3 April 2023
Target Insurance (Holdings) Limited (Target Holdings) has withdrawn its applications to the Insurance Appeals Tribunal (IAT) to review certain specified decisions imposed by the Insurance Authority (IA) on its subsidiary Target Insurance Company Limited (Target Insurance). Target Holdings has also acceded to paying the IA’s costs of the IAT proceedings. The withdrawal was endorsed by the IAT this afternoon (3 April 2023).
The relevant specified decisions previously subject to challenge included the IA’s decision to appoint the then Managers 1 to manage Target Insurance’s affairs, business and property on 7 January 2022. In withdrawing its proceedings, the challenge to IA’s decisions is brought to an end. Accordingly, the IA’s specified decisions in relation to Target Insurance (as well as the legal justifications for imposing those decisions) were, are and continue to be effective.
The IA imposed the said specified decisions to protect policy holders whose interests had been put at risk by Target Insurance’s state of insolvency arising from its decision to transfer certain monies out of the company. The various proceedings commenced by the Joint and Several Liquidators (formerly the Managers) of Target Insurance to recover the missing monies are ongoing and the IA continues to support these efforts. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Hong Kong and the Employees Compensation Insurer Insolvency Bureau have already stepped in to pay claims due to policy holders of Target Insurance.
Despite the liquidation of Target Insurance on 26 September 2022, the in-force policies issued by Target Insurance remain effective and policy holders may still lodge their insurance claims to Target Insurance as usual. The expired taxi insurance policies previously issued by Target Insurance have been mostly undertaken by different insurers in the insurance market. The IA shall continue its monitoring of the development to ensure the liquidation of Target Insurance would not result in any material impact to the insurance market or policy holders.
The IA is not in a position to provide comment on any ongoing investigation regarding Target Insurance.
Ends
Note:
1 By an order of the High Court on 26 September 2022, the then Managers Mr Derek Lai and Mr Forrest Kam of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu were appointed as the Joint and Several Liquidators of Target Insurance.