Driving a healthy market through forward-looking regulation and firm enforcement

On 12 July 2026, Alan Wu, Acting Head of Conduct Supervision of the Insurance Authority (IA), stated that to protect policyholders’ interests and maintain orderly insurance markets, the IA adopts forward-looking regulation paired with rigorous enforcement. Starting from 2025, the IA has rolled out three phases of control measures for the sale of participating policies. It regularly monitors compliance, conducts on-site inspections and imposes heavy penalties on non-compliant intermediaries to curb malpractices such as improper referrals and cross-boundary solicitation. To address the issue of misconduct practitioners moving between firms and financial sectors, the IA first expanded the industry-wide reference checking scheme and launched a cross-sector background verification system with the HKMA in July this year, covering over 110,000 long-term insurance intermediaries across around 1,000 insurers and banks. Meanwhile, the IA carries out extensive public education campaigns including TV dramas and insurance buying guides. Going forward, the IA will further refine its regulatory framework, strengthen cross-regulator collaboration and foster the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s insurance sector. Source:  https://www.ia.org.hk/en/infocenter/speeches_articles/20260712.html