on the latest development of the life and general insurance industry.
International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) Conference 2014
We have received very positive response from the industry in support of the IUMI Conference to be held in September 2014. Sponsorship packages are selling fast. Interested parties are urged to complete and send in the sponsorship form as soon as possible (www.iumi2014hk.com). We look forward to your great support in making this signature event a huge success! For enquiries on the sponsorship programme or the conference, please contact the secretariat at enquiry@iumi2014hk.com.
Season’s Greetings
At this festive time, may I wish you and your family the most Joyous 2014!
Thomas Lee HKFI Chairman
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Change of Company Name
Royal London 360 Insurance Company Limited has changed its name to RL360 Insurance Company Limited.
HKFI Membership
As at 30 December 2013, the HKFI has 86 General Insurance Members and 42 Life Insurance Members.
