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The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) made good progress in enhancing consumer protection and in carrying out institutional reform for the industry in 2011.
Last year also saw a breakthrough in the insurance industry.
The Commissioner of Insurance, Ms Annie Choi, made these remarks on the release of the OCI Annual Report 2011 today (July 20).
Ms Choi said that the OCI had been moving forward in institutional reforms. She said, "The consultation conclusions on the proposed establishment of the Independent Insurance Authority and its detailed proposals were published last summer. We also carried out a public consultation exercise on the proposed Policyholders' Protection Fund. We will engage the industry and stakeholders in refining the proposals."
On the consumer protection front, Ms Choi said that apart from consolidating the consumer protection measures rolled out in previous years, such as the extension of the cooling-off period and the post-sale control measures for Investment-linked Assurance Scheme products, the OCI had also commissioned a Mystery Shopping Programme to assess the level of compliance in the sale of insurance products.
Turning to the performance of insurance business last year, Ms Choi said, "The local insurance industry reported growth in both long-term and general business, even though the global financial arena experienced uncertainty in the past year. Renminbi business, non-resident business and the Accident and Health business were growth engines for the industry.
"2011 saw another breakthrough for our insurance brokers. Supplement VIII to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement further liberalised the Mainland intermediary market by allowing our insurance brokers to set up wholly owned insurance agency companies in Guangdong on a pilot basis."
On international co-operation, Ms Choi said that the OCI maintained close dialogue with international counterparts and concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Assistance and the Exchange of Information with The Central Bank of Ireland. The OCI has also recently signed the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Information Exchange under the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
"In addition, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance was gazetted in 2011 and took effect on April 1, 2012. We will continue to work closely with the industry in combating both money laundering and terrorist financing," Ms Choi added.
Looking forward, Ms Choi believed that the insurance industry will continue to benefit from the tremendous business opportunities in the region, particularly in the Mainland, as well as the measures taken by the industry to strengthen consumer protection.
As at December 31, 2011, there were 163 authorised insurers, 64,702 appointed insurance agents (including their responsible officers and technical representatives) and 9,162 authorised brokers (including their chief executives and technical representatives) operating in Hong Kong.
The OCI Annual Report 2011 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/Friday, July 20, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:30
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