Insurance Authority issues fees for insurance intermediary licensing applications

Insurance Authority issues fees for insurance intermediary licensing applications | Insurance Business Asia

Insurance News

Insurance Authority issues fees for insurance intermediary licensing applications

The fees will be charged following the expiration of the five-year waiver period

Insurance News

By
Abigail Adriatico

The Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) has announced the detailed arrangements for the payment of fees for the processing of insurance intermediary license applications and related notifications starting on Sept. 23.

According to the IA, the fees were formulated based on a cost-recovery basis, which took the input of stakeholders from the agency’s industry consultation into consideration. The payment of the fees will be facilitated by a new payment gateway function that was developed in the e-portal of the IA, Insurance Intermediaries Connect (IIC).

On Sept. 23, 2019, the IA took regulatory responsibility for the licensing and supervising of its insurance intermediaries. However, the licensing and related fees that can be paid through insurance intermediaries were waived for a period of five years.

With the waiver period coming to an end, the charging of the insurance intermediary fees to the IA will support the agency’s ability to perform its public functions of serving as the regulator of the insurance industry.

Peter Gregoire, IA general counsel and Conduct Supervision Division head, said the fees will be helpful to the regulator’s operations.

“The fee levels cover the IA’s costs of regulating the insurance market, but do not go beyond this. This additional income stream will equip the IA to continue effectively regulating the conduct of insurers and intermediaries through focused on-site inspection and offsite supervision,” said Gregoire.

He added that the fees will also support the regulator’s capacity to administer and continue the improvements of its technology-based licensing process. The IA will also “embark on new public education campaigns that promote the importance of insurance and empower consumers to make fully informed insurance-buying decisions, offer training to insurance practitioners, and take proportionate enforcement actions that reinforce the integrity of the insurance market.”

With the insurance industry’s transition to a fee-charging era, the IA will be working closely with the sector in order to make the transition work without any mishaps.