Change of LIC Chairman & Deputy Chairman and By-election
Owingto change of corporate role, Mr Damien Green has resigned from the chairmanship of the Life Insurance Council (LIC). Mr Ellick Tsui and Mr Alger Fung have been duly elected as Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the LIC for the remaining term respectively. While Mr Green will continue to serve as the LIC Councillor, his role at the Governing Committee has been replaced by Mr Clement Lam. We thank Mr Green for his leadership and congratulations to the newly elected office bearers.
Simultaneously, Ms Candy Yuen has tendered her resignation to the LIC. As a result, there is one casual vacancy at the LIC and a by-election is now being conducted. Nomination has been closed and we shall invite Life Insurance Members to cast their vote in early October. Meanwhile, a vote of thanks to Ms Yuen for her contribution to the LIC over the past years.
HKFI Proposal to the Policy Address 2022
On22 August 2022, the HKFI Chairman Ms Winnie Wong expressed the industry’s wish list at a consultation session on the Policy Address 2022. In essence, we appealed to the Administration to consider the industry’s common aspirations as follows:
• Lift travel restrictions and reopen borders
• Strengthen international and local human capital
• Deploy measures to attract international financial capital to HK
• Expedite Greater Bay Areas development
• Facilitate the application of InsurTech
• Provide tax incentives for green products and more retirement/saving products
The above wish list together with other industry recommendations have been submitted to the Administration earlier this month.
Think Tank on Reinventing HK’s International Insurance Hub
InAugust 2022, as part of the Think Tank’s initiatives, the HKFI published a survey to ascertain members’ needs and determine the opportunities and challenges they see for Hong Kong as an international insurance and risk management hub. Substantive responses were received from Member Companies which represent 86% of the market share in 2020. Thank you for their insightful sharing and recommendations.
Based on the findings and the recent researches, the Think Tank will meet shortly to come up with some interim recommendations and chart the way forward for some deep-diving proposals.
Green Insurance
The consultancy study of green insurance is progressing at full steam. Four focus group meetings on climate data and climate reporting were held during the past two months. We gathered insurers of different sizes and business natures to understand their needs and expectations regarding the deliverables. Two of the sessions were specifically dedicated to discussion on two segments property insurance and medical insurance, which are relatively more sensitive to climate change.
The appointed consultant is now studying the feedback garnered and will provide recommendations. We plan to conduct a framework briefing on 3 October 2022 to deliver the interim findings.
HKFRS 17 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023. In order to prepare our Members for the imminent implementation of the new reporting standard, HKFI has organised a series of seminars, webinars, workshops and townhall over the past six years. Our latest endeavour was to arrange a vendor to showcase their solution to interested Members.
At the same time, to assist the senior executives and board members to fully discharge their duties, three C-suite webinars on HKFRS 17 will be arranged for the GIMs and LIMs on 20 & 21 October and 1 November 2022. Representatives from the E&Y Hong Kong are invited to address the topic. Please click HERE for details and enrollment.
HKFI Briefings on General Insurance Topics
Araftof informative sessions have taken place in the past two months to enrich General Insurance Members’ understanding on topical issues with impacts on our industry.
Brief introduction of the revised workflow and forms between insurers and Social Welfare Department on TAVA Scheme
At the Legislative Council (LegCo)’s Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for Transport Sector, we made a raft of recommendations to improve the eco-system relating to taxi operations. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) was one of the stakeholders we have been working with to achieve such goal.
Thanks to the steering of the joint Subcommittee Chair the Hon Frankie Yick, we have discussed the refinement of the existing correspondence templates with insurance companies for the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme. A briefing was held on 7 September 2022 to advise Members on the revised workflow and forms.
Webinar on After the Event Insurance
On 25 March 2022, the Hong Kong SAR Government gazetted an amendment bill regarding arbitration fees, which enables lawyers to charge clients under the "no-win, no-fee" arrangement, "no-win, lowfee" arrangement, or take a share of compensation. However, such arrangements may still leave the claimants liable for the Defendant’s legal costs, or even part of their own legal costs. In this light, claimants could take out an After the Event (ATE) insurance to protect themselves from legal fees. To enable our Members have a better understanding the subject, we have invited experts to share with us their knowledge.
Briefing of "Physiotherapy might be different from what you think”
Mr Derek Yeung, Executive Committee of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine Specialty Group, Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association has shared his insightful views on physiotherapy, the latest advancements and its misuses. Members found the information very useful.
Briefing on Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work
A 3-year Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work had been launched. This pilot programme will first target those injured employees of construction industry. Representatives from the Labour Department and CUHK Medical Centre were invited to conduct a briefing for employees’ compensation insurers on 7 September 2022.
MIDAS
TheTransport Department plans to use MIDAS to further streamline the arrangement of verification of insurance records in 2023 as part of the Hong Kong Smart City Initiative. Upon the approval of the necessary legislative amendment later this year, MIDAS will become part of the vehicle licensing process, which will accelerate the adoption of this private-public partnership initiative among the broader public. It is also a pivotal step towards a more eco-friendly and efficient future. In this connection, a briefing on MIDAS had been organized on 24 August 2022 to update Members on the latest progress and facilitate their adoption of the platform.
Keynote Address at DIA
Invited by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, HKFI Chairman Ms Winnie Wong represented HKFI and delivered a keynote address at the Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA) in Munich on 29 September 2022.
In addition to giving an overview of the Hong Kong insurance market and HKFI’s InsurTech initiatives, Ms Wong also presented the vibrant Hong Kong InsurTech scene with specific emphasis on digital transformation and commercialization, as well as the ample opportunities for startups. Through participating in the event, we hope to connect Hong Kong with insurance executives and decision makers at this international event and help support the InsurTech development in Hong Kong.
EAIC is Returning to Hong Kong
We have the greatest pleasure to announce that Hong Kong will be the hosting city for the East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) 2024. General Insurance Council (GIC) Chairman Ms Sally Wan and HKFI Chief Executive Ms Selina Lau have also been appointed to the EAIC as Vice President and Assistant Secretary & Treasurer respectively.
We hosted the 2008 conference with resounding success and are committed to take the 2024 event to the next level. We are committed to bring delegates from close and afar to join us in Hong Kong. More details will be made available in the months to come. Stay tuned!
Membership News
Change of Authorized Representative
General Insurance Members: Lloyd's – Ms. Eve Yeung
Well Link General Insurance Company Limited – Mr. Lee Mun Nang
Life Insurance Members: China Pacific Life Insurance (H.K.) Company Limited – Mr. Simon Lam
FWD Life Assurance Company (Hong Kong) Limited – Mr. Jeff Lau
ZA Life Limited – Mr. Xu Wei
HKFI Membership
As at 30 Sep 2022, the HKFI has 84 General Insurance Members and 54 Life Insurance Members.
