May 2011 Issue No. 179 This is my first Monthly Brief message to you, and I look forward to your continued support as we are stepping into another challenging year ahead.
New Registration Portal for Insurance Agents
I am pleased to announce that, as a further step to enhance our services to insurance companies and Registered Persons, we have launched the above e-platform today (https://registration.hkfi.org.hk/). From now on, Registered Persons may choose to complete their renewal of registration online and/ or settle the payment of registration fees for new, renewal and additional applications online via PPS (Circular Ref: RC9/8958). Member Companies are encouraged to make use of this environmental friendly portal for future renewal of registrations.
Proposed Establishment of a Policyholders’ Protection Fund (PPF) On 17 May 2011, we organized a briefing for more than 40 Member Companies to hear first-hand updates from the Commissioner of Insurance Ms Annie Choi on the above subject. Questions and comments were raised by the floor on levy rate, fund management, etc. The Task Force on PPF will meet with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Hong Kong and the Employees’ Compensation Insurers Insolvency Bureau to go over areas of common concerns. Based on your feedback, we will submit our consolidated comments to the Government. Member Companies are also encouraged to make their own submissions before the deadline on 24 June 2011.
Proposed Establishment of a Financial Dispute Resolution Centre (FDRC)
We have reassessed our position taking into account the proposed independence of the Insurance Authority (IA). In the light of further discussion with the IA, it is concluded that a partially carved out proposal may be workable, i.e. the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau (ICCB) will continue to resolve disputes relating to claims. Any complaints outside the ambit of the ICCB should go to the FDRC. This might involve the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the HKFI and the FDRC to spell out the delineation of respective roles and duties. As an alternative, we suggest the setting up of an ombudsman system to save the potential costs arising from arbitration and the envisaged lengthy process.
The Competition Law The Task Force on Competition Law has gauged Members’ comments and reverted back to the Government on our stance on the subject. Generally speaking, we are supportive of the Competition Bill as another step towards developing Hong Kong’s regulatory and business environment to be world class. Nonetheless, we have concerns about the detailed interpretation of the proposed regulations. These include some unclear definitions such as “substantial market power”, whether industry organization and exclusivity agreements between manufacturers and distributors are anticompetitive, the need to clarify and simplify the practical arrangements for consideration for exemption, etc. We also requested a 6 to 12 months transitional period for stakeholders to get themselves familiar with the law and prepared for its implementation.