November 2012 Issue No. 195
2012 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) & Christmas Cocktail Party The EGM will be held at 5:30 pm on Friday, 14 December 2012 in our conference room (please refer to Circular Ref: Mv133/12 for details). This will be followed by the our traditional Christmas Cocktail Party. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Independence of the Insurance Authority (IA) Following the release of the legislative proposals for the establishment of the Independent IA last month, we have invited the Commissioner of Insurance and officials from the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) to conduct a briefing for our Members on 14 November 2012. Members are encouraged to review the various legislative proposals and forward your views to the secretariat for consolidation (Circular Ref: Mv118/12). On the other hand, the HKFI and Hong Kong Insurance Law Association are jointly organizing a high level interactive Focus Group Discussion on 17 December 2012 inviting participants from direct insurers, reinsurers, insurance intermediaries and the legal profession. Input from this will form an important part of our submission to the Administration with a view to ensuring the future regulatory framework will be practical, protect consumers and help grow our industry.
Mystery Shopping Programme (MSP) The IA has conducted the MSP on the sale process of three classes of insurance, namely medical, travel and investment-linked assurance scheme (ILAS). On medical insurance, the findings are quite positive. As for travel insurance and ILAS, the findings have identified areas for improvement. We are thankful to the IA for this. As a next step forward, we will revisit our sale process thoroughly and implement additional and more robust measures of improvement as soon as possible.
Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (MPF)
On 26 November 2012, the MPF Authority (MPFA) released the Consultancy Study on MPF Trustees’ Administration Costs. The Joint Industry Group (JIG) established by the HKFI, Hong Kong Investment Fund Association and Hong Kong Trustees Association has issued a media release advocating a flexible system as part of a framework where members can make informed choices from a wide range of investment funds. At the same time, the JIG believes it is important to continue to improve MPF administration and reduce overall costs with a view to passing on savings to members. For details, please visit http://www.hkfi.org.hk/en_media_20121126.html.
Visitors
Mr Julian Adams, Director of Insurance of the UK's Financial Services Authority, met the HKFI Governing Committee on 13 November 2012 and exchanged views on a range of regulatory issues and the latest development trend of different markets. On 23 November 2012, we received a group of officials from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. As part of their training programme on Insurance Risk Management and Company Operation, we presented an overview of the role and function of the HKFI, our self-regulatory regime in terms of agents supervision and the claims disputes resolution mechanism of the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau. We are pleased to say that the response was very positive.