July 2019
Issue No.269
Resignation of HKFI Chief Executive
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KFI Chief Executive Mr Peter Tam has resigned to pursue other opportunities and is now on a leave of absence until 8 October 2019. The Governing Committee has established an Executive Committee (ExCom) to identify a suitable candidate to lead the HKFI and oversee operations in the interim. Business at the HKFI remains as usual and the professional team of management and staff at the HKFI Secretariat continue to provide the usual high quality service for our Members and the public.
We sincerely thank Mr Tam for his valuable contribution and able leadership over the last 15 years and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Transitional Arrangement
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e would like to remind you that the cut-off date for the Insurance Agents Registration Board (IARB) to receive applications for registration is less than one month away. For those who wish to complete registration or renewal before the commencement of the Insurance Authority's (IA) direct licensing regime (DLR), please make sure your applications are received by the IARB on or before 26 August 2019 (Cricular Ref: A2-002/02-J78605) There are complaint cases under different stages of processing and cannot be closed by the IARB on or before 23 September 2019. They will be transferred to the IA for handling by reference to the applicable rules of the HKFI and IARB. We are now working closely with the IA to ensure all parties concerned are duly notified and their rights will be not affected because of the change of the regulatory regime.
Soft Consultations on Guidelines for Life Insurance
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e would like to thank all Life Insurance Members (LIMs) for their tireless efforts in reviewing the six draft guidelines (GLs) to be issued by the IA under the DLR. As we fast approach the transition of 23 September 2019, the Secretariat and Life Insurance Council (LIC) continue to advocate to bring our LIMs’ comments and concerns to the IA and to find common ground. In this connection, we are glad to learn that IA will issue frequently asked questions (FAQ) for all six GLs to provide more clarity and facilitate industry’s compliance. We will also arrange townhalls for IA to explain the policy intent and applications of these GLs.
Hong Kong Risk-Based Capital Framework (RBC)
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e arranged a face-to-face session with the Hon K P Chan earlier this month to voice out industry’s outstanding concerns on RBC before the 3rd Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) commences in early August. Noting that more work need to be done for General Insurance Members (GIMs), the GIC Task Force led by Ms Kelly Mok has thus produced a gap analysis and come up with concrete recommendations / counter proposals (Circular Ref: Mv083/19). We will engage the IA for another round of meeting and arrange townhall(s) to help GIMs progress from QIS 2 to QIS 3. At the same time, together with the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong, the LIC initiated a meeting with the IA to clarify issues around Pilot Test 2.5 with the support of qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Profits Tax Concessions for the Insurance Sector
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e welcomed the government’s announcement in the Budget 2019-2020 that tax reliefs would be provided to promote the development of marine and specialty insurance businesses.
To get more clarity on the scope of tax concessions, the Marine Insurance Association initiated two meetings with Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and IA. We are pleased to note that a more liberal approach is taken to help develop the marine and specialty insurance markets. We will work closely with the FSTB and IA on the drafting of the relevant legislature and hope to see more measures in place to help boost the Hong Kong insurance market.