Some 110,000 intermediaries in Hong Kong are now regulated by the Insurance Authority (HKIA), which took over the responsibility on 23 September.
Insurance intermediaries in the special administrative were previously regulated by three self-regulatory organisations; the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers and the Professional Insurance Brokers Association.
HKIA chairman Moses Cheng commented: “I must express my deep gratitude to all our partners in the industry for their advice, support and understanding, which led to the successful launch of this new regulatory regime.
“We firmly believe that that an effective, independent and transparent regime is conducive to protection of policyholders and the healthy development of the insurance market.”
Industry changes
The HKIA consulted on several changes ahead of the handover, including basic academic qualification, annual CPD training, codes of conduct and minimum capital and net asset requirements for broker companies.
CPD hours could rise to 15 from the current level of 10.
This compares with 30 hours in Singapore and 35 in the UK.
