Resignation of HKFI Chief Executive
HKFI Chief Executive Mr Peter Tam has resigned to pursue other opportunities and is now on a leave of absence until 8 October 2019. The Governing Committee has established an Executive Committee (ExCom) to identify a suitable candidate to lead the HKFI and oversee operations in the interim. Business at the HKFI remains as usual and the professional team of management and staff at the HKFI Secretariat continue to provide the usual high quality service for our Members and the public.
We sincerely thank Mr Tam for his valuable contribution and able leadership over the last 15 years and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Transitional Arrangement
We would like to remind you that the cut-off date for the Insurance Agents Registration Board (IARB) to receive applications for registration is less than one month away. For those who wish to complete registration or renewal before the commencement of the Insurance Authority's (IA) direct licensing regime (DLR), please make sure your applications are received by the IARB on or before 26 August 2019 (Cricular Ref: A2-002/02-J78605)
There are complaint cases under different stages of processing and cannot be closed by the IARB on or before 23 September 2019. They will be transferred to the IA for handling by reference to the applicable rules of the HKFI and IARB. We are now working closely with the IA to ensure all parties concerned are duly notified and their rights will be not affected because of the change of the regulatory regime.
Soft Consultations on Guidelines for Life Insurance
We would like to thank all Life Insurance Members (LIMs) for their tireless efforts in reviewing the six draft guidelines (GLs) to be issued by the IA under the DLR. As we fast approach the transition of 23 September 2019, the Secretariat and Life Insurance Council (LIC) continue to advocate to bring our LIMs’ comments and concerns to the IA and to find common ground. In this connection, we are glad to learn that IA will issue frequently asked questions (FAQ) for all six GLs to provide more clarity and facilitate industry’s compliance. We will also arrange townhalls for IA to explain the policy intent and applications of these GLs.
Hong Kong Risk-Based Capital Framework (RBC)
We arranged a face-to-face session with the Hon K P Chan earlier this month to voice out industry’s outstanding concerns on RBC before the 3rd Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) commences in early August. Noting that more work need to be done for General Insurance Members (GIMs), the GIC Task Force led by Ms Kelly Mok has thus produced a gap analysis and come up with concrete recommendations / counter proposals (Circular Ref: Mv083/19). We will engage the IA for another round of meeting and arrange townhall(s) to help GIMs progress from QIS 2 to QIS 3.
At the same time, together with the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong, the LIC initiated a meeting with the IA to clarify issues around Pilot Test 2.5 with the support of qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Profits Tax Concessions for the Insurance Sector
We welcomed the government’s announcement in the Budget 2019-2020 that tax reliefs would be provided to promote the development of marine and specialty insurance businesses.
To get more clarity on the scope of tax concessions, the Marine Insurance Association initiated two meetings with Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and IA. We are pleased to note that a more liberal approach is taken to help develop the marine and specialty insurance markets. We will work closely with the FSTB and IA on the drafting of the relevant legislature and hope to see more measures in place to help boost the Hong Kong insurance market.
Insurance Fraud Prevention Claims Database (IFPCD)
HKFI has established a platform in 2012 for receiving suspicious fraud cases and referring them to the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) for further investigation. In view of the potential spike of detected fraud cases with the launch of motor line of business (LoB) fraud analytics in Q4 2019, a briefing was organised last week to facilitate Members’ reporting of fraudulent cases. The firsthand sharing from seasoned claim handlers and an informative presentation by a speaker from CCB have attracted a full house. This indisputably shows the resolve and determination of our industry in combating insurance fraud.
Moving forward, the Project Team continues to work with claim experts on fraud scenarios and alerts to fine-tune the IFPCD. More LoB will be launched in the coming months. For enquiries, please contact our Project Team at 2861 9392.
MIDAS
Two post-launch meetings were held with the VHIS Office since April to discuss the fine tuning of data reporting templates for VHIS.
In addition, the Task Force under Medical Insurance Association has held its first meeting in mid-July to review the underwriting questions commonly used by medical insurers. A preliminary draft of the standardized underwriting questionnaire will be prepared for Members’ comments. We will take into account feedback from our regulatory stakeholders as well.
Our signature InsurTech project MIDAS (Motor Insurance DLT-based Authentication System) has made it to the list of finalists for the 23rd Asia Insurance Industry Awards!
MIDAS is one of the three shortlisted entries nominated for the Innovation of the Year award. Such an achievement is the result of the collaborative efforts among insurers, regulator, law enforcement body, government department and our staunch partner CryptoBLK.
The final result will be announced in end of October.
All You Need to Know about Insurance
We are thrilled to report that the above series is one of the Joint Publishing’s Best Sellers 2019. Its newest addition “All you need to know about medical insurance” sets out the basic principles of medical insurance, elaborates on policy terms and highlights the protections it offers, etc.
A sharing session was held at the Tsimshatsui book centre last Sunday. Audience got to hear the personal sharing from members of industry think-tank Club 2028. They also came to learn about the important role insurance plays in our daily lives, protections for different life stages, interesting claims cases and insurance tips, etc. Another session will be held on 3 August (http://www.cp1897.com.hk/activity.php?month =08&year=2019&day=03). For enquiries, please contact Ms Maggie Leung at 2861 9332.
Summer Greetings
We are taking a break in August and will be back in September 2019. Wishing you all a relaxing and refreshing summer break!
Membership News
Change Company Name
● Liberty International Underwriters Limited (General Member) to Liberty Specialty Markets Hong Kong Limited
Change of Authorized Representative
● AXA China Region Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (General & Life Member) – Ms Sally Wan
● AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Limited (General Member) – Ms Sally Wan
● MetLife Limited (Life Member) – Mr Ahmad, Muhammad Ala Uddin
● Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Hong Kong Limited (Life Member) – Mr Ahmad, Muhammad Ala Uddin
● SCOR Reinsurance Company (Asia) Limited (Life Member) – Mr Ken Cheung
HKFI Memebership
As at 31 July 2019, the HKFI has 86 General Insurance Members and 51 Life Insurance Members.