Outline Development Plan for the Greater Bay Area (GBA)
We welcome and fully support this Outline Development Plan as announced by the Central Government on 19 February 2019. The Plan reaffirms Hong Kong as the national risk management centre and our role in developing innovative and cross-border insurance products. Riding on our Members’ extensive business network and expertise in insurance, we will work closely with the HKSAR Government and Insurance Authority (IA) in implementing the relevant policy initiatives of benefit to the GBA residents and economy.
Handing over the SRO functions to IA
We are working on the transition arrangements in close partnership with the IA and are holding monthly meetings to discuss outstanding issues and monitor the progress. An action plan has been prepared with a proposed timeline to track progress of, for example, transfer of relevant data, records and documents.
Insurance Fraud Prevention Claims Database (IFPCD)
We are pleased to report that 14 of the participating insurers have joined the IFPCD Executive Committee (ExCom) and the inaugural meeting was held on 15 February 2019. Mr Jimmy Poon is elected Chairman of the ExCom:
Mr Jimmy Poon (Chairman) Dah Sing Insurance Company (1976) Limited
Mr Martin Rueegg AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Limited
Ms Charity Au BOC Group Life Assurance Company Limited
Mr Patrick Wan Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Limited
Ms Fiona Hung Bupa (Asia) Limited
Mr Ronald Kwan California Insurance Company Limited
Mr Pui Leung Chan China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited
Mr Yuman Chan CIGNA Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited/ CIGNA Worldwide Life Insurance Company Limited
Ms Stella Fok Liberty International Insurance Limited
Mr Tak Chi Wong Manulife (International) Limited
Mr Philip Kent MSIG Insurance (Hong Kong) Limited
Mr Sheung Kin Li Sompo Insurance (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.
Mr Jimmy W L Muk Target Insurance Company Limited
Mr Hannes Bostam Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
The Project Team is moving full steam ahead with the onboarding of participating insurers and transfer of data into the IFPCD. Members who sign up before the end of March 2019 will become Founding Members and enjoy the first year annual fee waiver for the first line of business. Contact us now (2861 9392 ; claimsDB@hkfi.org. hk) to set up onboarding meetings.
T he Food and Health Bureau (FHB) has made some minor textual changes to both the English and Chinese versions of the relevant Code of Practice for Insurance Companies. Specifically, the Migration Arrangement is confirmed to be applicable for 10 years from the official launching of the VHIS on 1 April 2019.
For the draft Guideline on Medical Insurance Business to be issued by IA, we have collated the concerns raised by Members and will follow up with IA to make sure Members’ feedback is taken into consideration.
Issue No.264 Feb 2019
Risk-Based Capital Framework
W ith KPMG’s technical support, 103 representatives from 56 General Insurance Member companies attended the briefing on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA). Noting Members’ concerns over the aggressive implementation timeline, stringent requirements and potential impact on the market, we are engaging the IA for further discussion with a view to securing more regulatory certainty and transparency.
To help refine the Third Round of Quantitative Impact Study at an early stage, the GIC and LIC continue to convey industry’s feedback to the IA based on Members’ views expressed in surveys and meetings.
Qualifying Deferred Annuity Products (QDAP)
T he Special Committee on Deferred Annuity (SC) has put together a set of useful comments and suggestions to the regulator. More work is required on outstanding items such as certification requirements upon product change, the calculation of internal rate of return and additional risk disclosure. We are pressed for time and the SC is working tirelessly with IA to ensure the key issues are resolved in time for proper launching of the products.
The Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2019
T hanks to your support, this signature industry event will be introduced again this year. We are rolling out more exciting categories to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of insurance companies/ teams and individual practitioners.
Application will open in early June and the Awards Presentation cum Gala Dinner will be held on 24 October 2019 at the InterContinental hotel. Mark your diary now and more details will be available in the coming months. Get ready for this and compete for excellence!
Membership News
Change of Authorized Representative
Group-wide Supervision (GWS) Framework
A fully-fledged GWS framework for the insurance groups regulated by the IA is now being developed. The success of this framework will help enhance the status of Hong Kong as an international insurance centre. HKFI has set up a task force chaired by Deputy Chairman Mr Praveen Daswani to co-ordinate stakeholders’ views and to support the IA in delivering the right outcomes for the good of policyholders and the industry. The target completion timeline, including the passage of the required legislative amendments, is mid-2020.
HKFI Insurance Market Research 2018
T he above research received enthusiastic support from Members. Some of them requested more detailed analytics on companybasis. In this connection, we have asked our consultant to come up with tailor-made analysis for Members’ subscription at cost. Outline and subscription details have been circulated to Members. Please contact Ms Yuki Ma at 2861 9318 if you are interested in subscribing for more in-depth research findings.
T he Annual Reception this year will be held on 16 April 2019 at the Hong Kong Club. We are pleased to have Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan as our Guest-of-Honour. We look forward to catching up with you and friends from all quarters!
East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) 2020
T he above Conference will take place from 30 August to 2 September 2020 in Seoul, Korea. Mark the dates and we will send you further details in due course.
●QBE Hong Kong & Shanghai Insurance Limited (General Member) & QBE General Insurance (Hong Kong) Limited (General Member) – Ms. Lei Yu
HKFI Membership
As at 28 Feb 2019, the HKFI has 86 General Insurance Members and 50 Life Insurance Members.
