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The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) is glad to see good progress in consumer empowerment and institutional reform for the insurance regulatory framework, the Commissioner of Insurance, Ms Annie Choi, said on the release of the OCI Annual Report 2010 today (September 15).
Ms Choi said that the local insurance industry performed well in 2010 despite the general volatility of the financial market. Consumer confidence rebounded in the insurance industry, as witnessed by growth in both the general and long-term insurance business. There was significant recovery of investment-linked business.
She noted that the expansion of the Capital Investment Entrants Scheme (CIES) to include Investment-linked Assurance Scheme (ILAS) products and the launch of Renminbi insurance products had offered further growth potential for the insurance industry.
"On consumer empowerment, industry initiatives on consumer protection measures include the extension of the cooling-off period, ILAS suitability assessment enhancement and post-sale control processes, and the introduction of the 'Questions you need to ask before taking out an ILAS product' pamphlet. The expanded syllabus of the ILAS examination paper can also further enhance practitioners' professionalism," she said.
"On institutional reform, we will take into consideration the invaluable comments received during the consultation last year in the refinement of the proposed Independent Insurance Authority. With the closing of the consultation on the Policyholders' Protection Fund this summer, we will also review the invaluable comments from the industry to work out detailed proposals," Ms Choi said.
On the international regulatory front, Ms Choi said Hong Kong would continue to work with local and overseas financial regulators.
"Cross-border co-operation of regulators is very important to ensure effective regulation of international business groups. We will continue to maintain close dialogue with our regulatory counterparts," she assured.
Looking forward, Ms Choi said she believed that Hong Kong would continue to benefit from the tremendous business opportunities in the region, particularly in the Mainland.
As at December 31, 2010, there were 168 authorised insurers, 61,848 appointed insurance agents (including their responsible officers and technical representatives) and 8,304 authorised brokers (including their chief executives and technical representatives) operating in Hong Kong.
The OCI Annual Report 2010 provides summary analysis of insurance statistics and an overview of key activities undertaken by the OCI. Members of the public can download the annual report from the OCI website, www.oci.gov.hk.
Ends/Thursday, September 15, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:24
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