December 2011 Issue No. 185
2011 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) & Christmas Cocktail Party
As approved at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 15 December 2011, membership subscription fees next year will remain unchanged. My sincere thanks to all of you for joining us at this year’s Christmas cocktail party.
Supplement VIII to CEPA The signing of the above supplement last week allows Hong Kong insurance brokerage companies to set up wholly-owned insurance agency companies in Guangdong Province (including Shenzhen) on a pilot basis. We welcome such development as it provides greater opportunities for local insurance professionals to establish business in the Mainland. It also helps facilitate the inter-flow of expertise between these two markets to the benefit of consumers. Through the Hong Kong SAR Government, we will continue discussion with the relevant authorities in the Mainland to explore the possibilities of further liberalization measures for locally-based insurers under CEPA. Our proposals include lowering the threshold for Hong Kong insurers to conduct business in the Mainland and allowing Hong Kong insurers to provide post sales customer service in designated cities in the Guangdong Province on a pilot basis.
Legislative Council’s Motion Debate
On 15 December, the Legislative Council passed a motion on “Alleviating the difficulties on SME in taking out insurance”. In response, we issued a media release jointly with the Employees’ Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme (ECIRS) Bureau on the same day reiterating that we have in place the ECIRS to offer prompt assistance to such employers. In this connection, we have met with Legislative Councillors and industry bodies of high risk groups to help improve the situation. So far the ECIRS has issued 30 policies mostly for scaffolding works. To help employers with cash flow problems, the Scheme is prepared to issue 6-month insurance policies instead of annual coverage. As prudent insurers, we need to collect equitable and sufficient premiums. The premiums, therefore, should reflect the risk level. The recent market adjustment is the result of sustained loss experienced by insurers, particularly in the fields of scaffoldings, logistic, cleaning and recycling. And this is due to a combination of several factors, namely bad claims experience, under-declaration of wage roll and champerty and fraudulent claims.