Monthly Brief 2020/11 EN

Nov 2020

Issue No.283

HKFI General Meeting (GM)

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he GM will be held at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 16 December 2020 at the HKFI conference room to consider and approve the subscription fee scales for 2021 (Circular Ref: Mv130/20). Owing to the latest pandemic development and the social distancing measures imposed by the Government, our traditional Christmas Cocktail Party following the GM will be suspended this year.

Policy Address 2020

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n 25 November 2020, the Policy Address 2020 unveiled the government’s blueprint for insurance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The initiatives include supporting Hong Kong’s insurance industry in establishing after-sales service centres in the Mainland cities of GBA under the framework of CEPA and the ‘unilateral recognition’ policy for Hong Kong motor vehicles entering Guangdong through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) control point.

We welcomed these initiatives and issued a media statement on the same day. The former will facilitate HK insurers’ provision of comprehensive after-sales services for Hong Kong policyholders in the GBA while the latter will allow HK private vehicles to travel in the GBA based on ‘unilateral recognition’ and thus accelerate the development of cross-boundary motor insurance.

Going forward, the HKFI will continue actively cooperating with the relevant parties in the GBA under the framework of CEPA to bolster integration and mutual growth from the insurance perspective.

With regard to the unilateral recognition policy for Hong Kong motor vehicles entering Guangdong through the HZMB control point, we arranged a virtual information session on 19 November 2020 for the Insurance Authority (IA) to provide updates on the regulatory aspects with our motor insurers. The information session was well attended with about 100 participants and the sharing was fruitful and constructive.

MIDAS Received the FinTech (Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets) Gold Award at The Hong Kong ICT Awards 2020

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e are thrilled to report that our signature InsurTech project MIDAS has been selected as the Gold Award winner of the FinTech Award, which is organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers at the Hong Kong ICT Awards steered by the HKSAR Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

MIDAS (Motor Insurance DLT-based Authentication System) is Asia’s first industrywide blockchain solution in production for motor insurance which revolutionizes the way we combat fraud and embraces the privacy by design principle. It is also a platform of trust built among different stakeholders – insurers, intermediaries, regulator, government agency, law enforcement body and insuring public. Moving forward, we will look into expanding the MIDAS platform for other purposes.

Training on Best Practice on Standardizing Underwriting Questionnaire for Individual Indemnity Hospital Insurance Plans (SUQ)

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o familiarize our frontline intermediaries with the SUQ, we have designed and produced an e-CPD curriculum on the SUQ. The e-Course will provide a comprehensive overview of the SUQ and the rationale behind each and every question therein. On completion of the e-Course, learners will be in a better position to assist their customers in completing the questions and providing the relevant information for underwriting purposes. For details, please contact our Training Unit at 2861 9399 (Circular Ref: Mv110/20).

Taxi Premiums

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djustment of taxi premium has raised some concerns from the taxi owners and the media. While we understand the concerns from the taxi owners / operators, we are obligated to point out that premium level is driven by a raft of factors including driving records of drivers, accident rate and severity levels, claims history, etc. Other elements such as champerty and fraudulent claims also adversely affect the premium levels.

That being said, the General Insurance Council and the taxi insurers are working closely with IA, the Hong Kong Taxi Council and the relevant government departments to look for feasible technology and solutions to help lower the accident rates in order to improve the situation.

Insurance Fraud Prevention Claims Database (IFPCD)

Risk-based Capital (RBC) Proposed Technical Adjustments

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n collaboration with Actuarial Society of Hong Kong (AS H K ), a c irc ular was sent to all Li fe Insur anc e Members (LIMs) to invite feedback on the proposed solutions on technical adjustments (Ref: Mv119/20). We have received replies from 29 LIMs, representing over 96% of the market share in long term insurance. With the comments we have collected, we will continue our joint efforts to speak for the industry alongside ASHK.

Briefing by Fire Services Department (FSD)

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he above briefing was successfully held on 17 November 2020. Sincere thanks was due to FSD for their kind sharing on three topics - Pictorial Label for Hose Reel Operating Procedure, Progress of Dangerous Goods Ordinance Review and Regulatory Regime of Potable Spirit. Members found the information very useful.

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o help detect and deter fraudulent claims arising f r o m ac c i dent s invo lv ing t a x i, we o r ganize d a briefing for all taxi insurers who have yet to join the IFPCD. We are pleased to see the positive response f rom t he se member s. At t he same t ime, we are encouraged by the 300 plus suspicious alerts generated from the motor database. More work is being done to enhance motor data for a better analytical solution.

The health line of business is now scheduled to be launched in January 2021. While the frequency of claim may go down because of deferral of medical care amidst the pandemic, we are moving ahead and will start the accumulation of claims data for better analytic outcome.

Our Project Team remains at your service during the pandemic. Contact us at claimsDB@hkfi.org.hk to arrange onboarding of your company.

Global Insurance Fraud Summit

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ncidentally, HKFI was invited to be represented at the Global Insurance Fraud Summit 2020. Chief Executive Ms Selina Lau joined more than 100 experts in various antifraud capacities from around the world at the virtual event and introduced the two anti-fraud platforms – MIDAS and IFPCD – launched by the HKFI.

ECIRSB Annual General Meeting (AGM)

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he Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Bureau (ECIRSB) held its AGM on 30 November 2020 at the HKFI conference room. We are pleased to announce that Mr P L Chan and Mr Jonathan Chen have been appointed Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the ECIRSB respectively for the new term 2020/2021.

Taking this opportunity, we would like to record a vote of thanks to the immediate past Chairman Mr Jimmy Poon for his dedication and contribution to the ECIRSB over the past three years.

Her sharing on how HKFI deploys AI and blockchain to prevent and detect fraud was well-received.

Membership News Change of Authorized Representative ● Manulife (International) Limited (Life Member) – Mr Damien Allen Green ● St. James’s Place International (Hong Kong) Limited (Life Member) – Ms Kate Lewis HKFI Membership As at 30 November 2020, the HKFI has 87 General Insurance Members and 54 Life Insurance Members.