Insurance Industry Helps Employers Procure Employees' Compensation Insurance Cover
15/12/2011
The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) and the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme (ECIRS) Bureau responded to the motion debated at the Legislative Council today (Thursday, 15 December 2011) on “Alleviating the difficulties of SME in taking out insurance”.
For any employers who have difficulties buying Employees’ Compensation (EC) insurance cover, we have in place the ECIRS to offer prompt assistance. So far the ECIRS has issued 25 policies mostly for scaffolding works.
As prudent insurers, we need to collect equitable and sufficient premiums. The premiums, therefore, should reflect the risk level. The recent market adjustment is the result of sustained loss experienced by insurers, particularly in the fields of scaffoldings, logistic, cleaning and recycling. And this is due to a combination of several factors:
bad claims experience;
under-declaration of wage roll; and
champerty and fraudulent claims.
As demonstrated by the construction industry, the EC insurance premium for this sector has been reduced substantially over the years as a result of improved work place safety. "We would strongly urge those industries with difficulties buying insurance to adopt a similar strategy", said Mr Jimmy Poon, Chairman of the General Insurance Council.
As the same time, employers are urged to make full declaration of the wage roll and work with insurance companies to address the problem of fraudulent claims. All these measures should help bring down insurance premiums in the long term.
"We understand the problems faced by employers and have already met with Legislative Councillors and the relevant industry bodies to offer assistance," said Mr Dominic Lam, Chairman of the ECIRS Bureau. "For those employers experiencing cash flow problems, the ECIRS is prepared to issue 6-month insurance policies instead of annual coverage."
Employers of high risk groups who have difficulties in acquiring EC insurance cover may contact the ECIRS Bureau for immediate assistance (website: http://www.ecirsb.com.hk/; telephone: 2591 9316)