Insurance Authority to be new watchdog

(April 19, 2017)

The Insurance Authority will replace the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to regulate insurance companies from June 26, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau announced today.
 
The office will be disbanded on that day.
 
The Insurance Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 (Commencement) Notice 2017 will be gazetted on April 21 to enable the authority to take over the statutory functions of the office.
 
The Government will also gazette related subsidiary legislation which will enable the authority to collect authorisation fees from insurance companies and user fees on specific services.
 
The bureau said the existing self-regulatory system for insurance intermediaries will continue during the intervening period so the authority will have enough time to prepare the tools for regulating insurance intermediaries.
 
The authority is expected to take over the supervision of insurance intermediaries from three self-regulatory organisations within two years of the handover, and be financially independent of the Government in the long run, the bureau added.
 
The Commencement Notice and the related subsidiary legislation will be tabled at the Legislative Council on April 26.