Hong Kong: New regulator to streamline rules to boost FinTech
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Aug 2017
Hong Kong InsurTech Regulation
The Insurance Authority (IA), which started operations on 26 June, will actively consider the streamlining of existing regulatory requirements, including the application of the concept of a “sandbox”, to help reduce the lead time for the launching of FinTech products.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau issued this statement in response to a question from a legislator, Mr Chan Kin-por.
Mr Chan had asked how the IA would promote FinTech in the insurance industry.
Mr Lau said: “The insurance regulatory regime in Hong Kong is different from those of other jurisdictions in that insurance products are not required to be approved by the IA before being launched. In this regard, a “product sandbox” may not be the most appropriate to the local industry.
“The IA adopts an approach of explaining to individual insurers or start-ups the relevant regulatory requirements and directly helping them to implement their Fintech initiatives. The IA therefore considers that it would be more effective to apply the concept of “sandbox” on the streamlining of existing regulatory requirements.”
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, which the IA replaces as insurance regulator, had established a Fintech Liaison Team to facilitate the Fintech community’s understanding of the current regulatory regime relevant to Fintech applications and act as a platform to enable exchange of ideas among key stakeholders on Fintech initiatives, added Mr Lau. The IA will continue to run the Fintech Liaison Team. A