In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority (IA) has extended the temporary facilitative measures for non-face-to-face distribution of certain protective insurance products until December 31.
According to a statement by the IA, the products covered by the temporary facilitative measures are qualifying deferred annuity policy (QDAP), Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) products, and term life policies, as well as refundable policies without a substantial savings component or renewable policies without cash value that provide insurance protection.
Prior to the pandemic’s outbreak, these products could only be distributed in a face-to-face manner.
With the temporary measures, insurers and intermediaries can distribute these products via other means, such as digital, telemarketing, postal or video conferencing, but are required to make upfront disclosure at the point-of-sale and provide an extended cooling-off period of at least 30 calendar days for the protection of policy holders.
The IA is also encouraging insurers to apply under the Insurtech Sandbox to conduct trials enabling virtual onboarding of customers via video conferencing tools. This covers a wider array of insurance products beyond those included in the temporary facilitative measures.
