From 1 January 2013 authorised insurers in Hong Kong must comply
with new guidelines issued by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority
(the "HKIA") and obtain the approval of
the HKIA if they wish to outsource certain of their functions to
third party service providers.
Application of the guidelines
The guidelines apply to all arrangements under which a service
provider (whether located in or outside of Hong Kong and whether or
not an independent party or a related party of the insurer)
undertakes to perform a service which the insurer would otherwise
carry out itself. The guidelines set out some examples of what may
be considered outsourcing for the purposes of the guidelines,
including application and claims processing, policy administration,
human resources management, marketing and research, IT systems
management and risk management services.
