January 2015 Issue No. 219
New Year Greetings
Happy New Year! May I wish you all a most Fruitful, Prosperous and Successful 2015!
Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS)
The survey on VHIS showed overwhelming concerns among Member Companies in complying with the minimum requirements, in particular guaranteed acceptance, coverage of pre-existing conditions, portability of policy and the no-gap/known-gap arrangement. That said, we see positive response from Members on standardisation of policy terms and conditions, coverage of ambulatory services and premium transparency.
In the light of the survey results, the Task Force on Health Care Reform has met to discuss the proposed VHIS and the way forward. We have identified several key areas of concern - lack of choice for consumers, unattractiveness to young and healthy people, underestimated premium rate which can be misleading, sustainability of the High Risk Pool, etc.
Lately, we met the Executive Director of the Consumer Council and Secretary for Food and Health
Dr Ko Wing Man for an informal exchange of views. We reiterated that while the insurance industry is willing to support a viable and sustainable health care financing scheme for the good of the community, we do not support the proposed VHIS in the way it is proposed for the reasons and concerns outlined above.
We have arranged Dr Ko to talk to the industry in person and answer questions we may have at an industry forum originally scheduled for 2 February 2015. Owing to the sudden change of Dr Ko's schedule, the forum is now postponed to 9 February 2015. For details, please refer to Circular (Ref: Mv009/15). We sincerely hope that you can join this forum and express your views.
Young Insurance Executive Development Programme
Thanks to the staunch support of more than 20 Member Companies, the YIE Programme will officially commence in March 2015. Members may visit the minisite for updates on this programme at http://www.hkfi.org.hk/YIE/. A ceremony will be held to commemorate the official launch of this important milestone
Also, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) has been liaising with HKFI on the key recommendations on career navigation and training initiatives for the insurance sector. Details of Government’s support are expected to be announced in the upcoming Budget Speech for 2015.
Independent Insurance Authority (IIA)
Discussion with the Administration on the remaining outstanding issues is progressing well. Following the meeting held on 23 December 2014, we have come up with revised draft wording on the relevant clauses for the consideration of the FSTB and the Insurance Authority (IA). Feedback from the Administration is awaited.
Risk-based Capital (RBC) Framework
Subsequent to submitting a high level response to the IA on the above consultation, we compiled a consolidated set of comments from over 12 Member Companies on specific issues. Owing to different scale and lines of business of individual companies, divergent opinions from Members were received.
We urge the IA to give careful consideration to the different opinions expressed and the relevant circumstances surrounding such differences. We also recommended a further round of industry consultation by the IA prior to conducting a quantitative impact study.
Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2014
I am pleased to report that the above Bill Committee has accepted the LIC's suggestion to set a maximum number of withdrawals of accrued MPF benefits at four times per year. This proposed amendment was read and passed by the Legislative Council on 21 January 2015.
Employees' Compensation (EC) Insurance
To facilitate renewal of EC policies and provide a complete claims record of the policyholder, the GIC has developed a simple template for reporting EC claims of individual policyholders for the past three years if possible. With effect from 1 April 2015, all Member Companies writing EC business are required to pro-actively provide policyholder such claims report for all non-renewal cases. For renewal cases, Members are required to do it upon the request of the insureds. Individual insurers are at their own discretion to provide additional information apart from that specified in the template (Circular Ref: Mv005/15).
Educational Campaign on Medical Insurance
The educational campaign which we launched through the Next Media on medical insurance has been a great success.
Between August and December 2014, we have published a series of advertorials with comic strips illustrated by popular cartoonist Cuson Lo. At the same time, we launched a digital channel to share insurance knowledge with the public in the form of
videos, comics and short articles. In November 2014, we published a booklet on Smart Tips on Medical Insurance, which was also very well received. Close to 400,000 readers and mobile site users have accessed the useful information through various channels.
To ride on the popularity of this cross-platform campaign, an online quiz was unveiled on 15 January 2015 to refresh the memory of readers on the information illustrated in the booklet and the website. Winners who provided correct answers to all the 6 questions on medical insurance would
have the chance to win coffee coupons.
Overseas Visitor
Mr Kisaburo Furuhashi, Chief Researcher of the General Insurance Institute of Japan, visited the HKFI on 9 January 2015 to learn more about the latest developments in the Hong Kong insurance market and changes in the regulatory landscape.
Jimmy Poon HKFI ChairmanMEMBERSHIP NEWS
New Authorized Representative
BE Reinsurance Limited (General Member) - Mr Chan Chi Ko
Change of Company Name
Euler Hermes Europe (General Member) to Euler Hermes Royal Skandia Life Assurance Limited (Life Member) to Old Mutual International Isle of Man Limited
Change of Authorized Representatives
Aviva Life Insurance Co Ltd (Life Member) – Mr Charles Barrows
General Reinsurance AG (General Member) – Ms Orchis Li
HKFI Membership
As at 28 January 2015, the HKFI has 87 General Insurance Members and 43 Life Insurance Members.
