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The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) today (August 14) published its Annual Report 2014, which highlights the developments in respect of various institutional and consumer protection reforms.
In her remarks in the Annual Report, the Commissioner of Insurance, Ms Annie Choi, said that significant progress has been made in reforming the regulatory regime.
"With the concerted efforts of all stakeholders over the years, the Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 2014 was enacted in July 2015. This is a major milestone in the institutional reform to establish an independent Insurance Authority and a statutory licensing regime for insurance intermediaries," Ms Choi said.
Regarding other regulatory reforms, Ms Choi added, "We started our development of a risk-based capital regime for the insurance industry with a consultation in 2014. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders on developing the detailed rules of the regime."
"Meanwhile, we are also preparing the legislation for the proposed Policyholders' Protection Fund, as well as working with other regulators to establish an effective resolution regime for systemically important financial institutions."
Following the principle of Fair Treatment of Customers promulgated by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the OCI issued the Guidance Note on Underwriting Class C Business and the Guidance Note on Underwriting Long Term Insurance Business (other than Class C Business) in July 2014 and July 2015 respectively. Both adopt a holistic cradle-to-grave approach, setting out comprehensive requirements for insurers underwriting those businesses from product design to post-sale controls.
"All these reforms are conducive to maintaining market stability and building consumer confidence," Ms Choi said.
On cross-sectoral and cross-boundary co-operation, Ms Choi said that OCI will continue to work closely with its international and local counterparts.
Ms Choi said she believes that all the above measures will facilitate healthy and sustainable development of the insurance industry in the long term and enhance Hong Kong's status as an insurance hub.
As at December 31, 2014, there were 158 authorised insurers, 76,027 appointed insurance agents (including their responsible officers and technical representatives) and 10,393 authorised insurance brokers (including their chief executives and technical representatives) operating in Hong Kong.
The OCI Annual Report 2014 provides a summary analysis of insurance statistics and an overview of key activities undertaken by the OCI. The annual report can be downloaded from the OCI website at www.oci.gov.hk.
Ends/Friday, August 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:01
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