May 2021
Issue No.289
Greetings from HKFI Chairman
I
t is my great honour to represent the Hong Kong insurance industry as HKFI Chairman in this new term. The past 18 months have brought unprecedented and unparalleled challenges to our industry and to the communities in which we serve. I look forward to working with you all over the next 12 months, and the HKFI will endeavour to support our members to the best of its ability, to ensure that the industry can continue on its path to sustainable growth.
Pilot Insurance-linked Securities (ILS) Grant Scheme
T
he Pilot ILS Grant Scheme (Pilot Scheme) was first introduced by the HKSAR Financial Secretary in his 2021-22 Budget. On 3 May, the Insurance Authority (IA) announced the details of the two-year Pilot Scheme which aims to attract and incentivize insurers and sponsors to issue ILS in Hong Kong. We welcome the financial support covering the upfront costs of an eligible ILS issuance. We will continue to work with the IA to facilitate the market development and help attract onshore and offshore issuers and sponsors to issue ILS in Hong Kong.
Edward Moncreiffe HKFI Chairman
Nominations for TF/WG/SC
T
he majority of our technical work is supported by various Task Forces (TF), Working Groups (WG) and Steering Committees (SC) formed under the Governing Committee, General Insurance Council and Life Insurance Council (LIC). To maintain the transparency of our work and encourage more volunteers from the industry in support of the various ongoing and new initiatives of the HKFI, we are inviting nominations from all Members (Circular Ref: Mv043/21). We hope to have your continued support to our work!
Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for Transport Sector
W
e joined the meeting on 4 May and had another round of productive discussion with the various Government bureaus and departments on measures to eradicate insurance frauds and champerty relating to the transport sector.
In line with the previous meeting, we took stock of the current situation and suggested a raft of practical measures to address the pain points. Thanks to the support from the Subcommittee Chairman the Hon Frankie Yick and our Legco member the Hon K P Chan, our proposals were taken positively. Actions are being taken to work even more closely with the Hong Kong Police Force and other Government agencies. The next meeting will be held on 4 June to discuss the possible measures to reduce traffic accidents involving taxis and public light buses. We will continue advocating for more constructive changes that will create a better ecosystem.
Collaboration with ICAC
H
KFI and ICAC have shared a cordial working relationship and collaborated in several fronts, such as jointly launched the first e-CPD course for insurance industry on ethics management last year (https://bit.ly/3oIjhHd).
The Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies (CP Guide) is the latest initiative, which we helped ICAC collecting views from our member companies on the contents of the Guide and promoting it after its release as part of the ICAC's ethics promotion campaign for the insurance industry. To help insurance companies better understand the CP Guide, a webinar has been scheduled for 9 June. Compliance officers are welcome to sign up online (Circular Ref: Mv040/21).