The Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Provisional Board announced today (11 January 2006) the setting up of the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Advisory Committee.

There have been cases where employers appear to have difficulties in obtaining from the market Employees' Compensation (EC) insurance cover for their employees engaged in certain high risk occupations (Annex A). The ECIRS is designed to act as a market of last resort for these employers.

Last December, all EC insurers operating in Hong Kong formed a Provisional Board to oversee the establishment of the ECIRS. To help ensure that the ECIRS is properly structured and operated with maximum transparency in meeting the expectations of the relevant stakeholders, an Advisory Committee is set up today to monitor this exercise and provide the Board with the necessary support and guidance.

The Advisory Committee, chaired by Mr Leo Ma, comprises representatives from the Labour Department, the Insurance Authority, employers' and employees' sectors and professionals from the legal, accounting and insurance fields. Please see Annex B for a full membership list.

The Chairman of the ECIRS Provisional Board, Mrs Agnes Koon, said that the Board was deeply thankful to the Advisory Committee members for their support and readiness to assist in this very important project.“We will definitely look to the Advisory Committee for advice on how best to structure the Scheme and ensure its effective and smooth operation,” added Mrs Koon.

The ECIRS is expected to be fully operational by June 2006.