Hong Kong: Insurance Authority issues new pecuniary penalty guideline
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Aug 2019
The Insurance Authority (IA) has released a revised guideline on exercising power to impose pecuniary penalty on insurance intermediaries, after taking into account responses received in a consultation exercise.
The IA takes over the regulation of insurance intermediaries in the second half of 2019, and new sections of the Insurance Ordinance will take effect. The new provisions allow the IA to take a number of disciplinary actions against insurance intermediaries in the event that they are guilty of misconduct or are not fit and proper.
One type of disciplinary action that the IA may take is ordering a person to pay a pecuniary penalty of HK$10m ($1.28m) or three times the amount of the profit gained or loss avoided by the person.
The feedback was received mainly from industry associations, industry concern groups, insurers, professional bodies and public bodies.
The revised guideline will take effect upon the commencement date which will be gazetted. A