Exclusive | Hong Kong’s insurance regulator sets its first task as cross-border enforcement
Hong Kong’s new insurance regulator, set to come into operation on June 26, plans to work closely with their mainland counterparts on oversight and education
The newly set up Hong Kong Insurance Authority plans to work with its mainland counterpart on cross border regulation in a bid to protect the thousands of mainlanders who represent nearly two-fifths of life policies sold in the city annually.
The Insurance Authority will officially start operations on June 26, taking over from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner as regulator for all insurance companies and overseeing about 90,000 insurance sales staff.
“There are many mainlanders buying insurance products in Hong Kong which is positive for Hong Kong as an international insurance centre. However, these cross border transactions also mean there is a need for us to pay attention and to keep in close communication with the mainland insurance regulator to crack down on any malpractices or misselling to protect the interest of all policyholders,” said Moses Cheng Mo-chi, chairman of the Insurance Authority.
Mainlanders bought HK$49 billion (US$6.28 billion) worth of life policies in Hong Kong during the first nine months of 2016, representing almost 40 per cent of all life policies sold in the city, according to the most recent data.
Among the 21 proposed takeovers of Hong Kong insurers worth US$4 billion in the past three years, nine were led by mainland companies, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Cheng said Hong Kong was an open market and he welcomed mainland investment into local insurers.