New General Member
Awarm welcome to Shanghai Electric Insurance Limited for joining HKFI as a General Insurance Member (GIM) and becoming the first captive insurer in our organisation.
Virtual Onboarding (VO) for Life Insurance Distribution
On 4 September, the HKFI has received a good-togo signal from the Insurance Authority (IA) on the submitted technical assessment of two vendors. Insurers may choose to adopt the pre-vetted platform by the two vendors in their InsurTech Sandbox Application to save time and effort on the technical and compliance clearance. The Secretariat has arranged two demo sessions in early September for the vendors to provide an in-depth demonstration on their video-conferencing capabilities as well as their extended abilities if customization is involved.
Meanwhile, we are working on common customizations which would be useful for Members to consider and adopt in order to demonstrate compliance depending on the parameters of Member’s application. For queries, please contact Ms Chiu at 2861 9393.
Risk-Based Capital Framework for Hong Kong
Green Insurance & ESG
The Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group was established in May to, inter alia, accelerate the growth of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong. In this connection, the HKFI has formed a Task Force on Green Insurance led by HKFI Chairman Mr Eric Hui to work with the IA. The first meeting was convened and identified four key areas of focus. Respective subgroups have been set up under this new Task Force to spearhead various action items on the subject. We will keep you abreast of the development!
With implementation of GL21: Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) published by the IA and the requirement to file the first Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) for the year end 2020 position, all industry practitioners are consciously making preparation but may come across some implementation issues. In this connection, the LIC plans to seek IA’s clarification and consideration of our recommended solutions in several technical areas (Circular Ref: Mv101/20).
On the general insurance front, the GIC would continue following up with the IA on its upcoming soft consultation covering topics such as monoline underwriters, catastrophe risks, credit risk, reinsurance and branches etc. before finalizing the RBC Framework. The HKFI will continue engaging the IA on all of the above initiatives.
To step up our efforts in equipping the relevant practitioners with the requisite knowledge of preparing for ORSA reports, HKFI organized a 2-hour webinar on 29 September to raise the awareness of the importance of risk management culture at senior executive level and as the inaugural event of the high-level training we are going to launch on ERM and ORSA (Circular Ref: Mv104/20).
We are thankful to the Hon K P Chan and IA CEO Mr Clement Cheung for joining the event and sharing insights on the subject. And we are pleased to have RIMS, the risk management society® bringing in new insights from the international perspectives and introducing the training programme we are going to jointly launch next month. Stay tuned for enrolment details!
Issue No.281 Sep 2020
CPD Seminar on Roles and Responsibilities of Key Persons in Intermediary Management Function
We will host the above c-suite seminar on 8 October to provide Chief Agency Officers/Compliance Officers with knowledge and information relevant to the Intermediary Management Function of an Authorized Insurer regulated by the IA.
We are pleased to have IA’s Head of Market Conduct (Acting) Mr Peter Gregoire addressing this inaugural session. The seminar focuses on raising awareness of the importance of the Intermediary Management Function, assists the attendees to gain an overall understanding of certain compliance issues in a new regulatory environment under the IA and helps the attendees understand potential personal liabilities of key persons in Intermediary Management Function. (Circular Ref: Mv098/20).
HKFI Annual Report 2019/2020
We are always ready to make changes! To go green and fully embrace the e-trend in the midst of the pandemic, we have digitalized the entire HKFI’s Annual Report without any printed version this year.
You can read the contents online simply by scanning the QR code. The Annual Report is also available at our website (https://www. hkfi.org.hk/pdf/annualreport201920.pdf).
Corporate Social Responsibility
HKFRS 17 Services Consortium
Following the HKFRS 17 Implementation Townhall on 17 July, HKFI has ascertained members’ interest and formed the HKFRS 17 Services Consortium. We are now actively exploring with professional firms on potential bulk purchase options. When selecting the suitable vendor, we will look at criteria including (i) proposed solution, (ii) service scope, (iii) prerequisite for forming a consortium; and (iv) estimated price. Through the synergy and concerted efforts of participating members, we hope to achieve significant saving for members without compromising the quality of work.
Webinars on topical issues
In August and September, we conducted a number of webinars to facilitate the understanding of our members on topical issues with impacts on our industry. They included “US Sanctions and Its Impact on HK Insurance Market”, “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS 2.0)”, and the “Coexisting with COVID-19 – what’s next for marine, medical, employees’ compensation insurers in HK?” series. Over 1,100 participants joined these virtual events.
Corporate Social Responsibilities form an integral part of our corporate culture. Since 2005, HKFI has been awarded the status of Caring Organization by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. In 2019, we have been accredited the “15 Years Plus Caring Company Logo” which endorsed our long-term commitment to contributing to a wide range of community projects and volunteerism over the past years.
We are glad to partner with the Hong Kong Playground Association recently to serve the children from low-income families within the district, with the aim of supporting and caring for these families and spreading positive energy under the COVID-19 pandemic. A series of online activities were designed and a set of gifts with mooncake and lantern would be presented to them to share the festive joy.
Membership News
Change Company Name
● Standard Life (Asia) Limited (Life Member) changed to Heng An Standard Life (Asia) Limited
● MetLife Limited (Life Member) changed to FWD Life (Hong Kong) Limited
● Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Hong Kong Limited (Life Member) changed to FWD Life Assurance Company (Hong Kong) Limited
Change of Authorized Representative
● Berkley Insurance Company (General Member) – Mr Roden Tong
● BC Reinsurance Limited (General Member) – Mr B K Leung
HKFI Membership
As at 30 September 2020, the HKFI has 87 General Insurance Members and 54 Life Insurance Members.
The Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2020
Thanks to the steadfast supports from the industry albeit the outbreak of COVID-19, this event has continued receiving overwhelming response from member companies. This year, about a hundred quality entries were received from the industry competing for 16 awards. With the wise counsel of our esteemed judges, the top three finalists for each category were shortlisted.
To minimize the risk of infection, the presentation sessions had been carried out online for the finalists to meet with the panel of judges on 16 and 17 September. In the light of the fluid and unpredictable nature of COVID-19, we also suspend the Gala Dinner of the Awards this year. The Prize Presentation Ceremony will be held on 29 October at the Grand Hyatt and will go virtual for other industry members to celebrate online the remarkable achievements of our industry. Stay tuned!
Top Three Finalists 2020
Outstanding Claims Management Award
Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Limited
Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited
QBE Hong Kong
Outstanding Training & Development Award
AIA International Limited
FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited
Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Outstanding Initiative on Community Health Crisis Award
- General Insurance
Bupa (Asia) Limited
China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited
Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited
Outstanding Integrated Marketing Strategies Award
AIA International Limited
Blue
Manulife (International) Limited
Excellence in Digital Transformation Award
AIA International Limited
AXA Hong Kong and Macau
Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited
Most Innovative Product/Service Award
- General Insurance
Bupa Hong Kong Workplace Health Programme 2.0
- Bupa (Asia) Limited
iTravel Protect
- AIA International Limited
SmartHome Plus
- AXA Hong Kong and Macau
Most Innovative Product/Service Award
- Life Insurance (Wealth)
Cash-Up
- FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited
Robotic Investment Choice Service
- AIA International Limited
WeSave S1 Insurance Plan
- Blue
Outstanding Community Intermediary of the Year
Chik Wing Keung
- FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited
Lisa Tsui
- AIA International Limited
Susanna Chan
- Sun Life Hong Kong
Outstanding Customer Services Award
AIA International Limited
BOC Group Life Assurance Company Limited
Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong)
Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Blue
Bupa (Asia) Limited
HSBC Life
Outstanding Initiative on Community Health Crisis Award
- Life Insurance
AIA International Limited
AXA Hong Kong and Macau
HSBC Life
Outstanding Digital Marketing Campaigns Award
AIA International Limited
Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited
Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Outstanding MPF/Employees' Benefit Product/Service Award
AIA International Limited
AXA Hong Kong and Macau
Manulife (International) Limited
Most Innovative Product/Service Award
- Life Insurance (Health)
AXA WiseGuard Pro Medical Insurance Plan
- AXA Hong Kong and Macau
Bowtie Group Insurance Plan
- Bowtie Life Insurance Company Limited
Crisis OneCover
- FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited
Outstanding Agent of the Year
Apollo Lau
- FTLife Insurance Company Limited
Kathy Siu
- Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Wave Chow
- AIA International Limited
Outstanding Young Professional of the Year - Intermediary Cheung Sze Yiu
- Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Jessie Chiu
- FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited
Sheria Li
- AIA International Limited
