Monthly Brief 2021/02 EN

Feb 2021

Issue No.286

The 2021-2022 Budget

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e welcome the Government’s move to build Hong Kong into an insurance and international risk management hub. The measures suggested in the Financial Secretary’s Budget Speech would promote the development of our industry. In particular, the introduction of the Pilot Insurance-linked Securities Grant Scheme will accelerate the expansion of insurance-linked securities (ILS) business.

In this connection, HKFI will be represented at the Insurance Authority’s (IA) Working Group on ILS and contribute industry’s expertise to help finalize the implementation and operational details for the issuance of ILS.

HKFI-IA Joint InsurTech Adoption Survey

T Green Insurance

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e c onducted a sur vey among all member s to under st and t he green initiatives undertaken by Member Companies and their views on green insurance. Thanks to the participation of Members, the survey findings provide lots of insights and food for thoughts. We have also been able to expand the Task Force on Green Insurance by enlisting the support of seasoned practitioners. The various subgroups under the Task Force will have in-depth deliberations on the findings and spearhead different initiatives on green and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

S i m u l t a n e o u s l y, t o f a c i l i t a t e M e m b e r s’ understanding on ESG and green finance development, so as to identify ways to create opp or tunities f rom day- to - day busines s operations, we organized a webinar on 1 March which is supported by Friends of the Earth (HK) (FoE). Speakers from FoE shared with us their insights on ESG and green finance (Circular Ref: Mv010/21). More Green and ESG related events for Members are in the pipeline.

he joint survey received wide and enthusiastic support from both General and Life Insurance Members. The results showed that our Members would like to see more extensive InsurTech applications and development in the areas of marketing & sales distribution, customer services and claims handling.

The Task Forces on InsurTech under Life Insurance Council (LIC) & General Insurance Council met on 25 February and identified some common goals and priorities and agreed upon the strategies in this space. We shall share our thoughts with the IA and communicate the survey findings with Members.

PoC Scheme and GBA Youth Employment Scheme

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ncidentally, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has announced the Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme (PoC Scheme) to encourage traditional financial institutions to partner with Fintech companies to conduct PoC projects on innovative financial services products. To facilitate stakeholders’ understanding of the PoC Scheme, the scheme administrator Cyberport conducted online briefing sessions for the financial services industry on 26 February. Members are encouraged to make good use of this Scheme for Fintech development.

To help nurture young talents, the Government has also launched a Greater Bay Area (GBA) Youth Employment Scheme. Under the Scheme, enterprises with operations in Hong Kong and other mainland cities in GBA will hire eligible graduates locally under Hong Kong laws, and station the graduates in GBA mainland cities to work and receive on-the-job training. Interested companies can visit the dedicated website for more information.

Post-Vaccination Coverage

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s the Government implements the territory-wide COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, we feel the need to provide more clarity on insurance coverage regarding treatments due to adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccinations. We have thus updated the thematic website 'Insurance Dashboard on COVID-19'. The public may visit https://www.hkfi.org.hk/covid19/ post-vaccination.html for details of the coverage offered by Individual / Group Indemnity Hospital Insurance Products and VHIS Certified Products.

Establishment of Task Force on Early Adoption of Risk-based Capital (RBC) Framework

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spin- of f Task Force on Early Adoption of the RBC Framework under the LIC was established to facilitate coordinated communications with the IA. The Task Force convened its first meeting on 5 February and discussed the terms of reference, the expected codification across the Three Pillars, the benefits of early adoption for policyholders and the IA, and the preliminary list of sundry items to be resolved.

Working on the common goal, we will engage the Policy & Development and Long Term Business Divisions of IA to ascertain the next step forward.

MORE 2.0 and Visit to CUHK Medical Centre

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rganized by the Accident Insurance Association, a briefing on Multidisciplinary Orthopaedics Rehabilitation Empowerment (MORE) Programme 2.0 was conducted at the CUHK Medical Centre on 24 February.

CEO of CUHK Medical Centre Dr Fung Hong gave an overview of the new hospital while Clinical Professional Consultant of CUHK's Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology Dr Law Sheung Wai briefed the participants on the development and the way forward of MORE 2.0.

The talks and the site visit helped reinforce Employees’ Compensation insurers understanding on the evolution of this meaningful and efficient programme.

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he Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) is a vital element of the effective implementation of a sound enterprise risk management framework, and has the key benefit of leading to better decision making over time. The first ORSA report covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020 is due by June 2021.

To support the CEOs and Senior Management of our Member Companies in making the last-minute improvements in the quality of ORSA reports and to raise awareness of the value of ORSA in addition to compliance with GL 21 requirements, HKFI will organize a high-level half-day session in the coming months.

HKFI CNY Lucky Bag

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o tide over the difficulties with our front line intermediaries, we launched the above special package. Participants signed up for the CNY Lucky Bag would be able to take the 1.5 IA-CPD hours e-course on ‘Ethics or Regulations’ free of charge. Thanks to your support, we received an overwhelming response for this campaign. More special offer will be available. Stay tuned!

Webinars on Topical Issues

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n February, the Technical Associations conducted various webinars to facilitate Members’ understanding on different topical issues with impacts on our industry. They included ‘Challenges and Opportunities of Cargo and Freight Market in 2021 and Beyond’, ‘Promotion of Wider Use of Standalone Fire Detectors in Hong Kong’ and ‘Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Diagnosis and Treatment’. All these were wellreceived by Members with a total of over 370 participants.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

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SR is an integral part of our corporate culture. Since 2005, HKFI has been awarded the status of Caring Organization by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. This year, we have again been accredited the ‘15 Years Plus Caring Company Logo’ which endorsed our long-term commitment to contributing to a wide range of community projects and volunteerism over the past years. A special thanks to the Hong Kong Playground Association for its nomination. We will keep up with our efforts on CSR in the years to come.

Membership News Change of Authorized Representative ● Hong Leong Insurance (Asia) Ltd. (General Member) – Mr Harry Wong ● St. James’s Place International (Hong Kong) Limited (Life Member) – Ms Angelina Lai HKFI Membership As at 28 Febuary 2021, the HKFI has 87 General Insurance Members and 52 Life Insurance Members.