22 November 2017
The Insurance Authority (IA) today (22 November 2017) published its Annual Report 2016-17, summarising its major initiatives from April 2016 to March 2017.
“The year 2017 saw us move one step closer to our goal of building a more holistic and modern regulatory regime for the insurance industry in Hong Kong,” said Dr Moses Cheng, Chairman of the IA. “On 26 June 2017, the IA replaced the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), a Government department, to regulate insurance companies. The IA will take over from the three Self-Regulatory Organisations 1 to directly regulate insurance intermediaries and implement a statutory licensing regime in mid-2019.”
Dr Cheng said, “It is vital that we share common regulatory objectives with the industry to make the new regime work at its best. We will continue to explain our mission and vision to the industry and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime.”
The report gives an overview of the IA’s work during the year: the introduction of measures to enhance the corporate governance of insurance companies and the preparation for setting up standards to promote higher levels of professionalism among industry practitioners, to name but a few. To help the IA better understand the driving forces of the global insurance market, the IA’s Future Task Force, consisting of industry experts and academics, was set up to make recommendations embracing Insurtech and promoting the sustainable development of the insurance industry.
The report also provides details on the upcoming regulatory initiatives to maintain market stability and enhance consumer protection. One of them is the development of a Risk-based Capital Regime to align insurers’ capital requirements with the risks they bear. Another is the introduction of a Policy Holders’ Protection Scheme to provide a safety net for policy holders in the event of insurer insolvency.
An online version of the Annual Report is available on the IA website ( www.ia.org.hk ).
Ends
Note:
1 The three Self-Regulatory Organisations are the Insurance Agents Registration Board established under the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers and the Professional Insurance Brokers Association.